"He's so dreamy! His beautiful brown locks, those gorgeous eyes.."

"Yeah, I know what he looks like so you can spare me the details." Ran shot at the girl. She looked surprised for a minute.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You must be his girl—"

"No! I'm not!"

"No? Well, if you could do me a huge favor, and please tell Shinichi-kun that Sera was looking for him?"

Sera? That big-headed jerk lied to me! He does know a Sera!

Ran released an exasperated sigh.

"I'll see what I can do.. now, if you'd excuse me.. I'm trying to teach a class here." Ran spat as politely as she could but the jealousy she felt was overwhelming and each word was dripping with venom. Any other smart person would've got the hit hint and left, but not this beautiful blue-eyed, blonde-haired girl. She lingered behind the jealous friend as she barked at the girls to get back inside. They knew something was up so they didn't argue as they all zoomed indoors.

Ran stalked away from the girl, trying to ignore the eyes staring into the back of her pony-tailed head. Why did that girl seem so familiar?

oOo

Later that day

"Kogoro.. I want you to apologize to Ran."

Ran, her mom, dad, and Conan all sat in the agency—Ran and Conan on one side of the coffee table, Kogoro on the other, and Eri standing up, her hands on her hips.

"I shouldn't be the one apologizing! She was the one who went to OSAKA for that boy!" Kogoro shouted, quickly standing.

"That BOY has a name, father! And I'd appreciate it if you'd use it once and awhile!" Ran immediately defended Shinichi, without even thinking twice about it. The guy was her best friend since childhood. Anyone would've stood up for him.. even if they weren't secretly in love with him.

"Stop standing up for him! He's only nothing but trouble! Ran.. please, I'm your father, and I'm only trying to do what's best—"

"Don't even say it! Best for me? You're trying to stop me from seeing Shinichi! He's my best friend, and I love him! And, like it or not, there's nothing you can do or say to stop me from seeing him." Ran said, defiantly. Conan, Eri and Kogoro all stared at the girl silently, their mouths slightly agape. She noticed their stares and frowned, opening her mouth to ask what their problem was.

But, it was Eri who spoke first.

"Ran.. love is a strong word.." She didn't have the same look the father was wearing. She looked.. kind of happy, relieved so to speak. Kogoro, however, looked bewildered. And Conan's countenance contained a look of silent understanding.

"Wh-what? Well, of course I do! I mean, I've known him forever, he's my best friend!" Ran quickly responded, noticing the looks she was receiving. The ones that frightened the girl the most was Conan's. For some reason unexplainable to her, she felt uncomfortable in his presence at the moment. She squirmed in her seat at the stares.

Finally, Kogoro reacted. But, instead of yelling, he grabbed his jacket, put it on and snatched his keys from the desk where he normally sat to answer the phone, answering it with a dull 'Mouri Detective Agency.'

"O-otousan?"

"Where are you going, Kogoro?" The mother asked, sternly.

"Out." Came his simple reply, slamming the door to the office shut behind him. Why was it such a big deal? He never cared before. So what if the girl 'loved' Shinichi? He was just a friend, nothing more. A very good friend, one of her closest friend since she could even care to remember. A friend she loved dearly.. that she'd do whatever it took to make sure he was safe and sound.

You're killing me, Shinichi..

She looked at her mom, helplessly. She just shook her head, sighing.

It was surprising really. Eri never stayed around so much before, but lately.. she was always around. Ran knew it was because of her, but she couldn't help but feel a little hope. Maybe she and Kogoro would set aside their differences and reunit.

"Okaasan, I don't get it," Ran sighed heavily, "Why does it even matter to otousan anyways?"

"I can only imagined how confused you must be feeling right now," Eri sat on the other side of Ran, an arm slithering around her shoulders, bringing her daughter closer to her, "But you have to understand that your father has been put in a very difficult situation."

"Okaasan—"

"You are our only child, Ran. Your father has always been the only man in your life, you always went to him when you were afraid or sad. He comforted you. You're his little girl. You're growing up.. you can't imagine hard that is for him to accept. You're getting to that point where you don't need him anymore."

"But, I'll always need him! He's my father—"

"Yes, but he doesn't see it that way. This Shinichi boy has always made your father look like a fool, and Kogoro never really seemed to mind too much, right?"

"Right.."

"He knew you always defended him because you were still his little girl. Now, you're getting older and closer to Shinichi. You're relying more on this boy now than your father."

"But—"

"I know it doesn't make much sense to you, but to your father, Shinichi is stealing you away from him. To Kogoro, Shinichi not only stole his business, but now his little girl. But your father doesn't understand that you can love more than one male. The love you have for Shinichi isn't the same as the love you have for otousan, but he doesn't realize this yet. And the fact you went to Osaka for Shinichi without even uttering a word to your father makes this situation grimmer."

"Oh man.." Ran sighed, "I didn't think it was that big of a deal.."

"I know, Ran.. just give your father time to think."

"Yeah.." There was a few moments of silence. Ran mused over the information given to her by her mother, and Eri stroked her daughter's hair, observing her facial expressions. Conan couldn't believe Kogoro saw him as that much of a threat. But once he thought about it, it was understandable. Shinichi never really thought about Kogoro's feelings because he was just some incompetent detective who happened to be Ran's dad.

Boy, I really screwed up there too..

"I'm going to go home and get a few files for an upcoming case. Will you be okay by yourself?" Eri suddenly asked, in a motherly tone, which was another shocker. Eri was a stern, hard, cold attorney. She sort of seemed incapable of affection.

Of course.. Ran was a teenager. She also felt as if Eri was treating her like she was a child again. She probably missed being a mom, so Ran decided to play along.

"Yes, mummy, I'll be fine. I'm a big girl now." She replied, jokingly with a smile. Eri returned it, softly, a sad and distant look in her eye.

"You are a big girl.. and I love you very much, Ran." She whispered, pulling her into a hug. As soon as she went into mother-mode, she was out of it and out of the agency, leaving Ran alone with Conan.

"That was.. odd." Conan said and causing Ran to chuckle.

"Yeah, it was.. so, um.. wanna go watch a movie?" Ran asked, glancing at Conan.

"Do the others have to come?" Conan looked at her, pleadingly. She figured he didn't want Genta and the others tagging along like they normally did. She laughed, ruffling Conan's hair.

"No, they don't. It can just be the two of us today. Besides, we haven't spent any time together lately and with everything that has gone on.. I think we deserve some time alone, don't you?" Conan nodded his head, smiling happily. His smile brought one onto her face.

Few hours later

The pair had just exited their movie and Conan was very red in the face, making Ran want to laugh out loud.

"Would cars really get that steamy?" Conan asked, curiously. She burst out laughing in the lobby, getting strange looks from other people in the theatre.

"When you get older, I'll give you the talk." Ran laughed, ruffling his hair. The two had watched a special screening of the American movie Titanic.

"That movie was long.. I have to go bathroom!" Conan tugged on her arm, pulling her toward the bathrooms. In that instant, she realized she had to go too so they separated, going into the gender appropriate bathrooms.

Ran went into the bathroom and did whatever she had to do, then stood in front of the mirror, washing her hands. Suddenly, the lights went out, causing her to jump a little, "H-hello?" She called out, nervously, "Is anyone there?"

Click

The sound of the door being locked echoed in the bathroom she believed to be empty when she first entered. Ran left the water running as she backed up a bit, shivering from fright and trying to get her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness. She backed into something. It was solid, but not the texture of a tiled wall of the cinema's bathroom. At that moment, Ran realized that other person was right behind her.

Two strong arms wrapped around her, clapping a hand over her mouth. She released a muffled scream as she kicked and twisted in the stranger's arms.

But you're like.. a black belt, Ran-chan..

Sonoko's voice echoed throughout her mind and she ceased struggling. Once the man holding her believed she would give up, he loosened his grip, ever-so-slightly. Ran took this opportunity and jabbed her elbow into his stomach as hard as she possible could, the sickening sound of a rib cracking sounded in her ears.

He released her with a howl of pain and Ran stumbled away from him. He wasn't down for long and stampeded after her. She spun around to confront him, but he was much closer than she anticipated. Without warning, the back of his hand connected with the side of her face and he grabbed her in a bear hug once again.

No matter how much she struggled to get free, despite the throbbing pain both of them felt, the guy wouldn't let go, hand over her mouth again. He did tighten his grip on her, squeezing her. Ran began to breathe heavily through her nostrils, tears forming in her eyes.

A hundred possiblities and thoughts ran through her head at once.

Ohmygosh, he's going to rape me. He's going to kill me. He's going to rape and kill me..

All of her struggling caused her to knock over the purse she had brought with her, spilling the contents onto the floor. There was a crack when the guy moved his foot and Ran immediately knew he broke something. She vaguely wondered why that would even matter at a time like this.

Ran began to cry, tears streaming down her cheeks when she realized she couldn't get free. She was a karate champion! A black-belt! But this guy was just too big and too strong and she was too paralyzed with fear. Ran stopped struggling altogether, falling limp in the man's arms.

The man replaced his hand with a piece of cloth and the girl's vision became distorted. The already darkened bathroom became even darker as her head began to pound and her lids became to close.

oOo

In the opposite bathroom, Conan had a hard time getting his hands washed from the sinks. Either they were too high, or he was too short.

As he became more frustrated with the sink, the lights went out. A couple of other men he stood inbetween grunted and complained.

Conan groped around in the darkness, trying to find the switches or the exit of the bathroom. About five minutes later, the lights came back on and he found himself in one of the stalls. The other men grunted again, then left the bathroom in a hurry, wanting to get out of there before it happened again.

Conan followed, waiting outside for Ran. She was taking a long time in there, what was she possibly doing, Conan didnn't know but he was becoming impatient, and a little worried.

It's nothing.

He thought to himself as he continued to wait, rocking back and forth on his feet outside of the girls' bathroom.

A female worker came up, kneeling in front of Conan, "Are you lost, cutie?" She asked kindly, smiling.

"Actually, I'm waiting for someone in the bathroom, " Conan pointed, "Do you think you can see if they're finished?" The lady nodded and tried to open the door, finding it locked. She unlocked it with her own set of keys and went in.

That's strange. Why would the door be locked?

She returned, shaking her head, "There's nobody in there, hon.. c'mon, let's find your mommy or daddy." Conan blinked in surprise. Nobody in there? Did she leave him? No, she wouldn't do that to him..

The lady tried to pick Conan up, but he pushed her away and hurried into the bathroom. The water was running.. the window was open.. but there was no sign of Ran anywhere. Where did she go?

Conan went into detective mode as he looked around the bathroom, the lady following him inside. The water was running.. She must've been washing her hands—before the power outage, during? The rest of the theatre looked fine.. why was it only in the bathrooms?

Two bathroom stalls were open. If Conan could remember, he didn't see anyone going in, or coming out of the bathroom when Ran first entered. He thought back to when she opened the door. He did see a pair of boots in the first stall, closest to the door.

And that stall happened to be the stall that was open. The other one must've been Ran's.

"Sweetie, what're you looking for?"

Conan ignored her and inspected the first stall, finding little traces of dirt and grass on the ground. The rest of the bathroom was spotless.. He went back out and looked around, noticing the open window again.

"Oh no!" He quickly went over and looked around. And that's when he found it. The purse Ran had carried with her when she came into the restroom. It had been knocked over and some of the contents from inside were scattered on the ground.. like there had been a struggle.

A small mirror she carried with her looked like it had been stepped on. Conan carefully examine the mirror.. it had mud on it.

Conan struggled, but managed to get onto the sink and onto the window sill. He looked down, using a flashlight pen Agasa had given him. There were large footprints on the ground and it seemed as is something was dragged for a bit, but the jagged lines ended, as if whatever was being dragged was picked up.. it looked very recent.

"No.. Ran.." Conan whispered, before he yelled out to the female worker, "Call the police!"