A/N: Welcome back to the story again, everyone! I rather like this chapter personally, though I'm not sure how I portrayed a certain someone who's first name ends in an 'a'. See if you can find out who I mean. :P

As usual, if you see something out of character, or a spg problem, or bla bla bla, you guys don't want to read this. But, I DO want to hear from you! So, if you see anything, hit that super-duper-wonderfulest review button in the world... And I'll stop saying things like super-duper-wonderfulest. Deal?

Especially since there are a lot of characters in this chapter that I've never written before, and if I'm doing something wrong, I'd like to know now before I can do it any more. ^_^

- - - - Reviews! - - - -

Chelseaj500: Merely an arc epilogue. I have this story broken into three distinct sections, and we're still in part one. ;D

Serial-Doodler: Glad to see you liked it, and here's to hoping that I don't stray from that path.

ZXCVBNMEM: Indeed it was. Indeed, it was.

psykostevey999: I have been wondering. ^_^ I was mainly interested in Artemis Fowl fanfiction when I joined, so I made an Artemis Fowl name. Ironic that I've now at least started a story for nearly all of my top 5 fandoms, and still haven't started a Fowl fic. Hmm, you just got me thinking... Little random inspiration there. I wonder what an Artemis Fowl X Detective Conan crossover would be like? Might have to see if there are any good ones...

Elena Forest: Phew, *sweatwipe* I'm glad. I tend to have trouble with lots of dialog. I'm glad it came out ok! ^_^ That was actually inspired by the theory I posted below the last chapter. (And continue to discuss on this one.)

Angel in Exile: Well, if you're still reading this I hope you're still enjoying it! : ) If you see it again anywhere and point out the passage, I'll be more than happy to correct it. Problem is, I've read all of these chapters and unpublished versions of these chapters so many times that I can just about recite them, and I can never seem to find any grammar errors after about the fifth draft. XD

"H-hey, I was only-" With a surprised yelp, Kaito ducked as a particularly large hardcover textbook flew by his head, so close a surge of displaced air ruffled his hair.

"Don't you dare 'I was only' me!" Aoko seethed with a mocking tone, chucking another book with as much power as she could put behind it.

"I didn't mean it like that!" he yelled in between dodging, jumping, and occasionally ducking behind one desk only to reappear behind another a moment later, books flying at him all the while.

"Stay still!" Another book was launched his way which he dodged with ease, though it very nearly nailed some very fortunate girl in the face. Or unfortunate, depending on how you looked at the situation.

Ishizuki, their history teacher, could only hang her head and sigh in discontent as the classroom turned its full attention to today's show. The only thing to do was wait, either for Aoko to exhaust her rage or Kaito to pull some trick and disappear. That was how these fights were usually resolved. Her money was on Kaito dropping a smoke bomb and jumping out the window, since the victor seemed to alternate from fight to fight, and she'd heard from their math professor that Tuesday's quarrel had ended with Aoko getting a hold of Kaito's shirt collar.

"I only asked why you would wear something too small for you! I never said you were fa-" he was cut off by another book, ducking for cover as it slammed into the wall behind him. By the time he looked up again, he had the smallest fraction of a second to move before a mop smacked the spot on the floor where he used to be.

By this point, Aoko was turning shades of red that would've made her father proud, and her only response to anything Kaito said was to swing even harder as she tried to close the gap between them. "It was one of my favorite shirts, and it still fits fine!"

"Ok, ok, time out!" Kaito yelled, jumping on top of Hakuba's desk. Hakuba himself was staring at the back of the magician's head as if he'd finally lost all sense. It took the detective a moment to realize that Aoko probably should have been demanding just a little bit more of his attention. As it were, he hadn't even noticed what was about to happen until it was too late to escape. Aoko brought the handle up and Hakuba mentally calculated the odds of Kaito jumping from his perch once Aoko swung, resulting in his own forehead becoming uncomfortably acquainted with a mop's handle. He almost wished he hadn't.

That was when Aoko froze in place, mop still poised to strike, eyes growing to the size of saucers. Hakuba zeroed in on Kaito's outstretched hand, seeing that two small slips of paper were poking a little ways out of the top of his fist.

"Are those...?" Aoko trailed off, mop falling forgotten to the ground as her grip slackened, then jumped forward and snatched a piece of the paper out of his hand.

"Two tickets to the Two-Mix Christmas Eve concert?" Kaito asked, a grin splitting his face like a jack-o-lantern. "Yep."

Aoko practically shrieked, pulling him off of Hakuba's desk, swinging him around a few times before setting him down.

Then Kaito, in what Hakuba was certain was a perfect imitation of a voice he'd heard on an infomercial sometime last night, continued saying "But wait, there's more! Agree to come with me now, and you'll get-" he shook his left hand up and down twice, and on the third shake two ID badges appeared in his upturned palm, a quick wink following shortly. "-Backstage Passes!"

She was bouncing up and down as she snatching a pass as well. "Kaito! You're awesome!" she all but sang as she tried to keep her excitement from physically tearing her apart.

So Nakamori-san is a big Two-Mix fan? Hakuba wondered. Good to know.

"I'm curious," Hakuba asked. "Just how did you get those tickets, Kuroba-kun?"

Aoko stopped buzzing with glee, if only for the moment, to listen. The tickets had sold out in all of ten minutes, and Kaito was known for his realistic props. If these tickets are fake, so help me...

Kaito, thankfully unable to hear the thoughts bouncing around in Aoko's head, most involving things he would find rather unpleasant, continued on with an undertone of annoyance at Hakuba's interruption. "I know a guy that works on their special effects. Smoke, pyrotechnics, stuff like that. He said that they'd given him a couple of tickets to give to some friends, and that's about it. I got 'em in the mail yesterday."

Well, it sounds plausible enough, I suppose, Hakuba thought. But he was hardly about to start believing him simply because the scenario he'd described was less than impossible. 'The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence', as the saying goes.

"Ahem."

The class finally turned back to the distressed looking teacher, drumming her fingers on her desk. "Kuroba-san? Nakamori-san? Would you like another few minutes, or could you allow us all the courtesy of getting back to work?"

Kaito, ever the opportunist, said "Actually, I think we'll need about another 10 seconds. Right Aoko? Hakuba?"

Everyone stared at him in mild confusion but, knowing Kaito, figured he probably had something planned. Just as Ishizuki was about to tell him to either get to his seat or the principle's office, his choice, the bell rang shrill and loud as the clock struck 3:00. Kaito pulled his backpack out from under Hakuba's desk, when it had gotten there nobody was really sure, then slung it over his shoulder and headed out the door as the rest of the class began to rise. He turned and waved as their teacher seemed to be taking calming breathes. "See you Monday, Sensei!"

As he walked out the door, she banged her head against the chalkboard. Repeatedly.

Conan was staring ahead into the darkness as the sound of footsteps echoed in an abandoned building, growing steadily louder with every passing second. He could only see a small slice of the floor outside the small room he was tucked inside, but that was enough to see the illumination of a flashlight's glow, growing brighter as the steps grew nearer. There was no reason for them to check around the corner. The building was supposed be empty. He should be safe.

That was when the steps stopped, right outside of the room he'd chosen to hide in. Then they picked up again, coming straight in his direction, ready to appear around the corner any moment. He knew then that the man would find him, and nothing he could do would stop that. There was nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. He knew that the man would either be dressed entirely in white or entirely in black. If it was the former, he was in luck. They might be able to help him, and he would have had no reason for hiding in the first place. But, if it were the latter...

The anticipation didn't last long. The black figure swung in with inhuman speed, red eyes glowing. Before he ever knew he'd been hit, he was dead.

Why do I even bother? Conan wondered, letting the controller fall into his lap with a sigh as 'You Are Dead' flashed across the screen. Meanwhile, Genta was in hysterics, rolling on his back, and Mitsuhiko looked like he might be joining him soon from the way he clutched at his side.

"You suck!" Genta howled.

Even Ayumi was trying to muffle a fit of giggles in the crook of her arm as she laid against the arm of the couch.

"Maybe someone else should have a turn?" Haibara suggested, trying to look disinterested as she licked a finger in preparation to flip the page of her magazine, but the barest hint of a smirk still showed through.

The Shounen Tantei-dan had all been called to Agasa's house after school, the promise of a new game enticing the true children, while giving Conan an excuse to come over. He was curious to see what the professor had for him, though usually it could be broken down into two possibilities. He was either getting a new gadget, or his head was going to be nearly blown off by an explosion. He estimated that the odds were about 50-50. However, they'd been there for over an hour now, and the professor had disappeared to somewhere in the basement as soon as he was done greeting everybody, and nobody had seen or heard from him since.

"Fine," Conan said, the hint of a whine crawling into his voice. He picked the remote up and held it above his head, not really caring who took it next. There was the sound of two people suddenly jumping forward, but Genta was nearer and grabbed it first, leaving Mitsuhiko to pout next to him, arms crossed over his chest.

Conan stood from his cross-legged position on the floor in front of the tv to reclaim his earlier position on the couch, jumping up to the middle seat in between the two girls. He noticed Haibara look up for a brief moment, looking nonplussed as his sudden motion and weight caused her to shift in her seat, then gaze back down at her magazine, her bored scanning of fashion accessories resuming. He had a vastly more obvious reactions from Ayumi, however. He hadn't missed the way her muffled, bubbly laughter had cut off abruptly as he'd taken up the space next to her, and she'd gone as straight and still as a metal rod.

Before long all of them had once again turned their attention back to the game, with the exception of Haibara, still reading the same page of her magazine for the last ten minutes, and Ayumi, who was lost in her own fantasies. Gunshots were not an uncommon sound as Genta navigated through the secret passage in the back of a stereotypical rich villain's mansion. I didn't even know you could get a gun in that game.

That was when a soft, angelic tune filled the air, and at first Conan thought it was coming from the game as well. But the vibrations coming from deep inside his pocket had nothing to do with any cliche virtual tale of good and evil. A moment later, he'd retrieved his phone from the dark confines of his pocket and had it held up to his ear. "Moshi moshi?"

"Hey Conan-kun," Ran's cheerful voice came from speaker. "Are you still at Agasa-Hakase's house?"

It's not late, is it? he wondered, casting a quick glance at the clock on the wall. It's only a little after 4:30. "Yeah," he said hesitantly. "Why?"

"Dad left earlier this morning and locked up the office, and I'm going out shopping so there's nobody to let you in the house."

"Oh," he replied, not really having much else to add.

"I also called to make sure Hakase wouldn't mind looking after you for an extra hour or two. You're over there all the time anyway, but I didn't want to assume anything."

A small smile flickered across his face, gone in the blink of an eye, but there nevertheless. "I was planning on staying a little later than usual anyway. Don't worry about it."

"Oh really?" a familiar voice replied in a suggestive tone that left Conan scratching his head in confusion. Whatever had been meant by that had gone clear over his head.

"Sonoko-neechan?" he called. "Am I on speaker phone?"

But even as he spoke he could hear Ran's indignant call of "Sonoko!" in the background, followed by her demanding Sonoko stop whatever it was that she was doing.

After a series of scratching noises, most of the background noise abruptly cut out, and then it was only Ran's voice that could be heard. Now sounding considerably more annoyed than earlier, Ran continued with what should have been her quick check in.

"Just be sure you're back by dinner, ok Conan-kun?"

"Hai, Ran-neechan!"

There was another bout of giggles from Sonoko as Ran began to speak in a hurried, irritated voice. "Dinner will be around 6:30 tonight, so you should head home a little b- Sonoko!" The phone clicked off after another short bout of scratching noises, and Conan could only assume that Sonoko had tried to take the phone and do or say who-knows-what with it. Holding his own phone away from his head with a sigh, he simply stared at it, flashes of a million similar outings flashing through his mind as his eyes seemed to stare ahead into infinity. Memories of him, Ran and Sonoko doing the simplest little things together.

Memories about Sonoko didn't tend to be particularly pleasant as the two of them had spent more time arguing than not, but at least he had still been there. A small reminiscent smirk worked its way over his features. And apparently she's still just as annoying as ever. Then it fell, reminiscence turning to yearning. I can't believe it's been nearly two years since the three of us were like that... It seems like yesterday.

"So, what did she say?" Haibara asked without even glancing in his direction.

Conan fell back to reality, blinking the daydreams from his eyes and sliding the phone back into the depths of his pocket. He could feel a pair of eyes trained on him, and when he glanced over at Ayumi she looked away quickly, a slight blush already coloring her cheeks. He idly wondered how long she'd been staring at him before turning his attention back to Haibara. "Not much. She just said that I'll have to stay a little late so that she can go shopping with Sonoko-neechan."

"Mmm..." she hummed, flipping a page of her magazine once more, looking pensive. "I'll have to ask Hakase to take me shopping soon," she all but whispered. "Scarves seem to be popular this year."

"I thought people only wore scarves to keep warm?" Conan said disinterested.

She turned, folding the spine backwards and holding the page out, finger prodding the image of a fairly normal looking scarf. "Then why would someone pay ¥4,900 for one?"

"What!" If he had been drinking something, Haibara would have probably been wearing it. "You've got to be kidding me!"

She reclaimed her magazine, a flick of her wrist sending the current page whipping back to expose the next. "Boy's just have no eye for fashion."

"If that means I don't have to spend ¥5,000 on a scarf, then that's perfectly fine with me."

Haibara remained silent, for once not having some sarcastic retort at the ready, and Conan didn't feel the need to continue the current vein of conversation.

"No, left!"

Ayumi's sudden shout was enough to make Conan jump, and it took him a moment for him to realize she was yelling at Genta, who seemed to be on a sort of science-fiction inspired jet ski, trying to escape a swarm of what appeared to be giant, radioactive piranha, through a series of dark caverns. At a T-intersection, Genta turned off to the right, where he slammed into a rock wall and blew up in a massive fireball.

"Told you," she sing-songed, Mitsuhiko happily taking over and creating a new profile. Genta grumbled something, he himself the only person that knew what he was truly saying.

The time was displayed next to Mitsuhiko's new name, 17:02, and Conan finally decided he'd waited long enough for the professor to reappear. He hopped down, excusing himself to the bathroom, then slipped off toward the back of the room where both the hallway and the door to the basement were. Opening the door quietly, he slipped into the dark staircase, pushing up on the handle to keep the hinges from squeaking as he closed it behind him.

- - - - Theories - - - -

Just a note about something I said last chapter under this Theories section. The way I phrased it kind of makes it sound like Kogoro building up a resistance to the tranquilizer is just a theory, but it's not. ^_^ If anyone remembers episodes 354-355, they should know that Kogoro is, in fact, building up a resistance. And on that subject, I can't ever remember that coming into play again, and Gosho never does something without a reason. Maybe there's more to that theory than I'd first thought... hmmm... Comments? Thoughts?