Hey, long time no see? I know, my updates got rare, but I'm really trying ^^; Am sick right now, need to go drink tea...

So, the story? No idea really, the plot-bunny just popped in my head one day, and since I couldn't bring myself to write anything else, I decided that I'd at least write something, ANYTHING to convince myself I can still do it and am not rusting too much. Somehow I think my writing style changed but who cares. Anyway, it's a 8th movie AU, I seem to like those... Maybe cuz that's my favorite movie and I watched it so many times I start to wonder about things? (tho I think 14th will trump it) XD I have some more ideas, we'll see if I write them down. For now, hope you enjoy!

Summary: 8th movie AU. After Kid left him on the roof of the train, Conan went pretty far off before it stopped. Still, he was glad it was just Ekoda, who knows where else he might have ended up?

Title: Game Pause
Genre: General
Pairings: None
Rating: K
Warnings: None
Words: 2535

'Arriving, Ekoda Station. Arriving, Ekoda Station. Please stay outside the red line and wait…'

The dull feminine voice of the speaker bleared across the station, almost lost among the sounds of late night chatter and train doors sliding open. The masses of people, evidently smaller than during the usual rush hour, moved back and fro to either settle in or depart for their homes. Most of the ones leaving were already quickening their steps, having seen droplets of water on the train windows during the ride so they knew they'd have to hurry if they wanted to avoid the upcoming rain.

Preoccupied with their own lives as they were, nobody noticed a small person leaving the train by most unusual means not seen very often. The boy in question grunted softly as his legs took the impact of his jump from the train roof. He was out of there before anyone could even turn to inquire about the sound.

Weaving through the masses and avoiding long legs of passengers Conan deftly maneuvered his way across the station, looking for some sort of indicator of where the main entrance was. He found it after a few minutes of blind exploring and avoiding the few potential officers who wouldn't hesitate to approach a little kid and ask him what he was doing out here alone so late in the night. He was out of the station and on the almost deserted street in front of it in a matter of moments.

As soon as he stepped out of the chaos of loud chatter and careless limbs, he heaved a great sigh. He leaned against a nearby wall and gripped his chest for good measure, trying to calm down his still racing heart.

So much had happened tonight. As far as he knew, it had been barely ten minutes since he'd landed on the roof of that train, the para-glider flying away in the wind and his own body barely standing straight as he'd faced the seemingly cornered moonlight thief. Now that he thought about it, it had been a simple rookie mistake to think Kid would have ever been cornered, or left without a good back up plan, but…

He angrily smacked his palm against the wall.

Damn! He'd been so close to getting him! He could still clearly see that familiar smirk plastered all over the shadowed face, even as he'd been running at full speed against the wind, attempting to and in the end failing to catch him before he vanished again. He had almost felt the fabric of his pants in his grasp, but no, he knew the thief was just too calculating to let him get that near without a purpose.

Even if his stunt with the para-glider that night had been unexpected, the thief had still held one too many tricks saved just in case. For all he knew, Kid had planned for something like that in advance, however improbable it may have been.

And then, after all the excitement, he'd been left to hold onto the roof of the train that was speeding off to God knows where.

'Ekoda,' Conan reminded himself with a relieved sigh. 'I'm in Ekoda.'

Well, at least it hadn't been a long distance train like the one for Osaka. That would have been a right problem.

He was broken out of his thoughts as he felt something small and wet splash on his head. He looked up into the sky, scrunching his nose at the dense clouds and obvious rain that was about to fall. The air in itself was humid and warm, the aftermath of a hot summer day, and he tiredly brought a hand up to wipe some of the sweat of his forehead. His breathing was still faster than normal, but at least his heart had stopped trying to explode from his chest.

He pushed off the wall he was standing against and slowly started his trek down the street, hoping the act would help him calm down quicker. Another drop on the crown of his head had him searching his pocket for his cell-phone. He brought it out with practiced ease and pressed the speed-dial.

"Moshi moshi?"

"It's me, hakase." Conan replied.

"Ah, Shinichi-kun! Where are you? Ran-kun's been worried, she couldn't find you anywhere." There was shuffling on the other end, as if the professor was bringing a hand up so no one could overhear what he was saying. "After the show ended a guard run into the room and shouted about seeing Kid running for the elevator. It was hard to control the masses after that and somehow we lost sight of you. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. I went after Kid to the roof and followed him on the para-glider-"

"Oh, you used it then!" The man sounded excited. "Did it work alright? I didn't know if the measurements were good enough for your size, but I tried my best. Did you catch up to 1412 then?"

The boy chuckled. "I did, but he escaped me once I had to get rid of it. Listen Hakase, I need a favour again. Can you cover for me with Ran and pick me up?"

"Of course, I'll tell her you got lost in the crowd and were waiting by my car the whole time. Where should I pick you up?"

Here Conan hesitated. "Well, it's a bit far off, but… the Ekoda train station?"

There was a short pause on the other end. "…You certainly managed to get far off, Shinichi-kun." A sigh was heard. "I'll pick you up, I just need to drop off the children before that. However, I don't know where the station is exactly, but I know a park that should be somewhere around. I'll meet you there in half an hour."

"Right, I'll ask around. See you." He hung up.

He continued on his trek down the street, searching for any potential passer-by he could ask for directions. He grimaced as a few more drops fell on his head in short frequency. Not wanting to catch a cold in the weather, he pulled off his blue jacket and held it over his head, enjoying the fresh air that met his sweaty body. On second thought, he also removed his bowtie and glasses to avoid the rain damaging them, and loosened the first few buttons of his shirt just so he wouldn't feel so hot anymore.

Unfortunately for him, the upcoming rain had scattered what few passer-by the street had, and now the boy was left as one of the rare persons frequenting it. To make matters worse, his stomach was already starting to complain, the excitement and price of adrenaline catching up to him. Briefly he recalled there being a small snack pause during the show that night, but he'd been too tense with Kid's presence as 'Kudo Shinichi' to even think about letting his guard down. He now regretted not taking at least a bite when he'd had the chance to.

By now the street was almost empty save for a few suspicious looking characters and a preoccupied couple or two, and Conan was starting to think he would have to walk blindly and hope he took the right turn. He'd long stopped walking and just stood on the sidewalk facing the road, holding his jacket over his head so his trademark hairstyle was out of sight, the perfect picture of 'lost' summing him up.

"Hey kid, are you lost?"

He startled at the voice, whirling around to face the person that had somehow managed to walk up to him without his notice. The other raised an eyebrow at his reaction, but didn't stop what he was doing. The boy was momentarily distracted from the situation by the colorful objects the other was juggling almost nonchalantly in his hands.

"Well? Shouldn't kids like you already be at home at this time?"

Conan was glad the already wet jacket shadowed his own face, or he just might have become the other's next source of entertainment (the juggling didn't seem to do the trick if the bored tone was any indication) as a small angry blush spread across it. Instead of replying, he took a moment to dismiss the juggling objects and focus on the man himself.

He also had a jacket over his head to protect him from the rain, but from what Conan could see he was in his late teens, obviously still a student. His face was shadowed by the article of clothing, but it wasn't as if Conan was particularly interested in his looks. His hands were of course busy handling the various unknown objects between them, but he had a white dress shirt and dark pants. Judging the teen to be trusting enough to inquire him in the right direction, the boy brought forth his childish voice, spoken quietly so its usual shrill quality wouldn't carry through.

"I'm supposed to be picked up at a park around here, but I took a wrong turn and couldn't find it anymore. Do you know where it is?"

The other blinked at him, before realization dawned on his face. "Ah, you must be new around here then. The park's just around that corner," he said as he caught the juggling objects in one hand and pointed the direction in another. "You should be able to see it as soon as you turn right on the next intersection. Got that?"

"Yeah, thanks." Conan replied. Now that the objects weren't in constant movement, the boy could see they were candies of all sorts. He must've been staring a moment too long because he heard a chuckle emanate from the other. He looked back up at the shadowed face with an embarrassed flush, once again glad it couldn't be seen under his jacket.

The other took a golf ball-sized lollipop from the pile by the wrapper and offered it to him. "You can have it, alright?"

He took the offered treat with a mumbled 'thank you' and 'goodbye', and turned around to leave for the direction pointed out to him. He didn't take two steps before he heard the teen behind him shout.

"Hey!" The boy turned around in confusion. The other boy had already begun to juggle the objects in his hands again. "Want me to go there with you? Little boys like you shouldn't be out by themselves!"

Conan scoffed, his childish façade fading as he turned back around and restarted his walk. This time his voice was much deeper, more sarcastic. "No, I'm sure I'll manage. My uncle should be already waiting for me anyway."

He thought he'd heard the sound of something hitting the ground with a dull clank multiple times, but he didn't pay any attention to it. He'd have to hurry to the park, he was sure he had spent more than a half an hour's time wandering around and searching for someone to give him directions. The professor should already be there waiting for him.

Absently he unwrapped the lollipop the mirthful teen back there had given him, his mind going over the events of the night and randomly taking some of them for small analyses. One of them was the memory of those hands juggling various candy, and suddenly the child wondered where he had acquired them all. That level of skill and dexterity had also surely required a long time to perfect… Curiously, the boy looked at the wrapper of the lollipop the other had given him…

And froze.

The wrapper itself was an inconspicuous, pale blue color, but what drew the boy's attention to it was the picture of a beautiful ring, its front holding a violet gem with three criss-crossing lines on them. The Jewel of Destiny.

Whirling around, the boy searched for the slim figure of the teen he'd met before, but found no retreating back on the street. Then he recalled the sounds of clattering objects he'd heard before and automatically pieced it all together. The other had probably recognized his voice. He'd be long gone by now for sure, he couldn't hope to catch up to him anymore.

But…

He looked down at the wrapper in his hands, his brows furrowed. These kinds of wrappers could only be found on lollipops offered at the beginning of the show back at the theater Conan and the others had been invited to, back at the supposed place of the… Kid heist. And, even though the show in itself was over, Conan doubted anyone would have managed to get from there to Ekoda in the short span of time they'd had. However, if they had left earlier…

'But no, that's also out of the question,' the boy amended himself. 'It was him.' He almost hit himself for being so distracted back there, the juggling the teen was doing having take him no notice of the clothes the other was wearing. Now though, he remembered perfectly. They'd been the clothes 'Shinichi' had worn back at the theater.

And yet…

The wrapper in his hands crinkled as he delicately lifted it up to his face, now being careful to hold only the very edges of it. Again, a memory of those bare hands juggling the candies came to his mind, and suddenly he knew without a doubt that this piece of evidence could very well bring the shadowed face of the Kid finally into the light. All he needed was some powder and a program to identify fingerprints and…

And what? Game over? It certainly would be, as the thief should have been more careful, but… He looked around, taking in the almost deserted street and the nearby houses and the far away chatter of some old couple discussing their TV program… This wasn't in Kid's game plan anymore. This wasn't Kid's territory anymore, it was… his life. And somehow, in Conan's mind, that wasn't fair anymore.

On the other side of the street, hidden behind the concrete wall separating someone's garden from the street, a magician observed as the small child finally seemed to come to a decision. With batted breath and heart pounding loudly in his chest, he watched as the boy slowly resumed his walk back down the street, his retreating form soon vanishing just a round the corner. The only thing left was a small object fallen to the floor, which upon closer inspection a few moments later turned out to be a wrinkled lollipop wrapper.

Somehow, that felt like the Resume to a Game Pause of a game he (they) had been playing, and he found a large breath escaping him with something akin to relief. He couldn't help the quite chuckle that escaped him after that.

'Ekoda, huh?' the boy wondered as a large park came into view, a familiar small beige car parked in front of it. He carefully tucked the information away in the far recesses of his mind, never to be recalled again unless the one having slipped it decided to divulge it again, this time the right way and within the playing field of their Detective and Thief chase.

For now, the Game was still on.