The day after the bombing:

ヽ(*´∀`)ﾉ┌┛

"I can do this," muttered Ran to herself as she walked down the hallways. "I can do this." She repeated the mantra again and again, in the hope that she'd convince herself it was true. Only eight hours since she'd been cleared by Hikaru's personal doctor, and Ran was beginning to feel a little skittish. She'd missed the last four days of school, devoting all her time to searching for Conan. Maybe a handful of those hours were spent on long walks around the park with Hikaru in order to de-stress, but Hikaru insisted it was necessary.

"Fresh air and sunlight will help you physically and emotionally," he told her when she began fretting over Conan again. "Talking helps, too. Tell me about Conan-kun. What's he like?"

The walk was nearly four kilometers, but talking with Hikaru made it feel so much shorter. Ran told him everything. How Conan had shown up, how he wore his glasses day and night, and how he'd made such good friends with the Detective Boys. He acted strange, sometimes, but he was Shinichi's cousin. If Conan's parents were anything like Shinichi's, then you could guess what sort of upbringing Conan was accustomed to.

As Ran answered Hikaru's questions, she drew comparisons between her two little detectives aloud. "Shinichi was always a little odd growing up, but he was cocky and arrogant. Like any other boy, I guess, Shinichi always wanted to be cool. Conan couldn't care less about that. He avoids most of the other kids his age. The teachers say Conan rarely raises his hand or his voice, while Shinichi used to shout the answers before anyone else had the chance to. They're both strange in their own right, and I love them for that," she concluded with a smile.

"So you're in love with Kudou-kun?"

Ran choked on a gasp. At her side, Hikaru waited with a smirk for her to respond. "N-no, I'm not," she protested. "Hikaru-kun, they're like my brothers. I can't be in love with them," she argued.

She ignored the sickening feeling bubbling in the pit of her stomach, the memory of Shinichi's lips on her own.

He laughed. "I'm joking, only joking. You're too easy, Ran-san."

"You're too mean," she retorted, bumping into him. "I don't tease you about your friend. What's her name again?"

The humor faded from his eyes as a blissful, faraway look took its place. "I call her Ei. She's never told me her real name, and I've never pushed her for it."

Tilting her head, Ran frowned in thought. "You're in love with a person whose name you don't know? I don't know, that doesn't seem too likely."

Hikaru snorted. "Ran-san, does that not mirror our own relationship?"

Ran groaned, and Hikaru laughed out loud again.

Now that Conan had been found, some part of Ran worried that he'd leave her to go solve real cases, work with people who actually needed a policeman to solve her problems. She vaguely remembered talking about it to Hikaru as he drove her back to her house.

He'd been silent for a few minutes before responding, hands gripped firmly on the wheel and eyes set on the road. "I won't be around for a few days," he said shortly. Ran's shoulders fell, and he caught the movement from the corner of his eye. Softening, Hikaru added, "I have responsibilities to fulfill because of my other work, but that doesn't mean I want to leave you alone. I promise I'll come back."

"You better," she said, hoping the stubborn facade would hide her relief.

(It didn't, and Hikaru texted her every other hour to make sure she was okay.

It would've been annoying if it weren't for the countless ways he'd found to say it, or if anyone else had done it. Hikaru was just different. She liked the support he gave her.)

(Something Shinichi was failing to do lately, hissed a voice in the back of her head. )

With a deep breath, Ran adjusted her hair one last time to hide the bandage on the back of her neck, the one behind her ear, and the one on her back. She opened the door, fixing a smile onto her face. She made eye contact with no one as she made a beeline for the class rep, Kaneda Takashi.

The tall boy couldn't help but smile when he saw Ran. "Mouri-chan! Welcome back." A murmur of greetings arose from the class as they noticed her, and Ran tuned them out. The bruising on her back was worse than she originally thought, so the pain nulled a lot of the noise.

"I'm sorry for worrying everyone." She bowed in apology, but Kaneda rose to stop her.

"No need for that. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Oi, Mouri, Where've you been? Suzuki was getting really worried," called out someone in the back.

"Shut it, you were too," Sonoko shot back as the first to stand up and come to Ran's side, taking Ran's arm. "I'm glad you're okay," she said, giving Ran's arm a squeeze. She walked with Ran back to their desks, clearing a path for the both of them.

Within minutes, a wave of classmates swarmed Ran's desk, asking her questions about the latest rumors.

"Did Kudou really take you away?"

"Is it true a mob boss kidnapped you?"

"Where did your dad disappear to?"

"Somebody told me you went to Hawaii. I want to come next time you go."

Ran, for the most part, dismissed the rumors with a few words to the contrary, but some of the more pushy classmates were too much trouble to deal with. Thankfully, Sonoko stood next to Ran the entire time, shooing away the rumor mill's devout followers when they got too inquisitive, glaring at anyone who dared to touch Ran without permission. By the time the first bell rang, Ran's reappearance had lost some of its glamour and appeal. Students returned to chatting amongst each other, avoiding Ran for fear of the wrath of Ran Defender, Sonoko.

One of Shinichi's soccer friends, Eisuke Aizawa, stood up and walked deliberately around the back of the classroom, skirting around his classmates until he reached Ran's desk. He sat in Sonoko's chair, pulling the chair closer. "Ran-chan." Though they were never the closest of friends, they'd known each other since elementary school. "You know the rumors, about Kudou."

She bit back a snide remark, Of course not, I've been living under a rock, and instead said, "Which ones?"

"The—" Aizawa pressed a fist to his mouth, exhaling heavily through his nose. He lowered his voice, leaned forward. "He's not dead, is he?"

"No, he isn't," Ran said, giving a tiny shake of her head. Aizawa visibly deflated, letting out a breath.

He pressed forward. "Did you see him while you were out? Were you with him?"

"Yes and no," Ran answered, keeping her voice low. The class knew Shinichi was always getting into trouble, some of his biggest fans sitting only desks away from him. After his disappearance, it was all anyone could talk about. Despite it being nearly a year since he'd shown up in class, Shinichi still asked her to keep things quiet.

"I saw him, but I don't know where he is now. Do you want me to pass on a message?" Shinichi changed his cell number a week after he vanished. No one had his number except Ran and Sonoko, so they became his messengers. When he gave her a new cell, his contact was already there.

Shinichi's paranoia scared her sometimes.

Shaking his head, Aizawa actually smiled. "No, but his birthday is coming up soon. About a month?" Ran nodded. "The soccer team, we've talked about doing a big soccer game for his birthday. I wanted to know if he'd be back by then…" Aizawa trailed off, watching the frown fall across Ran's face.

Ran collected herself enough to speak evenly. "I appreciate the concern, Aizawa-kun. Shinichi hasn't shown up for any reason except murder cases. Unless you want someone to die at this soccer game, I don't think he'll show up."

For a moment, he looked between Ran and Sonoko, swallowing and shifting in his seat as he fumbled for the right words. "Sorry to remind you of it, Ran-chan. I'll— I'll go now." He stood up and started back towards his desk.

Crouching, Sonoko murmured to Ran, "Let's talk after school? You up for that?"'

Ran folded her arms, uncrossing her legs. She laid her head down on her desk and shook her head. "I don't know, Sonoko. I'm just—" A long, deep sigh. "Just tired is all."

"I call you this evening," Sonoko conceded. Ran only hummed in agreement, her mind already miles away.

＼(^▽^＠)ノ

It was time to start asking questions, so Sonoko started at the Poirot Cafe. She knew Amuro was a friend (?) of Ran's, and he had an eye for details just as Shinichi or Sera did.

She caught him during a break and pulled him aside.

She got right down to it. "Ran's been off lately. Have you seen her with anyone strange?"

Amuro nodded immediately. "He has eyes like Ran-san's, but they're bluer. The bright color caught my attention, especially because he wears sunglasses most of the time."

"Even inside?"

"Even inside," Amuro confirmed. "He's a little taller than Ran-san, with short black hair and a wide face, and he's a magician. I'm concerned that he's not the best of people. I'm not comfortable with how much time Ran-san has been spending with him. I have yet to report him to the police, but I believe he is armed."

She forgot to breathe. "Like, with a gun?" she whispered. "How sure are you?"

Amuro's eyes were like steel. "Positive."

She drew a shuddering breath, pressing her hand to her forehead. Ran was hanging out with a man with a gun, a man who concerned Amuro. Amuro didn't seem fazed by much. He barely batted an eye at a dead body, chatted casually to police officers and stared down FBI agents (what of that was true, no one was really quite sure, but it was all believable). This man with Ran worried Amuro.

"Suzuki-chan? Are you alright?" A hand on her shoulder, and she lifted her head. The steel in his eyes had softened to a sort of guarded kindness Sonoko hadn't seen before.

She nodded slowly. "You didn't happen to catch his name, did you?" She cursed the tremor in her voice.

"Ran-san called him Hikaru. His last name reads as Kuroba."

"Kuroba…" Sonoko murmured the word to feel the taste of it in her mouth. "I've heard that name somewhere." She shook the tension from her shoulders and the fear from her limbs. "That's extremely helpful. Thank you, Amuro-san." Drawing a few bills from her pocket, Sonoko took Amuro's hand and handed them to him. "For your information."

Amuro barely glanced at the bills. "My thanks. Good luck with your investigation."

It wasn't until Sonoko got outside that she realized she'd been shivering. There was something catlike about Amuro, his intelligence and a piercing gaze, that sucked the warmth from her body. He was a nice enough detective, but Sonoko almost preferred the roaring blunders of Mouri Kogoro to the cold calculations of Amuro Tooru.

＼(^▽^＠)ノ(;¬_¬)

As bright orange beams of evening sunlight streamed through the windows, Sonoko made a beeline for Sato Miwako's desk. After weaseling some information out of Ran, Sonoko had been in contact with the older woman in hopes that Detective Sato could get a profile on the man who'd been around Ran. Everything that Sonoko knew, she passed on to Sato, and she begged to be a part of the pseudo-investigation.

"I can't involve a civilian, much less a minor, in a case with an armed suspect," Sato told her. Sonoko's spirits fell before Sato continued, "This is simply a good friend's concern. Bringing it to a trusted adult does not make it an official case."

"Th– thank you, Sato-keiji. This means the world to me."

"Don't worry about it. I think I have your guy, so come down to the station. I'll give you a copy of the wanted poster, but only on certain conditions."

"Conditions?" She couldn't keep the whine from sneaking into her voice.

"Vigilantism is illegal, Sonoko-chan," Sato said sternly. "So yes, I'm laying down some ground rules. Come to me when you get to the station."

So Sonoko brushed past homicide detectives and undercover cops, dodged traffic officers and arson experts (not that she recognized any of them) as she rushed to Sato's desk, calling out to her when she was in sight. "Sato-keiji!"

Sato stood from her desk, a sturdy piece of paper in her hand. "Sonoko-chan. Come here." Sonoko came to her side, and Sato showed her the paper. "Only four families within the area have the Kuroba name, but none of them have a Hikaru. There was, however," she pointed to the picture on the page, "a Samejima Yasuhiro, who matches the description of your man to a T."

Sonoko nervously licked her lips, nodding. "Wow. Okay. He's…"

"Been charged with domestic violence and was released without probation two years ago. What is your plan?" Sato kept her tone clear of judgments and suggestions, shifting to lean on the edge of her desk. "Did you have one?"

Sonoko's mind scrambled to piece together a plan, snatching up fragments and half-baked thoughts to form a coherent sentence. "Well, I…" Think, think, think. "I need to know what sort of person he is. I need to find where he works and I'll ask his co-workers about him. And ask his neighbors, too. Maybe his friends?"

Sato set down the paper, nodding slowly. "Who will be with you?"

Sonoko suppressed a smile. Sato hadn't said no yet. Taking another look at Samejima's address, she said, "My boyfriend lives near there. My driver will take me and I'll meet up with Makoto-san."

A quick glance at her watch, and another glance towards the window. "I hate to say it, but I have too much to do here to accompany you. You will update me at ten o'clock sharp what information you have gathered and your location," Sato ordered. "Either I or another officer will pick you up from there. Understood?"

Hesitantly, Sonoko nodded. "Yes, ma'am." Only three hours meant she'd need to work fast. "Thank you again, Sato-keiji."

Handing her the wanted poster, Sato gave Sonoko a polite smile. "Stay safe."

"I will," promised Sonoko as she ran back out of the offices. Sato watched her disappear into the masses that filled the hallways and collapsed into her chair, letting out a weary sigh.

At the desk next to hers, Toshima laughed. "Young people giving you trouble, Sato-san?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "It's nothing. I owed the girl a favor for helping out with a case, so that was just me repaying her." Gathering together papers scattered across her desk, she said, "And don't say 'young people' like you aren't one of them. You're barely out of the academy," she teased gently.

"She can't be more than a high schooler. High schoolers don't know anything," he said, matter-of-fact. "What did she want, anyway? She seemed a little… excited?"

She stashed the information on Samejima in one of the lower desk drawers. "She's worried about a friend, so she asked me to look into a suspicious character. Nothing that requires police action," she assured him. She picked up a case file and sifted through the papers. "Are you available tonight? Takagi-kun is out on an assignment with Chiba-kun and Shiratori-san, and Megure-keibu is as swamped with paperwork as I am."

"What for? If it's a stakeout on that girl—"

"No," she broke in evenly. "I trust Sonoko-chan. Around ten, can you go pick her up? She's going to send me her location then."

A guilty smile. "I'm meeting up with an old friend tonight. I wish I could be of assistance, but we've had this meeting planned for weeks."

Sato shook her head. "Don't worry yourself. Go and have fun. I'll figure something out." She tapped her chin thoughtfully, muttering, "Yumi is probably free."

"Is there anything I can help you with here? I've got a half an hour before I need to be anywhere," Toshima offered.

"I'm going down to get a witness statement in a few minutes. Once I clean up this case file, do you want to come? I could use an extra hand. The man allegedly saw his son commit suicide, and word on the street is that you're good at dealing with these kinds of witnesses."

Toshima's cheeks grew red. "I wouldn't say I'm that good, but if you think I can help, I'll be happy to do so."

"It's in room 4-C," she said, leafing through the case file, searching for any out-of-order papers. "It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes."

＼(^▽^＠)ノ

For Sonoko, the night was proving to be uneventful and her efforts fruitless. No one knew of a Samejima living in the area, and the mention of Kuroba Hikaru only raised eyebrows and shortened tempers. Makoto was out of town preparing for another tournament, so she walked alone between apartments squeezed together like sardines, alleys that peered at her with luminescent yellow eyes, and streets devoid of the metropolitan light and life she was so used to seeing.

Flickering street lamps cast a dim orange light across the cracking pavement and worn-out streets, and somewhere in the distance, a scream echoed through the air. The sun set an hour ago, and with it the people. Sonoko hadn't seen another soul for nearly half an hour.

The darkness amplified every sound— the shuffling of rats in unseen dumpsters, a far-off pair of revving engines challenging each other to a street race. On the other side of the street, a man staggered back and forth on the sidewalk, a dark green bottle in his hands.

Sonoko tightened her grip on her wallet. Not for fear of losing it, but because of what was hidden inside— a credit-card-shaped knife. She might not be as strong a Ran or as smart as Shinichi, but she learned that having something to defend herself with served as an anchor, keeping her grounded even on the verge of panic.

The man stumbled and fell on his face, and he broke out laughing as his bottle shattered on the ground. Sonoko watched dumbly as he pushed himself up, bits of broken bottle digging into his hands. Concern overcoming her fear, she finally broke into a run, shoving her wallet into her pocket. As glass crunched under her sneakers, she gripped his arms and helped him to his feet.

He looked up at her, smiling stupidly. "Hello, little lady. Are you worried about me? Don't be. This happens all the time," he drawled.

She took his hands and winced. Shards of glass pierced his palms, blood oozing from the cuts to her fingers, staining her nails red. "Oji-san, I'm going to get this glass out of your hands, and then I'm calling the hospital. Do you know what I'm saying?"

His head flopped lazily in a drunken nod. "I hear you, little lady."

She pulled the smallest pieces from his hands by the streetlamp's light, a piece of Shinichi's first aid lecture coming to mind.

"If someone gets stabbed, you leave the knife in them. It's what holds back a lot of the blood. If you take the weapon out, the person you're helping could bleed to death."

"That's reassuring," she shot at him."What are you supposed to do, then?"

He crossed his arms, rolled his eyes. "Work around the weapon," he said like it was obvious.

The man hardly made a noise as Sonoko pulled shards and chunks of glass from his hand, too drunk to register the pain. She thanked whatever god was listening that she'd gotten her nails done yesterday, the long fake nails acting as tweezers. The bottle had shattered into larger pieces than she'd originally thought, too, so Sonoko barely spent five minutes removing the glass from each of his hands.

When she'd finished, Sonoko took her handkerchief from her pocket and took the man's from his coat pocket. She tied one around each of his hands to stop the blood flowing from his hands. "That should be enough until the ambulance gets here."

"Have ya' called 'em yet, li'l lady?" he slurred.

Sonoko shook her head. "Not yet, oji-san, but I'm about to. Sit tight, okay?" She took his arms again, pulling him to the wall of the closest building.

"You're so nice," he murmured, staring at her intently, face clear of mental fog. He lifted a hand and took her arm, staining it with the bloody handkerchief. Chills unbidden ran down her spine, and her heart rate spiked. "It's no problem, oji-san," she said, walking a little more forcefully to the wall. "Will you let me go, so I can call?"

The man smiled, all teeth. Sonoko smelled no alcohol on his breath.

She tugged her arm away. "Oji-san, let go," she repeated, a tremor creeping into her voice.

"Where's your boyfriend?" She froze. "Your driver? I thought you promised you'd be safe, yet here you are, helping a complete stranger."

"Who— who are you?" She tried to yank her arm from his grasp, but his grip was like iron. Her other hand was free only for a moment before he grabbed that one too, holding both of her twig-thin arms in one hand.

His teeth were fangs, his eyes slits, blood on his hands and a knife— her knife— dancing between his fingers. In one movement, he spun around her and pressed it to her neck, pulling her out of the streetlamp's dim glow.

"Little bird, I'm your worst nightmare," the man hissed in her ear. "One false move, I slit your throat."

Her arms froze at her sides, her knees knocking together. Part of her wanted to collapse but another wanted to fight back while the commanding voice above them all ordered her to stay alive.

"You've been looking for a man. His name isn't Samejima. You know that. You've been bringing up his other name. We can't have that, little bird."

She swallowed in fear and was awarded with a prick of pain at her throat. What did I do what did I do I was just worried about Ran where is Makoto-san someone help me please—

"If you continue to investigate Kuroha, your family will pay dearly. You think bodyguards and security systems are enough? You'll find yourself sorely mistaken when your rich daddy gets blamed for killing his wife, when your friend disappears and dies like her boyfriend, when your karate boyfriend gets in an unfortunate accident on the way to his next tournament."

Tears welled up in her eyes. —how, how does he know everything has he been watching me why is he watching me am I safe anywhere— "What— what do you want from me?" she choked out.

"You keep away from Kuroha Hikaru. He's ours," snarled the man, digging the knife harder into her skin, not yet enough to draw blood. Sonoko whimpered. "You keep your head down and your mouth shut. If that police woman gets suspicious, you drive her away. Nothing happened tonight, and Kuroha Hikaru is nothing more than a police officer. Understand?"

The knife broke skin, and thick, warm blood dripped down her neck. She nodded, the cut on her neck stinging as salty tears poured into it.

"If I need to find you again, little bird," he growled, "it will be at Mouri Ran's funeral."

The pressure vanished from her neck, and the body behind her slipped away. The man stole silently into the night, leaving nothing except glass shards and blood behind.

Sonoko fell to her knees, collapsing all at once. Her mouth gaped open, but no sound came out. Chest heaving as she gasped for air, silent sobs tore from her throat and hands clutched mindlessly at her face, her neck. A ghost of the cold metal hovered there, drawing blood and draining the life from her. She couldn't get enough air, every breath painful.

Wide-eyed, she looked around frenetically, unable to look over either shoulder fast enough. Through the tears, every shadow hid an army of men in black, glittering eyes and blood dripping from their hands.

Fear tugged at her spine so powerfully it hurt. It froze her blood and stole each breath from her lips. The wall only inches away, she gathered herself enough to crawl across the warm pavement and slump against the building.

As dark spots danced across her vision, Sonoko knew she was hyperventilating, and she knew she was going to pass out. She pulled her legs close to her chest, hugging herself tightly. She tried to slow down her breathing, but the heartbeat thrashing in her eardrums only got louder in protest. I can't pass out here, she thought desperately. He'll come back and kill me for sure.

One hand over her neck and the other on her face, Sonoko slowly schooled her lungs into submission. You can't die here. You won't die here, she repeated to herself, her terror morphing into a drive, a desperation to stay alive.

I can't go to Ran. I can't go to Sato-keiji. I can't go to Makoto-san. Mom and Dad would die for sure. Hopelessness rose in her chest as each venue of assistance closed off in her mind.

"What am I supposed to do? What do I do? Someone, help me," she choked out in anguish. "Everyone's going to die, help me, help me, help me," she begged to the night sky.

The man's promise echoed in her mind. When your friend disappears and dies like her boyfriend. When Ran disappears and gets killed like Shinichi. When Ran gets killed because of you. When you put the gun to Ran's skull and pull the trigger. When her blood is on your hands. When her body goes cold and her brains splatter-

"NO!" Sonoko shouted, clutching at her head. "I won't be the reason she dies. It won't be my fault. It won't be," she cried, trying to fool herself.

Dies like her boyfriend—

Wait.

Suddenly, the tears stopped. As the panic, the fear, the sheer terror took a backseat, Sonoko started thinking clearly. Shinichi wasn't dead. He talked to Ran every week. There was no body, no death certificate, no obituary. Sonoko had looked, the day after he showed up for the play and stood right next to Conan. Shinichi was very much alive and very much not an imposter, as a secret fingerprint test had proved. She knew Shinichi was only missing, not dead, no matter what the rumors said. A month of investigation for the sake of Ran's sanity made it fact.

The man didn't know about Shinichi, the one person she could turn to, the only person the man couldn't use as a hostage against her.

A hand came to her eyes, this time an immense wave of relief washing over her. "You freaking mystery freak," she whispered like a prayer.

Drawing a shuddering breath, she wiped the tears from her eyes with one hand and took out her phone with the other. She opened the conversation with 'Holmes homie,' a nickname she'd Inflicted on him ages ago.

"Can I go to your house? I need to talk with you," she typed tentatively, pressing send. "Please, help me, Shinichi-kun," she begged in a whisper, leaning the phone on her forehead. "She can't die."

(;¬_¬)

The next morning, Toshima brought a laptop into work, his hands wrapped thickly in bandages.

Sato frowned at him. "What did you do to your hands, Toshima-kun?"

He held up heavily bandaged hands to look at them himself. "This? Oh, it's nothing. I fell on some glass while I was walking home. A kind girl nearby helped me get cleaned up, though. I'll be fine."

"Oh?" Sato raised an eyebrow. "Did you catch her name? You should thank her."

With a shrug and a sad smile, Toshima shook his head. "I wish I had. The girl was such a sweet little lady."