ヾ(*・-・)ﾂθ ● (▼-▼*)╦╤─

Shinichi froze. "What sort of news?"

The corners of Shuichi's mouth turned up. "Of the darker variety. You heard about the Devil Serial Murder Case?"

"Of course. I'm in the same house as the officer in charge and his hot-tempered son. Hattori was furious, so I heard all about it."

Shuichi tipped his head, though Shinichi couldn't see the action. "My apologies. You were not conscious when it took place. That does save a step. May I assume we have drawn the same conclusions?"

Shinichi rolled over to his bed and climbed out of his wheelchair. If his knees buckled as he stood up, no one else would ever know. "Unless new information has come up, my current belief is that the Organization will take measures to punish whichever of their agents were sloppy enough to be seen on a case this big. Tou-san said it made the news over in America." He sat on the bed. "Has that sort of a thing already happened?"

"Yes." Shuichi glanced over his shoulder. It sounded like Sonoko was beginning to make lunch. "Two days after Hayashi Chika was murdered, a call went out among a select few codenamed members, according to Mizunashi. It was a massive summit in a hotel in central Tokyo. She couldn't communicate to us quickly enough, as she traveled with Vermouth and another young man she didn't recognize. His codename is Cachaça. He's younger than Bourbon, specializes in technology, and is Vermouth's direct subordinate, but she learned little else about him.

"At the summit, the second-in-command, Rum, made it clear that the one responsible for the Hayashi incident would face severe consequences. That man, Cachaça, claimed responsibility and said one of his subordinates had acted out of turn, but that the subordinate was soon to be punished. Rum ordered the man killed and gave Cachaça a week. The summit was over as quickly as it had been called."

Sonoko looked into the living room. "Subaru-san, I'm going to eat."

Switching back on the voice changer, he nodded his head at her. "I'll join you momentarily. Go ahead and eat."

"Got it." She ducked back into the kitchen, and Shuichi went into the library next door.

He left the voice changer on, knowing he might forget to turn it back on if he turned it off yet again. "They covered their tracks far too well. It seems this Hayashi incident has put the Organization on high alert."

"One of Them ran around and killed Hayashi without permission." Shinichi murmured thoughtfully. "You don't think—" he started.

"The one who attacked Sonoko-san is the same who killed Hayashi Chika? No, I don't think so. One seemed content with simply threatening while the other had no qualms burning two people alive and stabbing a third." He scanned the bookshelves. "I believe Sonoko-san's attacker was one of Their agents, though."

"Why?"

"Phantom thief 1412," Akai answered. "It seems that the thief is Cachaça's main target for some elaborate plan. Kir managed to learn that Cachaça has a list of potential civilian identities of KID. Some infiltration and digging on our part revealed that one of the top candidates is Kuroha Hikaru, the very officer Sonoko-san was threatened to stay away from."

Shinichi gripped his phone tighter. "Of course, that thief would be involved," he grumbled, but his mind raced. When's the next heist? How soon can I warn him? Out loud, he asked, "What about the FBI? Do you think Kuroha is KID?"

Shuichi gave a low chuckle. "I cannot answer, Kudou-kun. We have our own interests in keeping KID's identity a secret. Your young cousin is called the KID Killer, after all. We can't have you leaking secrets to him."

Drawing his shoulders up, Shinichi let out a sigh. "I'm not— he's not going to get KID killed. It's just a nickname."

"I'm sure." Shuichi allowed a wide Subaru smile, one that would scarcely be seen on Akai.

"Is there anything else?"

"Unless you'd like details on what Mouri-tantei's been up to," Shuichi suggested with a playful tone.

"Bye, Subaru-san." Kudou hung up without a second thought, leaving Shuichi to laugh loudly. If only Kudou knew exactly what was waiting for him upon Edogawa Conan's return.

٩( ᐛ )و

High heels clicked as they crossed the office to dump a pile of papers on Kogoro's desk. He lazily opened an eye. "Eri."

"Anata." She took a pen off his desk and handed it to him. "Here are the papers you wanted."

He stared at her blankly. "What?"

Eri twirled the pen in one hand, turning on her heel and tilting her head to the ceiling. "And you seemed so serious at the diner." She fixed him with a stare. "Do you or do you not want to adopt that boy?"

His eyes widened in realization. "Those papers." He took the pen and pulled the paperclipped stack closer to him. Leafing through the pages, he asked, "That's what these are?" He squinted, brought the papers closer to his face. "I don't understand half the words here."

She shook her head and sighed. "That's why I'm here personally instead of mailing them over." She set her briefcase down on the desk, and she with a sudden moment of realization saw that she could actually fit her briefcase on the desk.

"You're not drinking. Or smoking." She looked at him. "Who are you and what have you done with Kogoro?"

Kogoro rubbed his arm, scowling. "Hey. Second-hand smoke is a real thing. And beer's not cheap anymore."

Suspicious, she pulled back his sleeve. "Oh, and nicotine patches are?"

He tore his arm away. "Hey. I'm trying."

"I can tell." She peered at a book on the other end of his desk, a business card stuck inside, marking a page. "Is that a parenting book?"

Kogoro sank into his chair. "No. Can we just look at the papers? Ran's going to be home soon."

Eri ignored him. "That is. What's this called?" She flipped over the book and read the title. "Positive Reinforcement: The Secret to a Strong Child. Oh, this is such a great read." She flipped the book over, glancing at the back. "What's the next one on your list? Bringing a Child to a Crime Scene Isn't Traumatizing At All?"

"Gimme that." Kogoro snatched the book back, stashing it under his desk. "You know what you should read? How to Balance Work and Your Own Freaking Child," he shot back.

Eri crossed her arms. "Only if you try How to Not Take In Every Stray Who Shows Up At the Doorstep. Honestly, you have so many children in the house, and you don't even know how to take care of them."

Kogoro glared at her. "Oh, so is Conan a stray? Ran?"

She pulled a face. "You know I didn't say that."

Kogoro brandished the adoption papers. "Is Shinichi just a stray to you, too? Are all these kids just strays to you?"

Eri turned away, her nose to the sky. "You know, Yukiko and Yusaku never gave that child the time of day, and you said yourself that Conan is probably abused."

Tension hung thick in the air. Eri almost couldn't breathe.

Kogoro's breathing was carefully controlled. "Get out."

Eri's shoulders went stiff. "You—"

"I can figure this out on my own," he said, low and unnervingly calm. "You do not talk about those kids like that. Not here. Get out."

Eri didn't look at him as she snatched up her briefcase. "I'm just looking out for you. If anyone finds out the boy isn't actually being fostered, Child Protective Services will be down here in a flash."

"Eri, I said get out," he growled.

"I'm just saying, dear. Other lawyers would make sure you get put away for child endangerment, or kidnapping, or—"

Kogoro's shot to his feet, slamming a fist on his desk. Eri jumped. "Shut it, woman. You have no right to talk!" he roared. "You didn't even try. The second Ran needed you, as soon as you realized that the Tigress Kisaki Eri couldn't exist with a little girl in the picture, you jumped ship. You chose your career and your damned reputation over your own flesh and blood."

Eri turned on her heel, hands on her hips. "I never wanted her! You were the one who insisted, the one who said, 'That's a person we'd be killing.' You were the one who promised I could carry on the way I always had. I never wanted a child." She pointed an accusing finger at him. "You, you were the one—"

"I'm not a miracle worker! Did you honestly expect a little girl not to change our lives?" Kogoro gestured to Ran's bedroom upstairs. "She's Ran. She's beautiful and so powerful and you never saw that. You don't see children, you only see things that might get in your way." Kogoro reached for her like he was going to shake her, but he clenched his fists and curled into himself. "If you cared about our daughter, if you cared about me," he tried to keep his voice from cracking, "you would have tried."

Eri let out a bark of laughter. "Ran didn't need me! She was perfectly fine without me. And this? This is not about me trying. This is about you and this boy—"

Kogoro marched over to the desk and picked up the papers. He shoved them at Eri. "You're right. We don't need you. You left us behind. We learned to live without you." Eri took the papers. "Kisaki Eri, get out of my house. Leave my kids alone."

"You can't adopt that boy," she tried, withering under his glare.

"Kaa-san? Is that you?" Ran called up the staircase.

"Get out." Kogoro took a step closer to her. Eri stumbled backwards. "Don't come back."

Papers clutched to her chest, briefcase in hand, Eri turned around and bolted.

"Kaa-san?" Ran was home. Kogoro swore under his breath. "Kaa-san, are you okay?"

Kogoro walked back to his desk slowly. He lowered himself into his chair and let his head hang backwards. He stared at the ceiling.

Ran knocked on the door frame tentatively. "Uh, Tou-san?"

Kogoro sighed. "Hey, Ran."

"Did you and Kaa-san have a fight?"

He wearily sat up. Ran stood next to his desk, frowning, wringing her hands. "Yeah. We had a fight."

Ran's face fell from worry to disappointment. "Oh." Ran slipped her purse off her shoulders and gripped it. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Kaa-san… she had some papers with her. You're not… divorcing, are you?"

Kogoro shrugged, absentmindedly glancing out the window. "Nah. We've just got different ideas on what being a parent means."

Ran nodded slowly. "Okay." Sh turned toward the door. "I'm going to go get—"

Kogoro stood up. "Hey, Ran." She tilted her head. "Are you busy tomorrow?"

Ran looked at the calendar. "Sunday? I don't think so."

"There are some papers we have to fill out," he began.

"Papers?" She frowned. "You didn't forget to do your taxes again, did you?"

Kogoro sighed. "No, this is more important than that." He ran a hand through his hair, walking around his desk to sit on the couch. "Ran, I've been… thinking. And I wanted you to come with me to get some adoption papers tomorrow. Just to start a process. We're not guaranteed anything, and maybe Conan won't like it, but—"

Ran's purse hit the floor. Her jaw dropped. "You're not saying—?"

He grinned. "Yeah. If it all goes right." Ran's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes shining with tears. "I want to adopt Conan."

"Tou-san!" Ran threw her arms around him like Christmas had come early. "I can't believe it! You really mean it?"

"Yeah." He patted Ran on the back, a warmth growing in his chest. With his daughter at his side, there was nothing he couldn't do. "Yeah, I do."

(つ･･)つ¤=[]::::::

Heiji couldn't sleep. It wasn't nightmares, not this time. He'd slept soundly since Otaki came back home, and he could finally rest easy knowing that the little scientist was nearly finished with the drug to counter the drugs in Kudou's system. Does that make it an anti-drug? He wondered absentmindedly.

Despite how well things seemed to be going, he still tossed and turned on top of his sheets (he was too hot to be comfortable underneath them), sleep eluding him like that phantom thief Kudou liked chasing. Even Kudou admitted to falling for a few of his traps once or twice at his first heist, and it piqued Heiji's interest. Kudou could keep a level head like no one else their age (both Heiji and Kudou agreed KID couldn't be more than a few years older than them), and he didn't have the same irritating detachment that Hakuba did. To be a detective, you had to be able to disconnect yourself from the emotional aspects of the crime in order to take into account every piece of evidence. That didn't mean acting like an arrogant b*****d, getting mad for trying to save someone.

If KID could keep Kudou on his toes, going to a heist definitely seemed worth the trip. He operated mostly in Tokyo and Ekoda, but news of a heist in America reached Japan about a week ago. KID had held a heist roughly every month in the past year, not including the imposters and challenges from Suzuki Jirokichi. Each of the scheduled heists from the real KID centered around full moons which seemed like a flawed plan. Wouldn't new moons be the best, when the night was the darkest? It was almost like KID wanted to be seen, canceling a heist if it was cloudy or foggy, moving only when skies were clear as crystal.

By KID's pattern, he should be holding a heist in roughly the next two weeks. Kudou was definitely going to be small again by then (Heiji was absolutely not counting the days he had left with a sort-of-big-kind-of-crippled Kudou), so Heiji had to go down around that time and take Kudou out for a KID heist.

Part of him wasn't sure that Kudou would last that long. He wasn't eating well, and he looked paler by the day. Heiji knew Kudou wasn't sleeping well, either. In fact, Kudou was the reason Heiji wasn't sleeping, incessantly hacking and coughing like he had asthma and they lived next to an active volcano.

Theoretically, Heiji could plug in both earbuds and tune it all out. Kazuha gave him some meditation tracks that could knock him out like a light even when he was too worked up to think clearly. If he really wanted to, he could have gone to sleep when it was nearly midnight, not as the sun peeked over the horizon. Put simply, however, Heiji couldn't leave his best friend alone. His mother didn't believe in cough drops, but that didn't stop Heiji from moving onto the couch so he could check on Kudou at the drop of a hat. He brought him water a few times and even attempted his mother's honeyed lemon tea (it didn't end well). Just to be safe, Heiji texted the little scientist, too. She had said she was nearly done with that anti-drug, so maybe she could bring the last bit of work over here so she could make sure Kudou wasn't dying, coughing his lungs out?

He was scared. Kudou sounded like he was dying. Heiji couldn't do anything. He hated this feeling, this helplessness. It was a little better than when he used an antidote, though, because at least Heiji knew what having a really bad cough was like. At least he knew what helped and what didn't, how awful it could feel and what meant something was wrong and possibly fatal.

So maybe it was a small chance, but Kudou said there was a chance he could die each time his height drastically changed. Heiji didn't know a thing except for when Kudou starts sweating, get him out of the open and find something for him to scream into. He wanted the little scientist here, someone who knew what they were doing (he chose to ignore her comment about 'best guess' the other day) to provide some peace of mind. No one should be coughing as much as Kudou was, and Heiji couldn't relax until he knew his best friend was okay.

The only reason Heiji wasn't in the room with Kudou was Kudou's stubborn pride. Kudou had to sacrifice a substantial amount of dignity to keep up the charade of a six— (was Kudou seventeen yet? No, but he would be in a little less than two months) —year-old. The least Heiji could do was give him the space he asked for (it didn't keep Heiji from wanting to keep Kudou here forever. Kudou wouldn't have to wear a mask at all, and the Chief of Police had better access to police resources than any private investigator.) (But Kudou loved Ran, so there was nothing Heiji could do).

Fierce hacking ripped through the silence. Heiji winced and fumbled around for his crutch. Rising to his feet, he went for the kitchen again for another cup of water. If he couldn't remove the burden from Kudou's shoulders, he'd do his best in supporting him, whether Kudou wanted his help or not.

Heiji was almost to the kitchen when his phone buzzed in his pocket (so sue him if he needed a few games of Candy Crush to keep the yawns at bay). It was a text from the little scientist. It's done.

Heiji pumped his fist in the air, and his whoop of joy could be heard for kilometers around.

(^-^*)/

Shizuka knew when she married Heizo that she would wake up alone in their bed more often than not. Heizo had made his ambitions clear before he proposed: to get the highest position possible so that he could root out any and all corruption in the system without repercussions from higher-ups. The police had an incredible system, but even (especially) twenty years ago, it had its flaws.

That didn't mean he wouldn't wake her in the wee hours of the morning to gently kiss her goodbye. He never left the house without a kiss, even if they were fighting. They both knew the horror stories of when a couple fought: The husband would storm off, leaving the wife furious with him until later that day when she would find he had died in some accident. Her final memory of him would be his back before the door slammed behind him, and she would hate herself for the rest of her life.

Heizo and Shizuka also knew just how dangerous his job was. Carrying a badge meant accepting the possibility of death on any mission, at any date, at any hour. It meant long hours at the office and loaded guns locked away in cabinets and working through meals and missing Heiji's kendo tournaments. It meant that any moment the two of them had together could be their last. Though the sentiment was rarely at the forefront of their minds, Heizo and Shizuka never let the other leave without a tender kiss goodbye.

Pulling off the covers, Shizuka slid out of bed and slipped on a bathrobe over her nightclothes. As she remade the bed, she realized Heiji must not be up. It was already seven, so he should be making breakfast before dashing off to school, but the downstairs was silent, no concerning clangs or jarring grindings of metal (one would be surprised with how badly Heiji could mess up the kitchen) mixed with a slew of colorful language sounding up the stairs.

She positioned her pillow and went down the hallway. "Heiji? You're going to be late to school." With a tentative knock, she pushed his bedroom door open. "It's time to get up."

His bed was empty, crumpled and twisted sheets indicative of a restless night's sleep. With a sigh, she quickly straightened out his bedsheets. If he had another nightmare, he would be long gone by now to talk Kazuha with about it. Only on weekends and only when Heizo stayed for breakfast did Heiji remain at home to tell his parents about his nightmares. He went to Kazuha much more often.

She made her way downstairs, wiping the sleep from her eyes and stretching her arms. A morning without her husband and son was looking to be a slow, quiet one. She could wake Shinichi for some coffee in an hour or two, and for the first time in a while, she would be able to make a hot breakfast. Maybe she would read the newspaper, finally take a look at the high school trip permission slip Heiji had brought home. A smile graced her features. At last, after the whirlwind of the Kudou parents and the tension, the chaos that riddled her household as they tried to catch the murderer (and then when they saw how the case was settled), Shizuka could finally breathe.

So she thought until she saw her son sleeping on the couch.

All fantasies of relaxing were thrown out the window. Shizuka drew herself up and marched to the couch, roughly shaking his shoulder. "Heiji, wake up." He hadn't even changed from his clothes the day before. "Wake up, Heiji, you're going to be late to school." He groaned, rolling over to shield his eyes from the light. "Heiji." She pulled him up so he was sitting. "Get up."

Heiji jerked away from her grasp. "Go 'way," he mumbled. "Lemme sleep." He went to lay back down, but she caught him and hauled him to his feet.

"Heiji, school starts in ten minutes, and I cannot drive you there. You need to get up."

He blinked his eyes open a sliver. "I ain't goin'. Kudou needs me here."

"I understand ya care for Kudou-kun, but he can take care of himself. I will be here, too. Ya have ta go ta school."

He shook his head. "No. I'm stayin'. I ain't goin'. I need ta be here," he insisted, eyes half-lidded.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Haibara-san's comin' by." He managed to get his eyes open and looked around for something. He finally locked onto his crutch on the other side of the room. "I gotta be here."

Shizuka straightened, managing the impression that she looked down on him despite the height he had on her. "You have missed far too much school already. There are only so many times you can be sick."

"Kudou's been out sick for almost a year," Heiji countered drowsily. He hobbled over to his crutch and picked it up, leaning heavily on it. "I'm either gonna sleep through all my classes here or in the school building. An' I gotta be here for Kudou. He doesn't know what Haibara-san's anti-drug is gonna do or if it's really gonna work. I can't just leave 'im alone. He was coughin' all night and I don't know if he's supposed ta be doin' that, so I gotta let 'im know it'll be okay. He's gotta know that Haibara-san knows what she's doin' and that he's gonna be okay." He looked up at her. "Please? I gotta be here for 'im."

She couldn't say no to the desperation, the exhaustion. Now that she listened for it, it did sound like Shinichi was coughing weakly at the end of the hall. If Heiji had been up all night, taking care of him, she wouldn't force him to go to school. He needed sleep– besides, she could better take care of Shinichi without Heiji hovering, worrying himself to death over Shinichi.

Her shoulders fell, and she shook her head in defeat. "Heiji, go to your bed. I'll wake you when she arrives."

"Thanks, Mom," he said, deliriously grinning. As he stumbled up the stairs (one detective taken care of), Shizuka swept down the hall and into Shinichi's room.

(One to go.)

┐( ˘_˘)┌

In all reality, Ai had finished the neutralizer two days ago. It was nearly complete Thursday night, but she spent Friday being dragged around by the Detective Boys (they really missed Conan). That night, she got to putting the neutralizer in pill form before the professor made her go to bed (makeup could only do so much to hide the bags beneath her eyes). Saturday, she was satisfied with her work after she ran a series of final tests. Theoretically, Kudou could have taken the pill Sunday morning.

Ai waited until Sunday night before she asked the professor to book a flight to Osaka. She was a woman of her word, after all. Only once her new Prada shoes arrived in the mail did she pack her things to deliver the neutralizer.

The middle of the day was the best time to give him the medicine. Adults should be at work, children at school. Ai knocked on the front door of the Hattori house, medicine in her pocket and equipment packed away neatly in a little backpack.

To her delight, Shizuka answered the door. "Ai-chan! Come in, come in." She looked around. "Is Agasa-san coming in?"

Ai shook her head. "The most soundproof place is in the car." Shizuka held the door open for her. "Is he awake?"

Shizuka nodded, shutting the door behind Ai. "He's in his room." She led Ai to the room where Shinichi was coughing up a storm, breath rattling like skeleton bones.

Ai pushed open the door. "Kudou-kun."

Sitting up on the bed, he looked up hopefully. "Haibara," he rasped before breaking into another coughing fit. When it was over, he cracked a smile. "Don't worry. Someone was smoking at the prefectural offices, is all."

She'd gotten a lot of practice staring down those physically older than her. First the professor last night, then that condescending flight attendant, and now this self-destructing idiot. "Are you stupid?" She swung her backpack off her shoulders and produced a stethoscope from it. Marching up to him, she put the stethoscope against his chest. "Stop talking and breathe." Listening, she heard no fluid in his lungs. Pulling the stethoscope away, she checked his pulse and temperature. Slightly faster than normal with a mild fever.

"You have a mild cold, actually." Putting away her stethoscope, she shouldered her backpack. "I'd give you cold medicine, but the neutralizer is designed to flush your body of all drugs, both of my creation or over-the-counter."

He pushed himself off the edge of the bed. "It's finished?"

Ignoring him, Ai looked to Shizuka. "Can you help him? His wheelchair won't fit in hakase's car. Besides, he won't be needing it anymore."

"Conan goes home tonight," murmured Shinichi behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know the look on his face- conflicted. He was always conflicted. So desperate to hold on to the life Gin and Vodka tore from him, too attached to his beloved to let her know a thing. Fighting with all his might to keep her from worrying while gaslighting her with every last wit. The face of a six year old and the intellect that put more than a hair amount of adults to shame. He was a man of contradictions.

Ai had it lucky. She killed herself with the apotoxin, leaving her with only Sherry's enemies.

"And if he wants to make his flight home, he needs to pick up the pace," Ai said to him over her shoulder. "Come on. The kids have missed you."

Ran had, too, of course, but Ai knew better than to prod at a festering wound. It was a bridge he must either cross on his own or burn himself. She wanted nothing to do with the relationship already coming apart at the seams (even if its fragility was partially her fault).