Somewhere into working, time alters, and instead of numbers it's marked by the pages of homework finished. There's an eye jump up the current paper to keep track of how many answers have passed, and the increasing pile traveling from an in progress box to complete. Then it feels like time exists; coming and going with no mark of how much has actually passed.

A knock at the door reasserted numbers to time and we all watched children file in.

"We finished the last episode," Genta informed.

Mitsuhiko, holding the box set, gushed, "it was incredible! You can definitely tell where inspiration for future plot devices came into play."

Ayumi cradled her cheeks. "You're amazing, like a treasure hunter!"

"Thank you, Keiko!" They rushed in for a group hug around my desk chair.

"Y-you're welcome." Having my upper arms restrained, I patted them awkwardly with little hand wiggles.

"You all," Ran gathered their attention. "Shh, Conan's sleeping."

And sure enough, that kid cuddled up to my favorite purple throw pillow. It's oval shape made for a comfortable hold, as I'm sure he discovered.

"That's enough!" Sonoko softly exclaimed, falling back to mimic Conan's choice. "If we continue any further I'm afraid I'll fall into a coma."

"Speaking of." Ran upturned her watch. "I have to prepare dinner."

"Geez, it's late." I slumped over my desk after looking over the time. "Okay okay, that's it for now. I release you."

"Gone!" Sonoko zoomed out the door.

Ran scooped Conan into her arms. "Um..." She yanked the pillow trapped in his hold. "He's not letting go."

"I'll probably care later, but just take it." I hit the bed. "I want sleep." When I turned over, a lump reminded me. "Oh, ask the kid if he wants this." I handed off that yellow stress ball to Ran.

"Okay. We'll see ourselves out then," she giggled as I turned into the pillows.

"Bye!" The children bid.

"Bye-bye." I waved.

Lights still on when I awoke, time disappeared once again. Somewhere in there was sleep, but the time? It'd been a good three hours. And... another missed call from Shinichi. Yet...

"One minute ago?" As I checked, it rang again.

Nope.

End call.

Well— if he didn't, now he knows I'm awake. Any ring abruptly ending without voicemai—

It rang. Again. I thought about leaving it, but some bone in me wanted to pick at him.

"Must be comfy on that horse way up high," came my greeting in lieu of hello. "How's the view?"

"Cloudy."

"Good."

He sighed. "You're not happy, I don't want to apologize when you're not happy."

"I don't want to apologize either..." My lips pursed. "Truce?"

"I suppose..." his sentence hinged. "but..."

"Don't."

"You shouldn't have been there! He's manipulative, you may feel safe, but in the future we'll find he's planning something."

"And when he acts, I'll have proof."

"Stop talking like that."

"You only dislike it cause you're not here to stop me. What gives you the right to dictate my life?"

"Think rationally." He began strong, then ran downhill, "I'm not... trying to tell you what to do... I just..."

"Just?"

"I want you safe." He asserted. The admission took most of my fight with it. "If you had me there it would be different, but alone—"

"Then we'll check out his work tomorrow. Together."

"I can't... with the caseload they've given me..."

"So," fueled once again, I asked, "Without you here to run the show, I have to restrict myself to your rules? For what? Safety?"

"That's not—"

"I'm not helpless."

"True..."

I nodded righteously at the wall.

"But you are reckless."

"Fine... If it makes you feel better, I promise to never be alone with him."

"Alone. Why would you be around him at all?"

"Like I can't do investigative work?"

"...you're no detective..."

"No, but I can gather facts for you to draw conclusions from."

"And?" The accusatory question followed. "What have you gathered, Miss Investigator?"

"Investigator. I like that."

He waited.

"W- well..."

"Hmmm?"

"You can't expect progress in a day..."

"I knew it." He couldn't help but cut into chuckles.

"Geez," agitation poked, I had to kick the ball into his court. "And what do you have?"

The metaphorical ball bounced off his head. He coughed. "This most recent case has me tied."

My unimpressed, "uh-huh," spurred him on.

"Listen, I have leads."

"Then give me one and we can divide the labor. Since your caseload demands so much attention."

"...alright."

That was too easy.

"There's a hotel Toreck originally owned the land to. I'll message you the address, and you can look into it on your own time. Afterwards, tell me your finds."

"Okay," a beat passed, I squinted suspiciously toward my phone. "And why is this the safest place?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You've been dodgy with this whole investigation. My investigation. Getting details from you might as well be pulling teeth. So I'd like to know why this one came easy."

Static like a breath passed through the phone.

"Please?"

"It's... gone down owners three times since being built. Whatever it'd been originally is either minimal or completely gone."

"I see."

"You're not mad?"

"As long as you're honest with me, we'll be fine." A smile spread. "And it is a lead right?"

"A loose one?"

"Understood, and Shinichi remember, we're a team."

Night air overtook the atmosphere, and the day's activity caught up. I flicked off the lights and covered up in bed.

"So..." he started.

"So?"

"Congratulations."

"Oh..." A yawn demanded escape. "For what?"

He softly laughed. "The tournament, silly."

"Thank you." A frown spread as I reached, yet couldn't find, my cuddle pillow. Right. That kid... "Hey?"

"Yeah?"

"I miss you." Curling around a substitute pillow, I petulantly informed, "children are taking over. I feel like I missed a life changing event somehow..."

"Yeah..." he chuckled. "Somehow..."

Breathing?

There. A static riddled breath. Another...

Blinking to life, my head turned, and a cell slipped to the pillow. My cell... with a phone call lasting nine hours?!

"Shinichi?" I cleared my throat in an attempt to rid the grogginess. "Shinichi!" It didn't work.

Luckily I wasn't alone. "Haa?"

"Did you just wake up too?"

"..."

"You just woke up."

He groaned. "What do you want...?"

"Good morning!"

"...good morning," he yawned.

I giggled. Mines may need improvement, yet the dip of his morning tone... "Your voice is so handsome right now."

"Wh-" That woke him up. "My voice is handsome?"

"Say something cool!"

Shinichi mumbled away from the receiver, "Cool... what..?" He took a deep breath. Strategically choosing the one word; "Hey."

"Kyaa!"

Despite his patience falling flat, he laughed, "what do you want?!"

"We never disconnected, sleepyhead."

"Oh," he breathed. "I fell asleep."

Not much followed that. And the temptation to fall back into dreamland was hard to ignore.

"Damn!" He suddenly exclaimed. "I fell asleep!" Then he rushed, "Sorry, I gotta go, bye Keiko!"

"Bye." He disconnected. "Shinichi..." Turning over, there came the matter of how many hours I could sleep in before school. The time was... "Oh." And therein lies the problem. "Seven more minutes till class." Well, I've cut it closer. But thinking back, I'd already been dressed and out the door by that ti— Why am I just thinking about it?! I threw off the covers. "I'm gonna be so late!"

By some miracle, I arrived on time— annnd soon discovered I forgot my notebook, textbook, erasers, and well, school bag in general.

"You're hopeless," Sonoko noted at lunch.

"You're hopeless," I grumbled back.

"Now, now," Ran waved her palms down. "Let's get along today. Keiko's already got that make-up work monster sitting in her room. And Sonoko, Makoto lost his cell."

"Landlines aren't going to cut it!" She suddenly blurted, all fret and woe. "I shipped him a new one, but it won't arrive till tomorrow!"

"What are you missing in a day?" I asked, picking between her and Ran's lunch for the absence of my own. "What he ate for breakfast?"

"It was only an apple yesterday," she pointed out, sincere fierceness a bizarre turnabout from her previous sorrows. "He needs more than that today to make up for the lack of nutrition."

"Yikes." Leaning back against the stairs, it finally arrived in perfect clarity. "You... really like him."

"How could you doubt it!" she sat up straight, arms tightly crossed.

"So..." Nibbling at my chopsticks, an idea of how to confirm that slipped past my lips. "If I mentioned the calling card left yesterday by Kaito Kid—?"

"What?" Sonoko whipped out her cell, clicking away through the web. "My darling Kid strikes again?!" She gushed, cradling her cheek.

"Thought so..."

"Sonoko..." Ran admonished.

"What?" Sonoko raised a brow. "Kid is my celebrity crush, Makoto is my crush... crush. These men mean completely different things to me."

"But equally important?" I added with a roll of the eyes.

"Well," she carried the word while considering.

"Sonoko!" Ran repeated, louder.

"Oh," Sonoko stared at her screen, lips tightening into a straight line.

"What?" I swayed my upper body, uncurling my criss-cross legs to peek.

She flipped the picture to us, top news flashing across a headline tagged to a photo of the Detective Boys. Agasa's band of children, the ones I'd entertained a day before. Their expressions victorious, some even grinning despite their dirt riddled faces. Ran read the article, expression worsening by the second. Sonoko and I added distance from her on each change.

"What is Conan doing when they should be in school?!" She finally released, stomping to full height when the bell rang to return to class. A gravely splintering snap, and a crack crumbled the concrete beneath her feet.

"Guess we'll know in a few hours?" Sonoko weakly added, the flames of Ran's ire licking our skin.

"I'm mailing him now," she growled, reading aloud, "you. Are. Grounded."

"Or that," came my words with a nervous laugh.

Although the conversation returned to normal for Sonoko and I, Ran's anger refused to quell as she stomped down the path to her home. We followed a safe distance away.

Stepping into her home, I almost felt sorry. There the kid was; lazing on the couch with chips in hand.

"Welcome home!" He greeted, completely unaware.

Sonoko threw an arm across my path and stepped back, bringing me to do the same.

"Ah, I suddenly remembered! There's this app I've been meaning to show Keiko." She turned to me, making meaningful head jerks at the door.

Standing at Ran's back I couldn't discern her expression, although the kid's clenched jaw and defensive position wasn't a good sign. "It'll really help with your homework." She swung me out the door when I failed to comprehend. "Anyway, bye!" Door safely shut, Sonoko fumbled out, "are you crazy!? Ran could kill anything in arms reach with that mood."

Leaning onto one hand against the door, I responded with a light smile, "you're overreacting. Now, is there really an app?"

She tossed her hands up. "Trust you to dismiss a warning from her best friend. No, there is no app, I'm doing this for your safety!"

"If I'm safe anywhere, it's in there." Sonoko clasped her hands against her chest when I cracked the door back open. "Besides, I brought the last of my history homework—" A fist shot from the room. Following the flow, I swept my hand along the wrist and pushed against the side of her arm, averting the force. Normally, this would send the hit over my shoulder. Yet my non-grounded stance threw me opposite to my push, tapping my back to the doorframe as the rest of my body twisted away in an attempt to stay standing.

Ran's eyes trailed down to mine as I slipped slowly against the doorframe to the floor. She breathed, "n... nice reaction time."

"Thanks." Blood pumping, my body demanded air and the security of sitting on solid ground. "Nice punch."

"Sorry... I- I was making a statement..."

"Keiko!" When the kid recovered from whatever Ran did, he tumbled off the couch to my side. "Are you okay?"

"Mmmm," I grumbled in my throat, cupping my knees. "All this homework, and now Ran almost punching me? I think a tinge of anxiety happened." I looked to Ran with puppy-eyes. "I might need a hug."

Arms laced around my neck, and the kid had me in an embrace. The fact that he heard my request, and sought to resolve it without question of whom I directed it to brought my spirits higher than they'd been all week.

I scooped him up, lifted to full height, and twirled. "You absolute cutie!" Hiding him from view, and hunching over his small frame for protection, I told Ran over my shoulder, "please don't kill him."

Ran's own shoulders sagged as she glanced elsewhere. Then, glare resettled, she told him, "no manga, or desserts."

He pouted. "Okaaaay."

"And no time with friends outside of school for the remainder of the week."

"What?!" He stopped himself from looking directly at me, instead jumping free. "But I have plans!"

"Too bad."

He groaned, trudging across the floor like fighting through mud till he could lie on the couch.

"Anyway," I tentatively voiced. "Brought the last of my history homework if that's alright?"

Ran took a deep breath watching after him. "That's fine."

"I'll just..." and I toed to the couch, sitting across from the kid to spread out my work upon the table.

Ran leaned out the threshold. "Huh?"

"What?"

"Sonoko disappeared."

My eyes rolled. "Figures."

Ran strolled past, saying something about getting tea as I cracked open the textbook.

The kid rolled over, resent set low in his brows. "This is lame."

Agreed, but he did skip school. A behavior not easily ignored, and from experience: a hard habit to stop when started. "An' what'd you do during this school skipping adventure?"

He pursed his lips, eyes debating with the ceiling. "Remember that stress ball?"

My question on where this topic was going must've shown.

"It had a micro SD card inside." He explained. "That man came back for it. So we handed it over... But by then Genta had already knocked out the card. So at school we snuck into the library and took a peek at what was inside."

Pencil rapping against my knee rather than writing, his reminiscing roped me in. "And?"

Supplied by my investment, like Newton's cradle, he swung upright. "The first document inside appeared to be a resume; name, gender, general facts, and a photo copied to the corner. Then the rest told a different story."

Okay, maybe I'm starved by Shinichi's absence. Even so, this kid knew how to build suspense.

"Travel arrangements, work route, hobbies. Anywhere this person could be was listed there."

I gasped, drawing my knees up. "A stalker."

"Worse."

Anticipation grabbed my shoulders and pulled.

"Personal details omitted, this presented a clean-cut route of where to find this person at all times. But that's not all."

"What else?"

"There were more than one. At least a dozen people, yet they'd been omitted, crossed off like a to-do list." A grave expression overcame those tiny features. "Which could only mean one thing: a hitman."

My feet ached, tingling with an overwhelming dread that spread like a sedative rising to my fingertips. The man I barated in the park? A hitman? What would he have done to the kids if— "Please tell me he didn't come back for the list."

"Not immediately." The kid rubbed his chin to recall. "I don't believe he was originally aware of the chip's location."

"And what?" Incredulous to the circumstances, it had to be questioned. "This wasn't encrypted or anything? Anyone could have found this?"

"It..." he tip-toed around the answer. "...might have been encrypted."

Rubbing my temple, a moment to compose myself, I noted, "yer still alive, so it couldn't've been that bad." I tapped the couch, nodding, "alright, continue."

He shook his head in good humor. "So, we decided to visit the last person on this list. The one that hadn't been marked off yet."

"Alright," Ran clapped, like closing the subject. "You can tell your story later, we have work to do."

"Darn," scooching over, I faced her, curling one leg under myself. "But you weren't here, I've gotta hear this through now."

"And?" She countered. "Who's helping you finish this homework?"

Then came my defeated, "yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I have homework too!" The kid voiced. "Can I do it in here?"

Oh? So he's willing to stay in Ran's presence when she's ticked off? I smiled ruefully. Brave lad.

When Ran agreed, he whipped out a notebook, scribbling away to his heart's content. Part of me was sure he was just doodling.

Shortly after the kid hopped off the couch and exited the room, a jaw popping yawn overcame me. Ran agreed, yawning in kind.

Suddenly she giggled, tugging me from sleep's gentle call. "Look." She lifted his notebook, revealing equations and answers dotted randomly about the paper. "He's making up his own questions."

"Ew." I smacked it lightly in offense. "Why?"

She smiled behind the pages. "Kids like to be included. It reminds me of when I was little, and I would follow Dad during his business calls as he paced from room to room. Playing with my toys with the hope of him asking what I'm up to without me having to bug him, then asking him to join me, and getting reprimanded again for interrupting his work."

The kid returned with a glass of water, none the wiser, as Ran had replaced his book during her story.

"Sounds like you were a cute kid."

"Thanks," Ran chuckled. Pencil to the paper, she tried for a nonchalant question, "what about your parents? What did you do to get their attention?"

I scribbled a circle in the corner, humming as I decided to answer with the truth. "I hid things; at first it was anything: vases, covers, lotions. Then I learned things that move; books, pens, remotes, and keys wouldn't immediately bring the blame on my shoulders. Because, well, anyone could've misplaced those. Then I'd help look."

"A cunning troublemaker," Ran giggled.

I grinned. "And you still haven't found your hand mirror."

Her eyebrows jumped with a snadalized gasp. "That was you!? ...wait." Tilting her head, she smiled mischievously. "Does that mean you want my attention?"

"Nah." Clapping my hands together apologetically, I ducked behind them. "I broke it. Sorry."

"Don't worry." Ran waved a dismissive hand. "The real question is, how many of Shinichi's things have you hidden?"

I smirked into my cup. "He still hasn't found his favorite mug."

A small gasp turned us to Conan "that was y—" he stuttered, "that's kinda mean." He huffed. "He must be really missing it."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe if he were home, he'd notice. He's good at figuring out it's me, but the fact that he hasn't asked, tells me he hasn't had a need for it."

Ran's eyebrows creased. "I'm sorry, I know you miss him…"

Longing pulled down at my eyes and mouth. "Him and his dumb face."

"Dumb face?" Conan grumbled softly. A second later, his features softened as he slowly closed his eyes. "I'm gonna take a bath," he announced.

"Okay, I'll be heading up there soon," Ran responded.

"Keiko?" Conan asked as he exited the bathroom. Ran and I were setting up dinner.

"Sup?" I responded.

"Don't you have a curfew?" He looked pointedly at the setting sun beyond the curtained windows.

"I'm staying over for the night," I told him, setting down a bowl.

He dryly chuckled, rolling his hooded eyes, "couch hopper."

I cupped a hand atop his head, and grumbled, "just cause you're cute, doesn't mean I forgot yesterday."

He turned toward me, fists pressed against his cheeks, with glittering doll eyes and said, "you think I'm cute?"

Ran set down the main dish and said, "Conan, Keiko used to stay here many times before you came along. Now that she's back, I hope you two will get along."

I slipped my hand from his head and draped it over his shoulders then shot her a thumbs up, "we're best friends. Keep each other's secrets and everything." I pressed my cheek to his and asked, "right?"

He jumped slightly, cheeks warming, "uh, ri-right."

The door swung open and Kogoro entered, loosening his tie.

"Oh, it's you," He leered at me.

"Cool," I leered back. "You still exist."

"Dad, not tonight please," Ran groaned.

Conan looked between all of us, so many questions behind those eyes.

Kogoro walked around as he spoke, taking off his coat and tie to put them up, "I don't know where you get off eating in our home. Where's that successful detective of yours to feed you?"

"You can't say my successful detective is stealing your clients," I crossed my arms, Conan made some kind of squeaking sound next to me on the word my. "Ran told me that isn't an issue anymore, Sleeping Sleuth."

He cackled condescendingly before questioning, "jealous?"

I snapped back to the table and picked up my rice bowl. "Hardly." As I ate, I surmised, "if the timing of your arrival means anything, I know the horse races ended not too long ago, so where is all that money really going?"

Ran gasped, "Dad! You did not!"

"Wow," Conan giddily laughed, a tiny blush at his cheek, as Kogoro got into a spat with Ran, "Shinichi must have taught you well."

Eyes shut with glee, I smiled down at him, "right?"

I tossed a piece of cereal at Ran's mouth. She caught it, and asked, "Hideki?"

That made my nose wrinkle. "Can't get past the laugh."

Somehow we took a homework break and began discussing which classmates we would date. Given our lunch routines, and class collaborations we've gotten to know each other's classmates quite well. Meanwhile the boys had gone to bed for the night.

She nodded solemnly, "right out his nose. Reminds me of a pig." She tossed a piece at me. I caught it.

"Ginji."

She groaned, "why?"

"This is a hypothetical situation, why not?"

"Fine. Where to start?" She held out fingers to count off. "Loud, rude, absolutely zero respect. He stole my eraser."

I smirked, yet failed to hide it. "The eraser."

"He promised to bring it right back! And what! He lost it. My eyes never left him, it was in his pocket the whole time. By now it's probably in his home sitting in some junk drawer."

"You don't know that. What if he makes a collection out of his stolen items? And he treasures them, like any collector would."

"Because he doesn't! He's loud, rude, and-"

"-has zero respect. Okay," I pulled out my phone. "High school guys are lame, let's look up celebrities."

After literally typing in 'celebrities' we stared at the first one we came across. Spiked hair, soft eyes, and the most beautiful shy smile. He leaned against a pillar in a room so big it asked for someone else to enter and keep him company.

"I could get lost in those eyes," Ran sighed dreamily.

"I already am." I airily admitted. We scrolled on, smiling at strangers, until I set the phone down. "Okay, so hypothetically we'd probably date all of them but it's hard to tell how they are by looks alone." I pointed at the first man we stared at for far too long. "What if he has a foot fetish, or mommy issues?"

"You had to ruin it?" Ran frowned.

"Look at it this way, if Ginji looked like him, would that make a difference on how you feel?"

Ran tapped her chin, imagining my scenario. "Good point."

I flicked the screen away to reveal my backdrop of Shinichi and I from the festival. A picture Ran took so long ago.

"Hey?" I spoke up softly.

"Hm?" Ran hummed, nibbling on some cereal.

"Did you ever have a crush on Shinichi?"

Her eyebrows came together. "Me?"

I nodded, then abruptly backtracked with my hands flailing everywhere. "I'm so sorry! That's completely inappropriate to ask! You don't have to-" She caught one of my wrists. "-answer."

Ran brought my hand to the table, wearing a gentle smirk. "With how much Sonoko and I tease you, you think that's inappropriate?"

"Sorry," my feet wiggled nervously. "I overthink sometimes. It's just, it was only you and him at Tropical Land. And… I dunno…"

"We went cause I deserved to celebrate." She sat up straight, holding her head high. "I worked hard, and growing up together, we've always celebrated victories of all kinds in all different ways. I just knew he'd pay my way where Dad couldn't. Besides, Sonoko's way of celebrating is too extravagant for me sometimes."

"Oh," my lips set into a straight line. "Then-"

"And to answer your question," she continued. "He was a little brat when we first met. Terrible at reading social cues. It was like having a little brother who was annoyingly smarter than me."

I laughed at that, somehow I pictured him as a shy kid like me.

She smiled. "Then he started to mature, and I did wonder if maybe we had a spark. So I'd find ways to make subtle romantic advances," she shook her head, looking so relaxed while my heart was pounding. "But it went over his head. So I began to think harder about it, and I never really minded if he didn't spend more time with me during special occasions. And… then you came along." She held my hand tighter. "And I knew for sure. From the amount of times he's been with us, but his mind is on a case." She chuckled. "However, for you, he's present in the moment. I've never seen him want something more than to be with you."

My hand felt a little sweaty and my cheeks were warm. But I needed her to go on.

"I thought I'd be jealous, but I wasn't. I know now for sure I love Shinichi like a brother. And I'm glad he met you." She smiled, and her warmth had me doing the same. "You make each other happy."

"Thank you for being so truthful," I sheepishly told her. "Something about how I used to have a crush on Heiji, and Kazuha asking the same thing, got me worryin'. At least ya didn't tease me like I did her."

Ran gasped into a giggle, "you did not!"

"I took it back!" I laughed.

Authors Note:

I've had several asks for this, so here you go; Ran's feeling's toward Shinichi in my alternate world explained. I hope it meets your standards.

I love Ran. And I've loved this series from the start, but honestly, growing up with a detective father, lawyer mother, and Shinichi? And Gosho is just going to pretend Ran can't have any sleuthing, or perception skills? Yes, she can do what she needs when Shinichi comes close to being revealed, and I live for those episodes, but everyday life, and the cases they encounter, I'd expect those traits to come into play somewhere else. Like how Shinichi also has some acting skills from his mother, making being a child easier. It doesn't make sense. She deserves better. And a flatter horn, please, for the love of god.

Thank you everyone for the kind words! I'm doing great, and I'm going to sound like a lot of other ghosting writers, but I have a fiancé and son now ha ha. We'll be getting a house soon. I'm excited for that.

Thank you cheshirekadi, KirikaAndo, MiharuTousaka for returning, I'm so excited to have you beautiful people still reading this! :,) and heyy Chibi! I'm glad you're still here, you troublemaker! I missed you! xD