Hiya..... Finally, Chapter Two! It's, ummm, a bit LARGER than planned..... I don't expect the next five or so chapters to be quite this humongous, but one never knows. Please critique! This is a pretty damned indepth storyline, and the more I hear from y'all, the quicker it'll get written (I need the impetus!). Thanks, and don't kill me over the soppy bits, okay? Behold the power of Cheese..... Ysabet, Ducking For Cover

Second Wind

By Ysabet

Chapter Two: Small Changes

-----chasing him, there was something chasing him----- he could feel it close behind him, knew that any second now the cruel, angry hands would close painfully on his shoulders and then around his throat to choke his life away---- oh God, no matter how far or fast he ran it was always there, just behind him, never tiring or slowing or giving up, and the loud beat of hard leather soles slapping on the broken concrete underfoot drummed in his ears, drowning out his heartbeat, drowning out his ragged breathing, thud! thud! thud! thud! THUD! THUD! THUD!-----

***THUD!!***

"Aaahhh!!" Conan thrashed against the thing that was holding him down, fought wildly against the enveloping, smothering grip of---

--- cloth?

Heart pounding in his ears, he struggled to calm himself. What the--? Ohhh..... He was--- laying on the floor, on the rug, all tangled up in sheets and his blanket and---

--- and he had fallen out of bed.

*Oh. Guess that explains why I'm lying here on my butt.....* Slowly he levered himself up to sit panting and cross-legged in the pile of covers, scrubbing at his eyes with both hands. *Nightmare..... just a stupid nightmare. Breathe, Kudo you idiot, breathe.....* He swore under his breath, rubbing one abused knee ruefully. *What the hell was I dreaming...? I was running, being chased by, um.....* Already the vivid terror was fading, wreathing away like wisps of smoke in a strong wind. *Well, whatever it was, it didn't catch me--- *

The memories of the previous day began filtering back then, and the boy shivered in reaction. His world had turned upside down (again!), and it was the First Day of the Rest of his Life, Act Three.

*Aaack. Maybe things would be easier if whatever-it-was had caught me.*

Conan pulled himself to his feet and stretched; the morning air was a little chilly, making him hug his thin shoulders against a sudden rise of gooseflesh. Now why in the world was the window open? He didn't recall opening it the night before--- Oh well, maybe Eri-san had left it that way---

A series of apprehensive thoughts surfaced at the memory of Eri-san sitting beside his bed, smiling and pocketing her small shiny knife. God, what an evening he had had; he'd only been up a few minutes and already his head was beginning to ache.

Of course, it wasn't as though nothing good had happened.....

*Ran-----*

He shivered again, but this time the feeling was oddly pleasant: warmth, relief, and a strange guilty delight. *Ran.*

*You're with me now. I won't lose you now. And that's worth... everything.*

She'd be in the kitchen, of course--- well, if there was any mercy in the world she would be; Conan had tasted her mother's cooking before, and it was (quite literally) a bit more than he could stomach this early in the day. Raising his head as he rummaged through his drawers for clothing, the boy sniffed; ahhhh, food. Tea, frying things--- life was already looking up.

Still struggling to pull a t-shirt over his head, Conan scuffed his feet into slippers and padded down the hall towards the rest of the world, leaving the chilly room behind him. Unnoticed, his curtains fluttered in the morning breeze that wafted through the open window.

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*Now there's a sight you don't see every day.*

Standing on a makeshift step-stool cobbled together from several old phone directories, Mouri Ran was directing her mother in cooking the morning's breakfast. Even with the stool's assistance her small form barely reached her mother's shoulder; as she reached past the woman's form to deftly flip an egg over with a spatula, she tugged unconsciously at the oversized t-shirt that was currently serving as a nightgown.

The day before it would've fit its owner smoothly; now the neckline was precariously overlarge and the hem flapped against her calves.

Conan crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb, a smile tugging at his lips. Ran looked..... well, she looked adorable actually, her heart-shaped face frowning in concentration, her small hands on her hips as she explained to her mother that one should only brew tea for a few minutes, not a half hour. With a sigh she reached for the teapot, intending to pour the bitter over-brewed liquid into the sink; but the heavy pot's handle slid through her grasp and she exclaimed in dismay as it headed for the floor---

--- only to be stopped by another pair of small hands. Conan/Shinichi smiled up at Ran, helping to lift the pot into the sink. "Good morning....."

Dark eyes smiled back at him as their fingers brushed against one another's on the handle; a faint blush stole over the young girl's skin. "Good morning Conan-kun--- I mean, Shinichi---"

He chuckled, feeling his own face warming. "Maybe we'd better stick to 'Conan-kun'; you're used to it, and so am I." As the teapot settled into the sink with a metallic clatter, the boy stepped back a little to look at the woman who watched him calmly, pot-holder in one hand. His smile faded slightly. "Ummm, good morning Eri-san---"

*Got any cutlery on you, hmmm?*

She smiled down at him. "And good morning to you... Conan-kun. " One eyebrow arched a bit at his obvious discomfiture. "Did you sleep well?" Nonchalantly the older woman turned her attention back to the stove and stirred a pot with a fork. Ran sighed and passed her a spoon.

Conan shifted uneasily; he would have to be careful around this lady--- she didn't miss a thing. Craning his head, he tried to see what was bubbling away on the stove; reflexively Ran smacked away his reaching fingers, snapping "Hands off, Conan-kun!" without a second thought. There was an immediate, embarrassed pause as she froze in place, an arrested look on her childish face. "Ummmm..... sorry--- habit--- I mean, I've been thinking of you as a little kid for a year now, and---"

He had to grin. "Takes one to know one, Ran-kun..."

She stuck out her tongue.

Kisaki Eri shook her head. "You two--- Ran, if you keep doing things like that you won't have any problem convincing anyone that you're a little girl, that's certain. Do you remember what I told you when you were... small?"

The girl frowned, remembering; then her face cleared. Rolling her eyes, she recited: "'If you keep making faces, one of these days the wind's going to change and you're going to freeze like that.'" Hands on her hips, the teenager-turned-small-child glared up at her mother. "You know, Mom, I almost think you're enjoying this."

Her mother chuckled. "Well, it's been a rather long time since I had a little one around to take care of, you know; one misses that sort of thing after it's gone. No, no---" and she held out a hand to stop Ran's imminent protests, "--- I know, you can take care of yourself, ne?" The girl shook her head and hopped down from her improvised stepstool, drying her hands on a dishtowel. She scowled terribly up at her mother, lower lip pouting. "I've been taking care of myself--- and Dad--- for years now," she pointed out, hitching the oversized t-shirt up at the neck as it threatened to slide down one thin shoulder. A thin, hissing whistle made them all jump, and Eri looked around, mildly perplexed. Ran nodded towards the stove. "Kettle's boiling..." She slipped past Conan and pattered across the kitchen towards the tea canister.

He watched her as she worked, small hands deft and careful on the teabags; God, she was adorable. *And wouldn't she put me into a wall if I said that out loud? Might be worth it, though, just to see her blush.* Ran held the pot up for her mother; as the hot water was poured in, Eri-san sighed. "It's just... Ran, face it: you're a little girl again; there's going to be some things that you just can't do anymore. You're going to have to accept help from other people now--- that's a hard thing, I know, especially for you." She tucked a strand of hair behind one ear and took the teapot from her daughter, carrying it in to place it on the table. As she turned back towards the kitchen, Ran sighed again, made a face and quietly slipped a hotpad beneath the pot.

Leaning against the doorjamb, Conan stifled a chuckle. Eri-san was hopeless in a kitchen.

Hitching the t-shirt up again, Ran folded her arms stubbornly. "Mom--- please, please try and remember: I'm not really a child. I'm still me! Still your 17-year-old daughter! I know what I look like--- I spent enough time in front of the mirror this morning--- but inside, I'm still me. Shinichi, tell her....."

"Ran--- she's right."

"Huh??" The small girl stared at him where he stood, hands in pockets. Her mother's hand paused briefly as it reached for a spatula.

Conan ducked his head a little, a rather pained expression on his face. "It's one of the hardest things I've had to learn over the past year: that I can't do the things I used to be able to do, that I do have to accept help. I'm a *kid*--- physically, at least. The first time I tried to pick something up that was really heavy I nearly broke something; the first time I tried to fight against somebody I could've held my own against before nearly got me killed."

Ran made a faint protesting murmur, looking uncertain; her eyes still held a familiar flare of stubbornness. "But---"

The boy shook his head and sighed, rumpling his hair with one hand; there was nothing childlike about the rueful look that he flashed at her. "It's kind of humiliating--- a bit like the way you feel when you've just gotten over being sick and you can't manage as well as you did when you were healthy... except that you feel fine. Lots of energy--- you're just weaker than before. You can't reach things, and you have to ask people to get them down for you; you can't carry things, so you have to get somebody else to do it. You can't do the things that kids can't do, so you have to get other people to do them for you. It's... hard. It'd be easier to do stuff twice over yourself than to ask for help, sometimes... but that's just the way things are."

She stood staring at him, frowning. The dark eyes were a little wary, beginning to understand.

"And then there's the whole 'social' bit--- you look like a kid, so you have to act like a kid in front of people. Body language, vocabulary, everything. *That's* harder than it sounds, too." He smiled up at her wryly. "Accepting help is--- difficult; but you have to learn to do it. It's just a fact of life for me... for us."

At the stove, Eri muttered something uncomplimentary as the spatula slipped from her hand to land with a clatter on the floor. Still frowning, Ran picked it up, rinsed it, wiped it, and handed it back. She turned back to Conan, her brows drawn down. "But--- Shini-... Conan-kun... We're not really kids---"

He cut her off gently. "No, and that's actually the worst danger of all. It's so easy to forget--- and, Ran, remember the Black Organization? Our lives depend on our putting on a good act. And it really isn't easy; think about it. Have you ever seen a little kid stay still for more than three minutes at a time?--- nope, me neither. Kids fidget. Now do you see what I mean about 'body language'? You're going to have to learn so much so quickly, Ran---"

"--- and you're going to teach her, aren't you, 'Conan-kun'?" The deep, rather harsh voice made them all start.

Mouri Kogoro lounged against the doorway behind them, arms crossed and chin jutting out. He chuckled at Conan's nervous look, fixing him with one darkly amused eye. "Don't look so jumpy, boy--- I'm not going to eat you." His eyes softened slightly as he looked past him towards his wife, then even more at the sight of his transformed daughter. "Ran..... uhhm, are you--- that is, how do you feel?" His hesitation was palpable.

The teenager-turned-small-girl blew out her breath in an exasperated sigh. "Good morning Dad, and I'm fine. I wish you and Mom would stop treating me like I had some sort of disease--- it's not helping." She surveyed her father, fire kindling in her large eyes. "And don't pick on Shin-, umm, Conan-kun..... He's going to have a hard enough time coaching me through this as it is."

A trace of suspicion crossed Ran's face then, and she looked from one to the other of the kitchen's three occupants. "Does anybody want to tell me something? You two haven't been threatening him, have you? Because if you have---" Her small fists tightened and her chin came up belligerently. Eri looked uncomfortable and Mouri-san defiant; Conan felt himself reddening--- he spoke up quickly before either of the two could provide Ran with any more rope to hang themselves with. "No, no, nothing like that; we just... cleared a few things up last night after you went to bed." He stepped forward, a hasty smile on his face.

"Don't worry about me.... Ran-kun." The smile grew and became a real one. "It's been a long time since I could call you that, hmm? It's been 'Ran-neechan' for the past year." The suspicious look was still there, but it was fading. Distraction, he needed a distraction.... Conan reached out and rumpled her hair. "And I've been wishing I could do that back to you for a year, too." The outraged look on her face turned into laughter; she swatted at his hand again, then moved back to the stove. Breathing a sigh of relief, the boy turned away towards his place at the table in the next room.

Mouri-san had just taken his own seat. Over steepled hands he stared Conan down, eyebrows beetled. "Listen, boy," he began hurriedly, half under his breath. "Ran doesn't need to know--- that is, our discussion last night---"

"--- was private. No problem." The boy sighed, resting his chin on one hand. He arched an eyebrow as he looked up at the detective, saying softly: "And you don't have to make any more threats. You didn't have to last night; I meant what I said..... I'd do anything for her. That's my promise, 'Oji-san.'" And he grinned a most unchildlike grin, a sardonic light in his eyes.

For a moment the older man looked a little taken aback; then his usual manner returned, and he nodded. His moustache twitched. "Fine. We understand each other, then." He shot Conan a dark look, half-frowning, half-bemused. "I can't get used to talking to you like this--- like an adult. Makes me feel like a real idiot for not noticing, all this past year..." The look grew darker. "I'm not too *happy* about feeling like an idiot, boy."

Conan--- Shinichi--- snorted. "If you knew how hard I've had to work sometimes to keep my secret..... You came far too close for comfort, way too many times." *Guess a little flattery can't hurt, not to mention outright lies; I won't catch this fly with vinegar. Yeah, I had to work, but it was Ran who kept nearly finding me out.*

Mouri Kogoro threw out his chest a bit and chuckled, a rather wicked sound. "Good." He glanced towards the kitchen, smiling faintly at the duet of voices there; Ran's soft treble contrasted sharply with her mother's more adult tones. "You know, Ran's right; you're going to have a tough time of it." The smirk in his dark eyes said that he wasn't totally sorry about this.

The boy shrugged, his sharp eyes also turning towards the kitchen. "Hey, I've had practice--- a whole year of it." He made a sour face, pinching the bridge of his nose against his incoming headache. "The first thing we've got to do is account for Ran's absence....."

"Already taken care of," said the cheerful, lilting voice from the kitchen, accompanied by a clatter of plates. "I-- that is, the 'old' me--- flew out last night on an emergency trip to America, to stay with my second cousin Inoko while she has her baby. Poor Inoko-chan's going to have all sorts of problems... Her husband's work keeps him traveling, and the baby's causing some complications, and there's just no one else that can help; she's desperate. So it's Cousin Ran to the rescue for a few weeks, and well--- after that... we'll think of something. And in the meantime, her cute little daughter 'Rin' has come to stay for a while! We'll take care of my school paperwork today." Her arms full of plates, she hefted her burden onto the table with a multiple clink and began to set them out. Behind her daughter Eri-san walked carefully, carrying several covered platters.

Mouri Kogoro frowned at his daughter. "You don't have a cousin Inoko....." Eri placed the platters on the table, glancing sidelong at her husband with an amused shake of her head.

Reaching up, Ran tapped her father's nose with a chopstick. "I do now." And she offered him a charmingly innocent little girl's smile. Conan ducked his head as he hid a grin. *She learns FAST. Take that, Mouri-san!*

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School. *Bleagh.* Conan winced as a particularly shrill gust of chatter from a gaggle of small girls tried to drill through his eardrums.

Shifting his backpack to the left (the straps always seemed to bunch up his shirt), he shuffled his way through the hallway towards his classroom. All around him the corridors were packed with short, loud bodies; it was something that he had noticed in this imposed second childhood, that kids simply found it near-impossible to shut up for any length of time. Maybe it was all that extra energy? They all seemed to be on a permanent sugar-high until they hit puberty.

Whatever. Today was going to be Hell.

And here came three of the more exasperating envoys from Purgatory, thumping down the hall with their backpacks rattling. "Conan-kun! Teacher says we're gonna have a new girl in class! I hope she's cuuuuute!" shouted Genta, waving his arms wildly to keep from mowing down smaller students into oblivion as he skidded to a stop. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko pelted along behind him, their faces bright with curiosity. Conan sighed, feeling rather more Shinichi than usual.

They weren't so bad, not really, not bad at all; they were just--- young. *And they talk. A lot. And they follow me around and insist on being friends, and they get in trouble and have to be rescued, and Ayumi wants me for her boyfriend--- Oboy. That last little item's gonna be a problem, I'll bet. Ayumi's gonna have fits, and sulk, and make me feel guilty as hell. But she's a little girl, and Ran's... Ran.* It was times like this that he really missed his old high school.

But the kids were his friends, odd as that was; he had become accustomed to their easy attitudes and the way they had whole-heartedly accepted him for himself. It was funny, but he actually had to act far *less* the child around these three real children--- they didn't care if he seemed a little odd; that was just how he was. He was Conan-kun, and they didn't care if he knew things that they didn't or understood things that they couldn't; their young minds were as open as their hearts. They weren't stupid, and often they were surprisingly helpful.

*But they still talk way too much.*

With an internal groan, his Shinichi-self gave way to Conan, and Conan went to class. Under escort, of course.

*******************************************************************

Ran swallowed hard as she followed her mother down the stairs from her house; she hesitated for a long moment before taking the first small step onto the sidewalk, feeling excruciatingly conspicuous. *Just keep calm, Ran; nobody's going to notice one more little girl. That's all you are now, just a little girl. Remember that, don't lose your cool, and everything'll be okay.*

*But I wish Shinichi was here with me.* She stopped herself just short of clutching at her mother's skirt, taking a deep breath. She would not panic.

The mother and daughter had several errands to take care of: shopping for new clothes, disenrollment from Ran's former school, that sort of thing. When she had hung back at the idea of going out in public in her new shape, Shinichi-Conan--- had simply cocked one eyebrow at her, saying softly "It's okay, Ran--- nobody looks twice at a little kid. You'll be fine."

Those eyes of his, those eyes that knew her so well: they had understood what she was thinking. They had understood completely.

The girl had smiled rather wistfully at him; her mother and father were discussing something in the living room, and Ran had leaned forward over the breakfast table to touch the back of his hand softly with one small finger. "I--- it's hard to actually take the first steps, isn't it? Last night... talking about all of this, that was okay; but now I've got to go out and actually get started-----" She was silent then, and (she had to admit it, at least to herself) perhaps a little afraid.

The familiar-strange face opposite hers had saddened, a look of guilt and sorrow washing across his features. "I wish... there was something I could do, to make this all easier; I mean, something more than just tell you things." His eyes had dropped, and he had studied the pattern in the tablecloth with great interest.

*Ran, you stupid--- way to go, girl, make him feel bad!* Impulsively she had taken his hand in hers; *Shinichi...* When the soft touch on the back of his hand had returned, warm fingers slipping around his, he had looked up... and suddenly it was Shinichi whose heart those eyes held, not that of a small boy named Conan.

*I can't understand why I didn't see it before... I guess I just kept hoping, and he was clever enough to keep me hoping that he'd come back.* She had smiled at him again, glancing over her shoulder at her parents (who were still occupied, their voices softer than before). "Don't mind me, Shinichi..... I'll manage. This was what I wanted, after all; it really was--- it really is. And you're doing fine." Ran leaned across the table, and the boy's hand tightened on hers.

There had been a long silence between them then, almost an awkward one. *Of course it's awkward. There aren't any rules for this sort of thing. But..... If we were both still our old selves... I think he'd kiss me right now. If we were both our old selves.....* She had felt her cheeks burning, and from the slightly pole-axed look on the young face opposite hers he had been thinking along the same lines. "Ummm, R-Ran..... I---"

He had looked so silly, with his mouth opening and closing like a beached fish's; he had looked... adorable. And so very Shinichi, too, even though it was Conan that her eyes saw--- her heart knew better. So Ran had decided to take pity on him. Raising her free hand to her lips she had kissed her index finger and placed it across his lips, silencing him. "Shhhh. It'll be okay."

With an explosive sigh, the boy had sat back in his chair, his ears crimson. "Uhhh.... Right. Okay." He couldn't seem to stop grinning; he was still grinning when he went out the door towards his school. Watching him leave, Mouri Ran had sighed to herself. *It's going to be a LONG wait until we're... older, isn't it Ran-chan? A long wait until we're old enough for more than, well, promises. That's part of the price. A long wait--- so I guess someday we'll just have to make it worth our while, right?*

And she had blushed again.....

----- and now she was on her way back out into the world for the first time as her new self. Trotting alongside her mother, Ran marveled rather breathlessly at the differences in stride length between them; did Shinichi-Conan feel like this, like everything was that much bigger than he was, that much faster, that much stronger? And *she* had dragged him along in just this fashion, time after time.

It was exasperating. And a little terrifying, too. *As if everybody but me has turned into giants.....*

People passed her on all sides, going to work or breakfast or wherever... had they seemed this huge when she had really been a child? Or had she even noticed? Their faces seemed so much farther away than before. *Weird; kids must recognize adults half the time by how their legs look--- that's what you see best when you're only about a meter tall. I feel like a midget.*

*I wonder what Shinichi's doing right now?* Ran felt a soft rush of warmth running through her from her head to her toes. *It still doesn't feel quite real, that he's been with me all along..... I still don't know whether or not I should be mad at him or what. Idiot. My idiot. He's been through an awful lot--- maybe we should just call it even and leave it at that. Besides.....* and she grinned to herself as she skipped a bit to catch up with her mother's pace; *..... he's awfully cute when he's embarrassed, even as a kid. Maybe even especially as a kid.. And I have the feeling that he's going to be embarrassed a LOT over the next few days.*

*'Conan's got a girlfriend, Conan's got a girlfriend'.....* The teasing refrain sang itself through her mind; she suppressed a giggle.

Tugging at Eri's hand a little Ran hung back, panting. "Mom... I can't keep up! Wait a second, will you?" Her small fingers clutched the older woman's fingers tightly.

Her mother glanced down, looking startled. "Sorry..... it's been a long time since I walked with someone as---" she hesitated, looking slightly guilty.

Ran raised her eyebrows with a quizzical smile, brushing a strand of hair back with her free hand. "As little as I am? Mom, you're going to have to get used to the idea--- it's not going to go away."

Eri shot her a slightly wide-eyed glance. "I just don't see how you can take this so--- so calmly, Ran. I think I'd be half out of my mind by now," she muttered under her breath. Slowing, the mother and daughter stepped to one side of the flow of sidewalk traffic; a bench provided a welcome respite for the moment.

Swinging her legs, the young-woman-turned-young-girl shrugged. "If I think about it too hard I start hyperventilating," she said candidly, watching two giggling teenage boys in school uniforms pass by. *Skipping school--- they'll get in trouble if they're caught. Hey--- no uniforms for me for a few years! THAT's a bonus, I guess!*

"--- So what do you do, then?" asked her mother, frowning.

Ran shrugged; her face clouded a little. "I try not to think about it." She offered her mother a rather ironic smile.

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Kisaki Eri looked sideways and a little askance at her small daughter; the little girl looked so much like the one that she had raised for so short a span of years, the one that she had left behind when she and her husband had become estranged.....

..... until you noticed the expression; that's where things went odd. No seven-year-old had such penetrating eyes, such a contained, intent look. Well, except for Conan, of course. That boy--- Eri corrected herself; that young man had quite a poker face. *Must remember not to play cards with him, at least not for money...* she thought with a wry internal smile.

She had very carefully gauged just how much she wanted to startle him the previous night; the knife had been... well, punctuation of a sort. Very effective punctuation. After all, as a lawyer Eri was used to playing to an audience, be it the judge or the jury; she was used to dealing with intelligent people, and it wouldn't have done to underestimate Shinichi/Conan's intellect.

So instead she had gone for his instincts. Waking up vulnerable and nervous, he had responded exactly as she hoped.

*Like a man menaced by a protective mother. And I don't think he'll be underestimating me any time soon, ne?*

Eri glanced over at her daughter; Ran had an oddly wistful look on her small face as she stared unseeing across the moving bodies on the sidewalk. *Wonder what she's thinking about? Shinichi, probably.* A fierce rush of love and anger warmed the older woman for a moment. *Ran-chan, why couldn't you pick some nice, normal young man to fall in love with? For that matter, why couldn't you wait 'til you were older to fall in love at all?*

*Hmph; I imagine mothers have been thinking that last thought about their daughters since the dawn of time. Well, at least he loves her too. And he'd better damn well keep on loving her. Or we'll have another late-night chat. And this time I won't be so nice about it.*

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The taxi door shut behind Ran and her mother, leaving a rather bemused cabdriver staring after them. Eri looked reproachfully down at her daughter as they double-timed it towards the department store entrance, shaking her head. "Ran-chan, that was rather careless of you, wasn't it?"

The child pouted. "How was I to know he was listening?" She crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip as they entered the building, looking every inch a sulky little girl.

Her mother made a tsking sound. "....Making a comment like 'Well, at least I don't have to wear a bra anymore' right there in the cab....." Ran snorted; her new lack of dimension in certain areas was a touchy point. She headed instinctively over towards the Women's Wear department, only to be halted by Eri's hand on top of her head, which pivoted her around to face the opposite direction.

"Ah, Ran-chan..... this way." Ran looked in dismay towards the displays of girl's clothing (there was a certain aura of pinkness there that she didn't like the looks of); muttering things better left unheard below her breath, she trailed behind her mother's determined form into the uncharted realms of Modern Children's Fashions.

Mom was smiling. Ran was *not.*

The ordeal that followed was both instructive..... and wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong; no-one should have to view that much pink in one day.

The opportunity for an entire new wardrobe (and accessories--- mustn't forget the accessories) was not to be taken lightly; but when that wardrobe ran heavily to Cute-Little-Outfits-That-Would-Look-Just-Darling-On-A-Seven-Year-Old-Girl, a young woman could only endure so much before she rebelled.

Mom's attention was on a rack of Pokymon pajama-sets; Ran shuddered and ducked behind a display counter and began to do a little shopping on her own. Fifteen busy minutes later the two met and conferred together.....

"Mom, I am not wearing that. Look at it, it's got glittery little gold teddy-bears all over it, for God's sake!"

"But Ran, you'll look so cute...."

"...No. No feety-pajamas. And *definitely* no feety-pajamas with the entire Sailor Senshi twirling all over them. I'll get motion-sickness."

"But Ran-chan....."

(Grudgingly) "Okay.... I can wear this, and this. But we need jeans to go with that, and maybe some sort of overalls-set for that? Or shorts. And don't even *think* of looking at the pink stripy ones--- I saw you over by that rack a few minutes ago."

"But---" (wilting pathetically)

"Now this is kind of nice--- and it'll go with two of the skirts I picked out. See?--- Mom, what's--- oh Mom, I am NOT wearing this; you really ought to know better." Ran surveyed the lacey, frilly, full-skirted pale lavender dress with acute distaste.

Her mother fingered a puffed sleeve wistfully, turning woeful eyes towards her daughter. "But Ran..... I could never get you to wear anything like it when you were--- were small before, so I thought that now---"

Hands on her hips, the small girl interrupted her mother in a severe tone. "--- you thought that I'd wear it? Mom, I had better taste than that when I was seven the *first* time around..... Now look: I found this--- can we get it instead?--- hang on, I'll try it on for you---"

The dress wasn't lacey, or frilly, or lavender; on the other hand, it was a rich, deep green velvet with an embroidered collar and cuffs. Ran held out her arms and turned in place, eyeing her small self critically in the full-length store mirror. "I still can't get used to how skinny I look--- those scrawny little legs and everything! And my head looks so big..." Reaching out a hand, Eri stroked the soft material of a sleeve lovingly; there was a suspicious sniffling noise.

Ran cocked an eyebrow and stared up at her mother; "Mom..... what's wrong? You're not getting all emotional on me, are you?"

Her mother shook her head, smiling mistily. "Someday you'll understand, I suppose..... I guess I missed having my little girl around more than I thought." Surreptitiously she wiped at her eyes with a tissue, careful not to smudge her makeup. "When your father and I went our separate ways I lost out on a lot of things, including being with you. I know we saw each other frequently; you spent so many weekends with me, and there were those vacations..." Eri smiled to herself reminiscently, then sighed. "But it wasn't the same, you know; how many times did I miss tucking you in at night? How many times did you tell your father what you did at school that day instead of me? I missed out on so much---"

The young-woman-in-child's-clothing was now eyeing her mother with a certain alarm. "Umm, Mom---"

Stooping, Eri hugged her daughter fiercely to her, tears in her expressive eyes. "But I'm going to make it up to you, Ran! I'll be there for you this time around, I promise!" She laughed joyfully, releasing the girl and once more dabbing at her face.

Ran stepped back, her expression more than a little apprehensive. "That's-that's great, Mom. Uhmmmm, I'd better change out of this, okay? You just stay right here..." Stepping quickly back, she ducked into the changing-room and into a booth. *..... Oh dear.....*

*I didn't expect my mom to go all protective on me; this is going to be harder than I thought.*

*Shinichi..... I wonder what you're doing right now?*

*******************************************************************

Conan was having difficulties, three of them: small, medium and large.

"You KNOW the new girl, Conan-kun?!? Why didn't you *tell* us?!?" exclaimed Genta, crumbs tumbling down the front of his shirt as he chomped on another Pokistick at Recess. Mitsuhiko butted in, snatching a couple of Pokisticks from the shared package before Genta could grab them, passing one to Ayumi.

"Did you know her when you lived in America?"

"What's she like? Is she smart?"

"Does she know English? Is she cute?"

A pause..... Conan winced; he could just feel the question looming.....

"Was she your girlfriend?!?" Three voices chorused the question; three pairs of wide eyes (two pairs gleeful, one pair tearful) awaited the answer.

*WHY am I here? I mean, I could be home rotting my brain in front of the television..... I should've disguised my voice and called in sick today. Of course that'd mean that I'd have had to spend the whole day with Oji-san, and at this point I think I'd prefer hot pokers and thumbscrews to the Great Detective Mouri Kogoro. I'll bet he feels the same, too.* The boy looked at the expectant faces before him.

*Then again, maybe Mouri-san's not so bad----- and hot pokers and thumbscrews probably aren't really as painful as everyone says-----* Conan began to sweat.

*******************************************************************

Clothing had been purchased, along with shoes, backpack, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera ad infinitum..... Ran had managed (she thought) to talk her mother out of the lavender dress; but as they bundled their purchases into another taxi she thought she saw a suspicious scrap of pale-purple lace-trimmed ruffle peeping out of a bag. She raised wide, reproachful eyes to Eri's face, who flushed guiltily and shuffled the items around a bit, avoiding her daughter's gaze. Ran sighed.

Next stop: Ran's high school. Time to clean out her locker and unenroll. Time for 'Mouri Ran' to disappear and her little cousin 'Himitsu Rin' to take her place in the world.

*This* cabdriver paid very little attention to his passengers' conversation, preferring to crank up his radio to an annoying volume. "You know," said her mother, trying to speak over the background of Shonen Knife's latest hit, "you'll need to call me something other than 'Mom' if you're supposed to be--- what was the name again?"

Ran glared at the back of the cabby's head. "'Rin'--- Himitsu Rin. That's not so bad, is it?" she said, eyeing her mother's somewhat disconsolate face. Eri glanced down at her, a pained expression in her eyes. "No, suppose not..... I imagine you'll be calling me Oba-san from now on, won't you?" The look of gloom on her face was deep enough to swallow a battleship. "And your father will be Oji-san to you after this." Heartfelt sigh.

The small girl hesitated, torn between curiosity and a desire not to extend the boundaries of melodrama any further; however, after a moment's deliberation curiosity managed to win out. "Ummm, I don't want to intrude, Mom, but..... you and Dad seem to be, well--- getting along a lot better lately, ne?"

Comparative silence; Shonen Knife was replaced on the radio by Destination, who wailed something about a pale green moon and tear-filled eyes. Ran tried to focus past the blare, watching her mother's reflection in the taxi's window. Was she blushing?

She was. "Mom?"

"Ah, well....." The older woman ducked her head a little, smiling. "I--- suppose you guessed some time ago that I had been working towards a reconciliation between us..... Ran, I honestly don't know if your father and I could ever live together again for any great period of time--- we've both grown used to living our own lives in our own ways--- but....." Eri raised her eyes to look back through the window, staring unseeingly out at the traffic. Her voice was a little unsteady when she spoke. "Your father has his faults, just as I do; but in our own ways we love each other still. Maybe it just took us a little longer than the usual to see that; maybe we just needed to be apart... to see that we needed to be together." She sighed, a long sigh full of regret for wasted time.

"Mom..... that's how it is for--- for Shinichi and I, you know."

"What?" Eri turned to look at her daughter; the young face was pensive, the large eyes soft with emotion. Ran drew a deep breath and spoke, her words nearly lost against the blaring music. "You know. The 'being apart' and 'being together' bits. That's how it feels." She smiled then, a very unchildlike smile as filled with sadness as it was with satisfaction. "I'm glad you and Dad are getting along like you are--- I just wish that you didn't have to deal with all this--" and she gestured rather guiltily towards her reduced self "--at the same time. I don't imagine it's helping....."

She was more than a little startled, therefore, when her mother chuckled ruefully and said "Ran-chan, you'd be surprised. You really would."

They pulled up to the school then, and there was no more time for conversation. The driver was paid to wait; Ran gulped nervously and clung to her mother's hand as the school doors closed behind them with the usual heavy thud. *Unless Ai finds a cure I won't be coming back here again for years. What a weird thought; I'm going to miss everybody a lot. Then again, that means I don't have to take that Chemistry quiz next Tuesday.....*

Approaching the main counter, Eri smiled at the bored student aide lounging there. The student straightened up, bowing slightly. "Gomen... may I help you, ma'am?"

The older woman smiled charmingly. "Yes..... I need to disenroll my daughter, Mouri Ran; unfortunately she's needed out of the country right now to help in a family emergency, and she'll be continuing her schooling there." The student nodded and turned away to find a superior.

As the discussion continued and paperwork was brought out, Ran grew increasingly uneasy. What if somebody that she knew came in? What if one of her teachers showed up? What if somebody recognized---

--- and in the middle of that thought, Potential Catastrophe in human form pushed the office door open with one elbow and stepped inside. Suzuki Sonoko, large as life and twice as talkative, lugging a huge box in her arms. Ran felt her eyes widen; she slid desperately behind her mother's legs to hide.

"Oh! Kisaki-san! Are you here to pick up Ran-chan's things? I cleaned out her locker for you---" The young woman gestured with her chin at the large box that was threatening to slip from her grip; "--- one of our teachers told me she was going to be in America for a little while and she'd need her stuff, so here you go!" Her eyes flashed with excitement. "So Ran's going to get to go to the States... I didn't even know she had a cousin there! How long will she be gone? Maybe if my dad flies to California on business again I can go along and visit---"

The cheerful stream of chatter was cut off as the box finally won the battle and headed floorwards; Eri gave an exclamation and reached out with both hands to stop its descent, leaving Ran exposed and nervous beneath the counter's ledge. As Sonoko and Eri womanhandled the carton onto a handy chair, the child tried to shrink into the shadows without any obvious moves. *Oh please, Sonoko-chan, don't see me, don't notice me---*

But of course she did. Her eyes widened as she dusted off her hands. "Now who's this?" Sonoko stepped forward, smiling.....

The young woman knelt in front of the little girl, who quickly dashed to the relative safety of the back of Eri-san's legs. Sonoko looked slightly surprised. "Oh, shy, hmmm? Well, don't be scared of Sonoko-chan, silly." Still smiling, she reached out a finger and tipped Ran's face upwards towards hers. "Well, you're a pretty little thing, aren't you...? Funny, but you remind me of someone---" A faint frown crinkled her nose as she tried to work the thought out.

"She--- she's Ran's cousin..... she arrived last night; she'll be, um, staying with us for a while." Eri's voice was ever-so-slightly shaky; thankfully, Sonoko seemed oblivious to her nervousness. "Cousin??" The teenager's expression cleared. "That's why you look so familiar! I swear, you could almost be Ran from when we were kids together!" She laughed. "So what's your name, cutie?" She tousled Ran's hair playfully; Ran ducked behind her mother's legs again, peering out with one eye. "R-Rin..." came the muffled reply.

"Rin? And you're her cousin? Oh, that's cute; Ran goes away, and Rin comes to stay!" Sonoko giggled at her own joke. She turned back to the older woman, who was apparently trying to calm her heartbeat down by fanning herself with the disenrollment paperwork. "Well, when Ran comes back we'll have a matched pair, won't we? Soooo.... how long will she be gone--?"

Eri cleared her throat. "Ah, as for that... we don't exactly know. That's why I'm disenrolling her from school. She'll be continuing her---"

Sonoko cut her off. "--- You... don't know?? You mean she could be gone for a long time? But---" The young woman's usual cheerfulness was fading into hurt; in a second she looked ready to burst into tears. "She didn't even say goodbye to me! And I thought she was my best friend!!" she wailed, drawing a wince from 'Rin.'

Eri looked distinctly guilty; "I know she wanted to call you, but she left early last evening--- it was an emergency, you know---"

'Rin' looked down at her shoes, still gripping the backs of her mother's slack-clad legs. *Every word you just said was true, Mom; I did 'leave' early last evening, and it was an emergency of sorts. Poor Sonoko....*

*I wish I could tell you all about this, about Shinichi and me.... you'd think it was so romantic! And I'm going to miss you too.* She felt her eyes fill with tears--- and then, like an electric shock, Ran had an idea. *It's a little sneaky, but.....* In a small voice she spoke up. "R-Ran... Ran-neechan said that she'd call you tonight, after her plane landed in America. I talked to her on the phone."

Eri looked down at her small daughter in alarm, but Sonoko seemed to take comfort from her words. "Well--- I guess if it was an emergency..... And it's not like I'll never see her again, will I?"

*No, Sonoko-chan, I'll be back to my normal self in about a decade. I wonder if you'll recognize me then?*

*******************************************************************

"Two hours to go...." muttered Conan to himself; "...just two hours--- I can take two more hours, I'm an intelligent, capable person, and I can do this. Just two more hours....."

"Coooooo-nan-kuuuuuun....." *Crap.*

Two grinning faces popped up, one on either side of him from where they had apparently been hiding behind his bench. With one accord Genta and Mitsuhiko moved around to sit next to their friend, who rolled his eyes wearily.

"C'mon, Conan-kun--- tell us about your girl-friend....." Genta elbowed him in the ribs. "Is she as pretty as Ayumi-kun?"

Mitsuhiko elbowed him in the other side. "I bet she's not. I bet Ayumi-kun's prettier, and that's why he won't tell us anything. I bet she's ugly." The thin grade-schooler jumped as Conan turned on him sharply. "She is not! She's the most beautiful--- umm, I mean---" Both kids stared round-eyed at the shorter boy between them; then their gazes met, and (as if they had practiced for weeks) they chorused in letter-perfect, grinning, off-key unison:

"Conan-kun has a girrrrrl-friend! Conan-kun has a girrrrrl-friend! Conan-kun has a girrrrrl-friend! Conan-kun has a....."

*Aaaaaaaaaghhhh!!!* For the briefest of moments, Shinichi flickered in the boy's eyes as he wondered if murdering the two kids would get him tried as an adult or a minor. *Justifiable homicide, for sure; there's not a judge in the land that would convict me.*

He ducked his head and gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the impromptu musical accompaniment happening just above him before any more of his brain-cells went down in flames. *Just two more hours, Kudo. Just-two-more-hours-----*

*******************************************************************

Lunchtime.

"Hm. I'll have miso soup and the salad--- no dressing--- with green tea, please." The small girl folded her menu and placed it on the table. The waiter frowned; there was something amiss here. He nodded at the child's companion. "Your order, ma'am?"

"The same, though with the shrimp dressing. But... change hers to the Children's Combo #1, please, and add a side of takoyaki." The waiter's frown faded; he smiled indulgently at the little girl, who sputtered a bit and stuck out her lower lip in an obvious sulk. *Cute little thing--- must be trying to imitate her mom, ne?* Thinking fond thoughts of his own daughter, he hurried away to place the order.

Behind him, two voices muttered a sotto voce duet:

"But Mom-umm, 'Oba-san' I mean--- I'm on a diet! I can't eat all that!"

"Rin-chan, firstly you don't need to go on a diet now, *do* you? And secondly, trust me on this one; I remember how much you could eat during your first childhood--- you won't have any trouble. And besides..... the takoyaki's for me, actually."

*******************************************************************

Two hours later.....

*I guess I really should've known better; I mean, I've taught the kids how to shadow people, right? So the fact that they're following me home is sort of a compliment, right? Or it would be, if I hadn't spotted them less than five minutes after I left school. Gotta work on that. Genta has to realize that what he calls a whisper most other people think of as a bellow.*

Actually, Ayumi was the best of the three 'Child Detectives' at skulking; if Conan hadn't expected her to be with the other two he might've actually missed her for ten minutes or so. He glanced over his shoulder and sighed, hitching up his backpack; there they were, three heads peeking around a phone-booth.

A glint of mischief entered the boy's eyes and he grinned to himself a little. *Just a bit further, and I can get a little revenge for today's torture. Let's see, if I go around this corner, I should be able to double back---* He turned right, then slipped into the doorway of his favorite newsstand. With a quick "Konichiwa, Oji-san!" at the proprietor (who waved a preoccupied hand at his shortest-albeit-frequent customer), he slipped past the adults in the store and out the back entrance. Grinning broadly, Conan exited a few feet behind the three kids, who were only just now leaving their hiding-place and conferring in what they obviously believed to be low voices.

Slipping his bow-tie voice-modulator out of his pocket and twisting the dial produced wonderful results: a hissing, menacing snarl of "FREEZE! HANDS IN THE AIR, YOU KIDS!!"

Lovely. Two horrified squawks and one squeak, and three grade-schoolers froze in place with their hands over their heads. Conan heard a very young-boy laugh-- and realized that it came from his own lips. So did the three children before him; hands still held high, they each swiveled in place to face him with expressions ranging from righteous indignation to outrage.

"Conan-kun!!!"

Hands on hips, he surveyed them sternly. "Why are you following me home??" They shuffled their feet, looking guilty.

"We smell a rat." Mitsuhiko watched a lot of subtitled foreign gangster movies; it showed. "We want to meet your gir-" Conan shot the other boy a warning glance as Ayumi sniffled; "-your friend from America....."

Ayumi sniffled again, harder. *Oh boy..... I'd better nip this in the bud, or she'll make Ran's life miserable.* He sighed a long sigh, then nodded. "Okay... but let me and Ayumi-kun go first; Rin-kun's kind of shy."

"'Rin'?" Their ears perked up. Conan nodded, and he and the little girl moved on, leaving the other kids to follow a few minutes later.

As they walked, he surreptitiously studied the expression on his companion's face: woebegone, jealous, uncertain... *Don't forget, Kudo: her emotions are just as real as yours or anybody else's. Don't fall into the trap of thinking they don't matter just because Ayumi's a kid. If she's unhappy, deal with it and do it right.* He felt a stab of guilt over the pain in the child's eyes; she was obviously taking the matter to heart. "Ummm, Ayumi-kun.....?"

She sniffled.

"Are you--- mad at me?" He felt profoundly awkward; females, no matter their age, seemed to be amazingly proficient at making males feel that way. It came with the chromosomes, apparently. "I don't want you to be unhappy..... I, well, I know you wanted to be my girl-friend and all that---" Conan ground to a halt at the wounded look that she turned on him then.

*Ayumi-kun, you're awfully cute; but you're a little kid... and you're not Ran. Rin. And that's all there is to it. I wish I could make you understand-----*

She sniffled again. In a small, sad little voice she spoke. "Can't I be your girl-friend too?"

*Ayumi-kun, I'd feel like a child molester. No way, not even in fun.* Then he had an *inspiration,* a good one; glancing behind him to make sure that the other two weren't within hearing range, Conan leaned a little closer. "No.... but you can be my Best Friend, though. I don't have a Best Friend."

The little girl's eyes widened. "Really, Conan-kun?" She seemed to be considering the idea with some seriousness; the teenager-turned-child breathed an internal sigh of relief. "Really," he assured her earnestly. "Some of the boys at school have had more than one girl-friend, but nobody EVER has more than one Best Friend." *Ran was my best friend once upon a time, but now she's something more; I don't think she'd mind. Ayumi-kun is a good kid, a really good kid--- smart, kind, a little spoiled maybe... but she'll be one hell of an adult someday. And Ran's going to need a good friend too.*

They paused to cross a street, shoulders brushing against one another's; as they reached the sidewalk Conan held out one hand, smallest finger crooked. "Here, I'll Pinky-Swear it with you. 'I, Edogawa Conan, do solemnly swear that Ayumi is now and will always be my Best Friend in the entire world.'"

The little girl hesitated for a long second, thinking--- and then linked her finger in hers. They shook on the deal three times (as was customary in the arcane rituals of the Pinky Swear), and then Ayumi surprised her friend by throwing her arms around him in a quick hug. Blushing, the boy extricated himself--- not too quickly; he didn't want to hurt her feelings--- and the two continued on their way.

Watching from their vantage point some ways behind, Genta and Mitsuhiko simultaneously raised confused eyebrows at each other and shrugged.

*******************************************************************

"Tadaima!" Conan called through the front door, Ayumi trailing close behind. *Home. Funny how much 'home' this place feels like now. Guess you can get used to anything, given time.*

There was a clatter, and a small, skinny little girl came pelting around the corner of Ran's bedroom, long hair flying. "Shi-" She skidded to a halt at the sight of the grade-schooler peering around the boy's shoulder, wide-eyed. There was a long pause.

Conan held his breath.

Ayumi broke the silence. She stepped around Conan, smiling at the other girl. "Hi... I go to school with Conan-kun, so I'll be going to school with you, too." Dumbly the other 'child' nodded. "You're Rin-kun, ne?" Shyly 'Himitsu Rin' smiled back, her hands twisting each other with nervousness. "I'm Ayumi. I'm Conan-kun's Best Friend!" she announced proudly.

'Rin' cocked her head a little to one side, still smiling. "His 'Best Friend'? Then I'm really glad to meet you, Ayumi-kun; hajimemashite!" She giggled.

*Whew. Guess that worked okay.* Conan felt weak with relief.

Behind him, panting breaths announced the arrival of the two other kids; two short, weary bodies shuffled around the doorjamb to lean exhausted against the wall. 'Himitsu Rin' surveyed them with some alarm; the other boy merely shook his head, pushing his glasses up his nose. "What kept you two?"

Mitsuhiko was too winded to speak; Genta rolled his eyes and started pulling handfulls of rather smashed small candies out of his capacious pockets. "Free... candy samples (pant, pant)... at the store... on Neko Street (gasp, pant)... We stopped and got... some, so we got... slowed down, and we had (huff, huff)... to run." Still panting, the somewhat oversized boy offered a handful to 'Rin'; she gingerly accepted, moving a step or two closer to Conan. "Hi, I'm Genta, and---" he puffed; the smaller boy cut in. "--- and I'm Mitsuhiko. You're Rin-kun, Conan-kun's girlfriend, right? C'mon! Let's go to the park!" he finished, speaking at top speed as usual. The two boys grinned at the rather abashed 'Rin-kun'; Ayumi grabbed both her and Conan's hands and laughed, towing them along. With a yell from Conan of "Oji-san- we're-going-to-the-park-we'll-be-back-in-a-little-while-abayo!" they were out the door.

*******************************************************************

The park was a soft green oasis in the afternoon sunlight, full of wide spaces for children to run in, kites to be flown in, couples to stroll in. From his vantage point on the Monkey Bars, Conan felt himself fading slowly over into his Shinichi-self as usual--- that happened fairly often when he was in an open, exposed area; he would find himself keeping a sharp eye open for black trenchcoats. Lingering paranoia, he supposed.....

The boy's dark blue eyes scanned the trees at the edge of the park, then returned to linger on the figure of one young girl. A reluctant smile tugged at his lips, and his shoulders relaxed a little.

*There's no reason for Black Org operatives to be in a city park..... Well, not really; so parks are used for drug trafficking and dropoffs--- so what? Don't get paranoid, Kudo; nobody knows about Ran but you, Ai, Professor Agasa, her mom and her dad. Nobody's going to know, either. She'll be safe.*

Stretching, he swung down from the bars and dropped onto the ground. The object of his speculation was currently talking shyly to Ayumi-kun, her heart-shaped face a little pink. God, Ran looked cute (*No, Rin--- gotta get used to that...*)..... she had changed clothes, he saw; the jeans and t-shirt made her look more like the Ran he knew than the skirt and top provided by Ai the night before. Briefly Conan wondered about Ai's whereabouts, then gave it up as a waste of time. She'd show up sooner or later.....

*And then we'll have a chat, we two. I'm not quite as angry as I was, but I'm not going to let this little matter drop.*

Never mind. There were more important things than a quarrel to think about right now. Like watching Ran..... no, Rin.....

*Just look at her. I remember, when we were kids I used to think she was sort of special--- Even though she was a girl she was more fun to play with than anybody of the other kids; she'd listen to me, and even when she laughed at me she still seemed to like me. Even that time I threw her bookbag off the school roof to show her how long it would take for a body to fall fifteen meters, she only hit me over the head--- she didn't stop talking to me.*

The two little girls had moved to the swings now; Conan frowned a bit when he noticed their differences in walking, armswing and the like. Ayumi-kun's movements were much easier than Ran's, looser and less contained; her limbs swung in wider arcs--- their patterns were more erratic, more prone to change than the other girl's were.

*Well, that makes sense; as we grow older, we learn how to socially interact with more and more people around us, and one of the things we learn is not to intrude on 'personal space.' We learn to keep our bodies in a smaller area, and we forget that there're other ways of moving besides just walking and jogging. How many times does an adult skip down a sidewalk, or gallop like a horse, or just out-and-out take off in a headlong run? How many times do adults move without thinking, or without caring how it's going to look?*

*Kid's don't care how they look--- they just move. If there's a curb next to where they're walking, it's more fun to try and tight-rope walk the curb than to walk next to it. Why not, after all? I had to relearn that sort of thing in the first few weeks after I got 'shrunk'; guess I'll have to teach Ran-- Rin-- too. Man, I wonder how long it's going to take me to get used to her new name?*

A shout and a slight splashing off to one side drew his reluctant attention; Genta and Mitsuhiko had apparently found something interesting to mess with, from the looks of it. The larger of the two boys was ankle-deep in the park's muddy little pond, and the smaller boy knelt on the bank, peering closely at... the grass? As Conan sauntered over to take a look, Genta grinned and slogged his way to the pebbled bank, tennishoes sloshing. "Conan-kun, come take a look--- there's something in there---"

'There' was a narrow PVC-style drainpipe protruding from the gentle slope running down to the pond. Mitsuhiko was kneeling with his knees in the mud, trying to angle his head down enough to see into the pipe. Conan frowned, squatting beside the thin boy. "What's up?"

Mitsuhiko squinted into the dark pipe, which was no more than twenty centimeters across. "We saw a man trying to pull something out of here the other day--- he had his hand inside the pipe, but he didn't take anything out. He was fishing..... We wanted to see if he'd caught any fish, but he called us bad names and yelled at us to leave him alone; then he left. Grouch!"

The boy snorted, one untidy lock of hair falling across his freckled face. He squinted again at the pipe, then gave it up as a lost cause. "There's probably nothing in there anyway..... If I had my flashlight I could see---" Mitsuhiko complained. His bottom lip stuck out a little as he continued; "--- but I let Toshiro-kun at school borrow it, and he hasn't been at school for a few days."

Conan frowned, running his fingers along the inside of the plastic pipe. *Lots of scratches here, deep ones; wonder why?* "Toshiro-kun? You mean that skinny, quiet little kid who sits in the back of the room?" The other boy nodded, scratching at a bandaid on his forearm. "I gave him my flashlight to use three days ago, and he hasn't been back ever since." His annoyed tone announced clearly that three days without his two-way focusable flashlight (a birthday gift from his father) equaled an eternity in his opinion; even at the age of seven, Mitsuhiko showed great promise of becoming a full-fledged gadget freak.

His attention was then distracted by Genta, who took the opportunity to flick a splatter of pond-water onto the back of his friend's neck. "Oi, Genta, that's cold!" The skinny boy stomped a foot sideways into the shallow pond, sending a spray up. Laughing, the taller boy stomped back at him, spattering Conan as well. The teenager-turned-child sputtered, and the pipe-inquiry session degenerated into a three-way splashing contest.

Laughter made the boys look up; dripping and muddy, they turned as one towards the two girls who watched from a little ways up the bank. "Eeeeewww! Rin-kun, watch it, they'll get us wet!" Ayumi backed away--- but not far enough. A mighty stomp from Genta sent a spray of water flying in her direction, and she shrieked, half-laughing. "Coooonan-kun! Make him stopppp!!"

Free-for-all.....

By the time an irate park-worker had chased the children from the pond, all were soaked through and weak with laughter. Panting, Ran/Rin sank down on the grass beside Conan, brushing a strand of soggy hair from off her nose. "I can't believe I just did that..." she gasped, leaning against him. A little ways off the other three kids flopped down on the grass as well, giggling and boasting about who had splashed who the most. The girl glanced sidelong at the boy, who was in the middle of wiping his glasses with his shirt-tail. "I can't believe you just did that. Here, stop it--- how many times have I told you you'll scratch the lenses?"

Little-girl fingers took the glasses away from little-boy hands, and a tissue was applied from a handy pocket. "Conan-kun, you-----" She paused, an astonished look passing over her face as he watched, arms folded, smiling faintly.

Stammering, she handed the glasses back. "I-- I'm sorry, it's just---"

The boy took them back, turning them gently around and around in his hands. He chuckled. "It's okay, really; I'd be pretty surprised if you didn't do things like that now and then. Still the same old Ran....." He leaned back, hands clasped beneath his head. Late afternoon rays of sunlight gleamed against his face, making his eyes blink sleepily; staring at him, Ran suddenly felt her throat knot tightly with emotion.

*He's really, really Shinichi..... he really is. Now that I know, he's acting differently--- he's more relaxed, somehow. He can let his guard down around me; he doesn't have to keep his 'Conan' appearance up anymore, not with me. God, that must've gotten so old after a while.....* His eyes closed, slowly; lying there, the smooth-skinned young boy's face was calm, at ease. The slightest trace of a smile curved his lips.

She knew that smile; had known it for most of her life. *How could I miss it? Why didn't I recognize it?*

*I remember when we were, well, little, he was such a pest; he wouldn't exactly follow me around--- he'd just BE there, wherever I happened to be going. Guess he figured things out pretty well even then. And he talked, all the time; some of the other kids thought he was weird because he was interested in absolutely everything, no matter how strange or trivial.*

*He made me mad sometimes--- well, LOTS of times, really, like when he put that transmitter bug in my notebook in fifth grade. I wonder where in the world he got that? When I found out he'd been listening in on me all day I nearly put him through a window. And there was the time he went around fingerprinting everybody back when we were eight and he didn't tell us he was using permanent ink.....*

*But..... he always wanted to talk to me, always teased me..... For some reason, he liked me. And I found out after a while that I liked him too.*

She watched the boy for a moment or two, her own lips curving unconsciously into a smile.

*So here we both are, back again where we started; will you tease me and talk to me again, Shinichi? Will you drive me to distraction and play practical jokes on me, will you sneak notes to me in class and help me with my homework? Will you be both Shinichi and Conan for me?* Ran blinked down at the grass, running her fingers idly through the blades. *I've missed Shinichi; if I lost Conan, I'd miss him too.*

*I love them both.*

When she looked up, his eyes were open, wide open and fixed on hers.

*Dark blue eyes.... You always knew how to figure me out, didn't you? You could never take a step wrong, not in that. But I don't think you ever figured on this happening, Shinichi. This... second childhood of mine.*

Sharp eyes, full of knowledge and perception. Young-man eyes. They softened slightly, watching her as if she were something... amazing. She wondered what he was seeing.

*Who knows, Shinichi? I think maybe you'll find that I've still got a few surprises left in me that you haven't figured out yet.* Rin smiled down at Conan, then tickled his nose with a blade of grass and made him laugh.

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It was getting late by the time they walked back across the park; the sun's last lingering shafts of light were filtering through the trees, red and gold. They had all dried out a bit by now, but the rising evening wind was still enough to make them shiver a bit. Ayumi was chattering away at a fast click to her newfound friend Rin-kun, when Mitsuhiko stopped in his tracks. The freckled boy stared towards the trees at the edge of the park in surprise. "Toshiro-kun? Is that you?" He took a few steps forward, and the other children turned to look.

A small figure stood a little ways away, pale face indistinct against the half-light of sunset. A boy, certainly; he smiled shyly at them and Conan blinked as he recognized the child as his classmate, Nodomo Toshiro. He didn't really know the kid--- he was a quiet sort who kept very much to himself, seldom speaking up in class or making much of an effort to be friends with anyone.

But there he was; why didn't he come towards them? He was bending over, placing something in the grass----- Conan jumped slightly as a car backfired behind them in the park's exit-avenue; he turned back towards the boy at the treeline-----

----- who was no longer there.

*Huh?!? Where'd he go??*

Mitsuhiko ran forward, looking wildly around in all directions. "Toshiro-kun---? Toshiro?? Where are you?!?" His thin face was deeply puzzled. "He was right here---"

The other children came up behind him, looking around. Nothing; and the trees were too thin to hide anyone. Conan frowned, glancing at Ran/Rin, who shook her head in puzzlement. *Beats the hell out of me. Where did he go?!? And what's that?*

He stooped to pick up something that lay, shiny and silver, glinting in the grass. Mitsuhiko reached for it, exclaiming gleefully: "My flashlight! He brought it back--- but, but where did he go? And--- yuck! What's this stuff all over my flashlight??" The boy examined the silver metal casing with disgust and indignation, scrubbing at something dark and tarry with his fingernails. "He got gunk all over my flashlight! Hey, Toshiro-kuuuun!!" He yelled the boy's name as Conan took the flashlight from him, grimacing at the tacky feel of the surface.

No answer. The boy had simply vanished.

*Don't be stupid, Kudo; people don't vanish. What-- IS this stuff? It's kind of hard to tell, but I'd almost swear that it's-----"

He stared, brow wrinkled. A very unchildlike look of concern crossed his face, and he raised the flashlight to his nose to smell it. The skin on the boy's face wrinkled at the sour scent.

Beside him, 'Rin' held out a tissue wordlessly; Conan--- Shinichi carefully wiped away the tarry residue from the metal casing and folded the tissue into one pocket. Still fuming and puzzled, Mitsuhiko accepted his flashlight back, and the five kids trudged back on their way out of the park.

But as they left, the shortest boy of the lot hung back a bit, glasses gleaming in the dying daylight. The dark-haired young girl beside him paused as well, watching as he scanned the park one more time. She spoke very softly. "Shinichi..... what's wrong?"

He shook his head, and for the barest moment she almost seemed to see the older, sharper-featured face flash across his visage. "Nothing, really... it's just--- the stuff on that flashlight. I'm not absolutely sure, but I'd bet money that it was blood....."

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End of Chapter 2