Note: This story takes place before Volume 31. I'd also like to add that I am a ConanxAi fan, but only if it's reasonable (which is one of the reasons why I wrote this fanfic). Because we all know Shinichi and Ran are meant for each other! Right? ^_~

Chapter 5- Investigations

Conan pushed the gate open with a creak. "If we can't find anything today, we'll just have to call the police."

"Not that they'll listen to us."

"I know, but it's worth a try. And Detective Sato would help, if she's available."

It was after school when the two had finally lost the Detective Boys and come to Professor Agasa's house. They trotted across the yard, their feet trampling the leaves blown off by the wind.

"So, do you have any theories yet?"

"No; not enough data. As Holmes once said," he struck a serious pose, "'It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.'"

"You know, even if Sherlock Holmes was real, I doubt he'll be able to help us now," Haibara said sarcastically.

"Who says he can't?" Conan winked.

The two children entered Agasa's house apprehensively, not knowing what they might find. But as soon as the door closed, Conan went full power into Detective Mode.

He carefully noted the missing tennis shoes, then pulled on gloves and went straight to the closet. After rummaging around for a few minutes, he turned away with a thoughtful expression.

"Now it makes more sense," he mumbled. "I thought it was strange that he would wear something as casual as tennis shoes, but now it makes sense. Professor Agasa also changed out of his lab-coat and took a raincoat, and did so in a hurry too; a hat fell off the door rack but he didn't bother picking it up."

"A raincoat?" Haibara said with some surprise. "It's been windy, but there hasn't been rain in more than a week. What does it mean?"

"A disguise, or maybe he was going somewhere far away…Anyway, let's look around some more."

They searched the house, inspecting anything that looked even a little out of the ordinary (in other words, everything in the Professor's workshop), but still they found nothing that could tell them where he went. It was only until Conan was rooting through the trashcan that they found their first clue.

"Hello, what's this?" He held up a crumpled piece of paper, on which numerous pen marks could be seen. It was a plain sheet of notebook paper, its surface covered with little black dots from top to bottom. The marks were only on the front side, and the paper had a big tear from where it was torn from a notebook, which they soon found lying on the coffee table.

They smoothed it out on the tabletop in the kitchen and looked over it while they took a short break. Haibara paged through a stack of notes the Professor had laying about, while Conan concentrated on the code breaking. She was confident it wouldn't take long. The girl watched him from the corner of her eyes; watched his wise eyes skim over the marks, searching for a pattern. She watched as something caught his attention, some idea or possibility. He took out his mechanical pencil and set to work. A knowing smile crossed his face.

The finished product made as less sense as it did before. Conan had connected the dots until they resembled a series of stick figures dancing their way across the page. By then he was grinning and even chuckled a few times. But as he surveyed his work, that smile faded from his eyes and was replaced by a look of stunned surprise. Then followed a period of thoughtful silence before he folded up the paper and put it in his pocket.

"What did you find?" Haibara asked as he slid off his chair.

Conan shrugged. "Oh, nothing. It must not have been a code after all."

Something about his behavior troubled her. Kudo-kun was not the sort of person who would quit so easily when faced with a problem. And if this paper was a coded message, which it certainly seemed to be, how come he could not solve it? Codes were supposed to be his specialty…

"Are you hiding something?" she asked skeptically.

Conan looked a bit too innocent as he replied, "What would I have to hide?" Then, obviously trying to change the subject, he pointed to the Professor's computer. "Did he use that on the night he disappeared?"

Frowning, Haibara answered, "Yes. He was on the Net for quite a while."

She abandoned the notes and helped him turn on the computer. Their small bodies allowed them to both occupy the Professor's desk chair without getting in each other's way. The first thing they did was check all the program files to see if they had been erased.

"Well, they're all here. That's good news," Haibara sighed.

Conan pointed at an icon on the screen. "We better check his bookmarks too."

Soon they were logged onto the Internet, despite Haibara's warning that the phone line could be tapped. Professor Agasa's list of bookmarked webpages was long and diverse. To check them all would take hours, so they just skimmed over the titles and looked at anything that sounded suspicious.

Once, they came upon a bookmark titled "Black" and waited with bated breath as the page loaded.

Waiting…

Waiting…

A picture appeared with the caption: "Blackberry cheesecake recipes."

They both let out long sighs.

"You know, I find it odd that while other single men would be downloading porn, our dear Professor is looking at pictures of desserts."

"I've been putting him on a diet."

"Aah, so that explains it."

As they neared the end of the list, Haibara lost patience. She got off the chair and strode away, leaving Conan clicking on something on the screen.

"I give up. We're not going to find anything here, so we mind as well wait for him to come back, or for them to come get us. We're all going to die someday, anyway," she said calmly, though she did not entirely mean it. "Really, sometimes I wonder why we even try. Life is so fragile, even the littlest thing can destroy it."

Like a pill, or a bullet. The image of her sister's face loomed up again. It looked even fainter than before, but still had that carefree smile. That smile used to bring warmth to her day, but now it only made her cold.

"……"

"Kudo-kun?"

"Huh? What?" Conan quickly closed the page he was looking at and turned around. "Sorry, I wasn't listening."

Her voice hardened. "It's getting late, and we haven't found anything. Now what?"

"Hmm, well, no news is good news." He hopped off the chair. "We should just wait another day, then he'll come back."

Now, that was unusual.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Just a hunch. Don't worry too much about it. Oh yeah, aren't we going to Tropical Land tomorrow with the kids?"

He smiled, making her shudder slightly.

"Yes."

"Then we can't go meet them looking like the world is going to end." Conan tugged off his gloves and went to get his backpack by the door. "You know, you should smile more."

Yes, he was acting odd. He never was good at keeping secrets, even when his life depended on it. Well, fine, let him play his little games. At least this way it won't be entirely her fault…

"Hey, aren't you coming?" Conan called from the doorway.

Haibara took her small lab coat from where it was slung over the couch. "No, I'm staying here. If the Professor is coming back like you said, I mind as well get some work done." Though I doubt it

"Oh. See you tomorrow then."

Conan pulled the door open and took a deep breath. He seemed to be dreading something. Haibara thought for a moment, then took something from her pocket.

"Wait." She went to the door and held out a small, but beautifully crafted box. "Before he disappeared, the Professor asked me to give this to you. I…I forgot." She looked away. "Here."

Immediately his eyes brightened and he snatched it out of her hands. "Finally! Thanks."

As the boy bolted across the yard with a newfound energy, Haibara stood and silently contemplated over what she'd just done. She knew that she might regret it later, but after all, it was the right thing to do. Wasn't it? Maybe; she really wasn't an expert in these things. And it was such a pain seeing him like that…

For truthfully, she hadn't forgotten about that box. It had been on her mind for days until, just now, she'd finally forced herself to give it to him. For truthfully, she'd already guessed what was inside.