Artful Deception
Chapter 1: Patience is a Virtue
Disclaimer: If I owned Detective Conan, Shinichi would be back by now! (My way of saying "No, I do not own Detective Conan" xP)

Hey everybody! n.n This is my first shot at a Detective Conan fanfic, so I hope it turns out all right. I've worked pretty hard on it. Please R&R :D

Looking out the window of his room, all Shinichi could see was black. The air was humid and cold, the night was still, and everything was dead quiet; not that he would've known. Shinichi was perfectly comfortable indoors, wrapped up in his blanket inside the heat-furnished Mouri Detective Agency. He was still there, living his life as Conan; and he was anything but asleep.

He had given up on sleeping at least an hour before, and for a while he was reading his dad's new installment to the Night Baron book series. He enjoyed it, and it was effectively getting his mind off certain things that he didn't want to think about; however, he was only using the light of his flashlight watch that Dr. Agasa had given him, and all other lights were off. It was annoyingly painful on his eyes, and when he began to get a headache, it was a blaring signal to him that he definitely needed a break. He was considering going downstairs to the kitchen to make himself a cup of hot chocolate, thinking that it might make him feel better. His watch read 3:45am; he figured he could easily go downstairs, make his hot chocolate, and come back up to his room without waking anyone up. After all, they would be asleep for several more hours, and it would give him something to do other than killing his eyes reading.

He got up out of bed and stretched, feeling like he hadn't moved in years, and then headed out of his room, being very quiet. He then noticed that the light was on in the living room; apparently someone had woken up and gone downstairs without him noticing. He proceeded down the steps to find out who it was, finding it very strange that he couldn't remember hearing any footsteps at all that morning. He assumed that he was probably reading at the time, not paying attention.

"Ran-neechan?" he asked, seeing her sitting on the couch in a daze. She looked over to Conan, a little surprised.

"Hey, Conan, I didn't know you were up," she said. "It's really early. What are you doing?"

Conan shrugged. "Not sleeping," he replied. He took a seat next to her on the couch, noticing something in her hands. "And what are those?" he asked.

Ran looked down at the little papers in her hand. "Oh these? Just invitations to my birthday party next week…" she replied. "I'm going to hand them out when I go back to school Monday. Heiji and Kazuha are invited too, of course. I already mailed theirs to them a couple days ago." She smiled and held them so Conan could get a better look.

"Wow! I didn't know that your birthday was coming up so soon, Ran-neechan!" Conan said excitedly. It was a boldfaced lie; of course he had known. It was the main reason he had been so eager for a cure lately. He had never missed any of Ran's birthdays as long as he had known her, and the thought of having to miss one because of his stupid predicament sickened him.

"Really?" she asked. "I guess I didn't tell you."

Conan shook his head. "Uh-uh," he replied. His attention was drawn to the invitations when Ran began to flip through them. There was Sonoko of course, and a few other names he recognized, but he couldn't help but notice that her eyes lingered on one invitation in particular – and he wasn't surprised when he saw whose it was.

"You really want him to come, huh?" he asked. "Shinichi, I mean." It was a rather obvious question to which Conan already knew the answer, but he didn't really care.

"Well, of course!" she replied with a smile.

"I bet he will," Conan said.

Ran giggled. "Maybe…" she said. "With his big case going on, I wouldn't be surprised if he forgot about my birthday all together…"

Conan shook his head. "I doubt it," he said.

"Well, we're talking about someone who forgets his own birthday…" she reminded him, laughing a bit.

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit too. "Yeah that's true, I suppose…but trust me, he remembers," Conan replied confidently.

"You should hear yourself," Ran replied, giggling again. "You sound like you think you know more about him than I do…"

Conan scratched his head and chuckled nervously. Well, I would certainly hope so… he thought. There was silence between them, and for a moment, Conan thought he heard crickets chirping.

"Well… one thing still kind of bothers me," Ran thought aloud.

Conan looked curious. "What is it, Ran-neechan?" he asked.

"Well, it's just that whenever he calls…something about the way he talks just makes it seem like he's never even left at all," she said. "He always knows so much about what's going on in my life, even though I barely know anything about what's going on with him anymore. And when I ask him about how he knows, he always seems to come up with some off-the-wall explanation… yet it always makes sense, so it's not like I can question it..."

Conan scratched his head, unsure of the right thing to say. "Well, I mean… I tell him a lot of things," he informed her. "About you and what's going on here. He's always asking me, because… uh… well, he's worried about you and um… he doesn't want to annoy you with silly questions about your life all the time and seem …nosy." He let out a little nervous giggle, hoping she wouldn't notice how suspicious and not true that had actually sounded.

Ran yawned. "'Doesn't want to annoy me' …yeah, right," shemuttered with obvious sarcasm in her voice. "He's out there solving murders and complex cases, facing dangerous criminals, yet he's afraid to show that he's worried about someone he's known since he could barely walk." She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Typical."

The 'little boy' laughed a little, and decided that now would be a good time for a subject change. "Anyways… Ran-neechan, you look really tired…maybe you should go back to bed," Conan suggested. "It's still really early."

She nodded, slowly getting up. "Sleep sounds good about now," Ran replied. "And you know, maybe you should get some sleep, too. It's not healthy for little boys like you to stay up so late and wake up so early. Don't try to fool me; I know you were up late reading last night."

He giggled innocently, scratching his head again. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. Looks like she's not a bad detective herself, he noted. His eyes wandered over to the stack of invitations again, seeing that his own had been put on top. "Oh, before you go Ran-neechan, there is something I wanted to ask you," he said.

Ran got up and stretched, realizing how tired she really was. It seemed that neither of them got the sleep they needed. "What is it, Conan?" she asked.

He grabbed his invitation from the pile and held it up to her. "Why did you make Shinichi an invitation even though you knew you wouldn't be able to give it to him personally?" he asked. "It's sort of a waste of paper, wouldn't you say?"

She took the invitation from Conan's hand and giggled a bit. "How observant of you," she remarked. "I don't know really…I guess part of me was hoping that I'd be able to give it to him, that's all. But I suppose I'll have to call him instead. Sonoko's been bugging me about that, so maybe if I do it today, she'll finally get off my case." She put the invitation with the others where it belonged and found her way to the stairs. "Coming?" she asked, looking back at Conan with a smile.

He nodded to Ran and after switching off the light, he made his way to her and followed her up the stairs to their rooms. Conan didn't even realize that he never did get his hot chocolate. They parted, Ran going to her own room and Conan going into his.

"All right, well, get some sleep Conan," she told him. "Good night."

"'You too Ran-neechan," he replied. "Night!"

Conan woke up again to the sun shining bright in his delicate eyes. They remained closed, as he moved his arm in front of his face in an attempt to shield it, but it wasn't working all that well. He sighed, grabbing his blanket and pulling it over his head instead, which proved much more effective, but he knew he had to get up and face the day eventually.

He managed to get on his feet, and after much staggering, finally became conscious enough to make his bed. It could barely recognized as the same bed he slept in – the sheets coming off of the bed, blankets everywhere, pillows magically ending up on the other end of the bed where his feet were; this detective certainly was active in his sleep. He could only wonder what kind of twisted dreams he must have been having, yet never could remember; and he decided that was a good thing.

He grabbed his glasses, which he had found knocked over next to his nightstand, and wiped them off on his shirt. After putting them on, he left his room, following the smell of food all the way down to the kitchen until he found Ran. She had set the table and was bringing over the breakfast she had just finished cooking.

"Hey, Conan!" she greeted. "Hope you slept well the second time around." She smiled and put the food down on the table in the center where it could be easily reached by anyone sitting around the table. "Go ahead, have a seat and help yourself. Careful though, it's still hot."

She took a seat herself and watched as Conan did the same. "Thanks, Ran-neechan," hereplied with a smile. They both glanced over to the remaining empty seat. There was a silence, and finally Ran sighed, putting a hand on her forehead.

"I woke him up at least ten minutes ago…" sherecalled angrily. "It'll be his own fault if he has to eat a cold breakfast." She took the fork in her hand and stabbed it into her food, scooping it up and taking a rather violent bite.

"Your dad never has been a morning person…" Conan noted, taking a bite of his own food.

"That's no excuse," she replied, taking another violent bite. "He told me he was going to call mom today to invite her to my party himself, and now it's going to be too late because she will have already left for work." She grumbled.

"Can't he call her at work?" Conan asked.

"No. Mom wouldn't give him the new number," she told him. "Not that I blame her…"

Conan gave a look of understanding, and continued to slowly eat his food. Ran, however, had been speeding through on the energy of her anger, and was almost done.

"It doesn't matter. He's not going to get out of it," she snapped. "He promised me he'd call her and he's going to."

"Well, no harm in calling her after work, right?" Conan asked innocently.

Ran sighed. "Yeah I guess not," she growled. "He just keeps pushing it back, that's all, and it's really driving me up the wall." She violently grabbed her plate and headed over to the kitchen, taking Conan's plate on the way as she noticed that he had finished as well. She was back in the room in a matter of seconds.

"Er, thanks…" Conan replied. "Oh and, uh, Ran-neechan?"

"Hmm?" she replied.

"Well, Ayumi-chan was thinking, and she said that since there haven't been that many cases around here for the Detective Boys, we should spend a day playing detective games, so that our detective skills would still be top notch for our next case," he explained. "She asked Dr. Agasa about it and he already agreed, and they told me to be over after breakfast…" Conan trailed off, and stopped when he realized he had said enough.

"Aw, how adorable!" Ran marked with a smile. "Well, of course you can go...just go get whatever you need and I'll walk you over, okay?" She grinned.

Conan nodded and smiled. "Okay, Ran-neechan, thanks!" he exclaimed, running up the stairs. He grabbed his cell phone, safely concealing it in his jacket. It was his own cell phone, and he could remember Ran saying that he was going to call him today to invite him to the party. If she were to see that it was in Conan's possession, there'd be no doubt that she'd be suspicious – which was why he was getting out of the agency for the day with the excuse he made up. Since he also had matters to discuss with Dr. Agasa and Ai, it was the perfect place to go.

He went back downstairs and found Ran ready at the door, with her jacket on and keys in her hands, and he noticed that she had left a note for her father. It was a smart thing to do, though Conan still had doubts about him waking up before they got back.

"Ready?" Ran asked.

"Let's go!" Conan said enthusiastically.

They both headed for Dr. Agasa's house. It was a ten-minute walk at most, but of course Ran wouldn't let little Conan go alone; not that Shinichi was complaining about the extra time with her.

Ran took nice deep breaths, maintaining a smile. Something about being outdoors had lightened her mood immensely. "Nice out, huh?" Ran asked. "Kinda chilly."

Conan nodded. "Yeah, sure is…" he replied, giggling.

"But I like it," she added.

"Me too…"

There was an awkward silence as Ran appeared to be taking a stroll down memory lane, and Dr. Agasa's house finally came into view. Ran's eyes, however, had been fixated on the house next to it, belonging to a certain someone. She turned to Conan suddenly, breaking herself out of her trance.

"Well, you can make it from here right?" she asked.

Conan turned to her and nodded. "Yep! I'll be fine, Ran-neechan," he assured her. "Thanks."

Ran nodded. "No problem Conan. Don't stay too late now, okay?" she warned him.

"Okay. See you later!" Conan called. He started to walk the rest of the block to Dr. Agasa's house, as Ran turned back the other way to head back to the agency. He had mindlessly walked on, and realizing that he was coming up to his own house, he stopped. He stared inside with curiosity in his eyes, wondering what he would find if he went in. He even began to suspect truth in all the ghost myths surrounding his house that the Detective Boys so eagerly told; it was strange how a place, once so familiar, could seem so foreign.

"Looking for yourself, are you?"

Conan jumped what felt like ten feet in the air and his heart skipped a beat, as he turned around to see who's voice it was.

"Haibara! Geez, don't scare me like that!" he exclaimed.

"Good morning to you, too, Kudo," she replied emotionlessly, continuing the extra few steps to Dr. Agasa's. Conan sighed, shaking his head, and decided to follow her as he noticed the Doc walking up beside him. Based on the bags they were carrying, he figured they had just gone grocery shopping.

"Did you need something, Shinichi?" he asked. "Come on inside, we can talk in there."

Dr. Agasa followed Ai inside, as Conan followed behind him. He breathed a sigh of relief as he got inside the house and took off his jacket, palming his cell phone before he put the jacket on the rack with the others. He walked over to the table and sat down, feeling a new sense of relaxation being around people who knew who he really was. Dr. Agasa and Ai soon joined him, offering him breakfast, but he declined courteously, having already eaten.

"So, Shinichi, what can I help you with? A new invention perhaps?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"Mm, something like that, I guess," he mused. There was a pause as Conan looked over to Ai, who was eating and did not appear to be paying much attention, but he knew she was. "You already know why I'm here, don't you?"

Ai shrugged, not so much as even looking up from her food, but she had known he was addressing her. "Doesn't take a genius detective to figure it out," she replied.

He smirked. He had to admit, she was right. There was a moment of silence, as Dr. Agasa thought for a moment, and when it seemed like he understood what they were talking about, Conan spoke again. Dr. Agasa simply listened to the two converse, enjoying his breakfast.

"Well. You both know I'm why I'm here then…so let's cut to the chase," he urged. He took off his fake Conan glasses and set them on the table. He wanted to be spoken to seriously as Shinichi; not Conan. "The cure…will it be ready by her birthday? How long will it last?"

Ai had finished her breakfast and wiped off her mouth with a napkin. She took the last sip of her orange juice and turned to Conan. "Yes, it'll be ready; I'm going to finish it in time, all right? Just relax and just take comfort in knowing that you are going to be able to go as yourself," she said. "You'll be the first to know when I run more tests and find out more specifics about the cure itself, so don't be hasty."

"I'm not trying to be hasty," he argued. "And I've been patient for almost a year now." There was annoyance in his voice, but it was not directed towards Ai or Dr. Agasa.

"Then a couple more days won't make a difference, now will it?" Ai responded coldly.

Conan grumbled at the thought of having to wait even longer, but he was happy that at least he would be able to find out soon – very soon. He gave a smile and sighed.

"Yeah, I guess –"

Just then, a familiar ring tone echoed throughout the room, and yet at the same time it was a sound Shinichi couldn't very well remember. He froze, listening to it to find out exactly where the sound was coming from, but he quickly realized what it was. He relaxed and pulled out his cell phone, which had been vibrating in his pocket, and he immediately looked at the ID caller to make sure the person calling was who he thought it was – and indeed, he was correct.

Mouri, Ran.

He smiled and walked to a nearby window to make sure he would get good signal, as he pulled out his bowtie and changed it to the frequency of his normal Shinichi voice. His smile turned into a playful smirk as he flipped up his phone to answer it.

"Up early today, are we?" he asked playfully.

Ran was taken aback for a few seconds by the abnormal greeting, but then took comfort in it, knowing that only Shinichi would ever greet her in such a manner over the phone. She smiled upon hearing his voice; just knowing he was alive gave her some satisfaction.

"I could say the same to you," she replied, as her lips curled into a smirk as well. "What've you been up to, Mr. Detective? You finally solve that big case yet?"

He scratched his head. "No…" he replied bluntly. He opened his mouth to keep talking, perhaps add an excuse or two… but he decided against it.

"I see. So the great detective has two cases he can't solve now, eh?" Ran teased. "Are you sure you're not losing your touch, Sherlock?"

"Wait – two?" he asked, puzzled. It didn't take him long to pick up on what she was talking about. "Oh you hush! I'm going to catch that Thief, you just wait!"

Ran laughed. "Of course you are," she said.

"I will!" Shinichi reiterated again.

Ran just laughed again and shook her head. "Well…anyway…" she said. "When do you think you'll be able to get a break from all these cases of yours? I mean, you can't be working on them 24/7..." Her voice softened with her sudden drop in confidence, for fear of what Shinichi's answer might be.

He just smirked. "I might have a day's break or two..." he said. "But there isn't really anything important going on, now is there? No holidays or anything and certainly no birthdays… right?" He had made it a point to sound more sarcastic than ever.

Ran just raised an eyebrow, and then she smiled, shaking her head. "You knew all along, didn't you?" she asked.

"Naturally," he replied in a cocky tone of voice, still smiling.

"So you can come then?" she asked excitedly.

"Ran, have I ever missed any of your birthdays?" he retorted.

"No…" she replied. "But it seemed like you were going to."

Shinichi shook his head. "Ran, Ran, Ran," he said. "Haven't I always told you things aren't always as they seem?"

Ran giggled. "True, I guess you're right," she replied with a smile.

"I always am."

Ran and Shinichi said the words at the exact same time, and she had to stifle a laugh as Shinichi seemed confused for a few moments, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Whaa? How did you – "

"I'm psychic," Ran said, winking. "Or maybe you're just predictable."

Shinichi laughed. "Or maybe you just know me too well," he replied.

"Or that," Ran agreed. They both giggled for a little bit, followed by a silent pause.

"So, soon-to-be birthday girl, what time is your party?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh! Uh, well I put four o'clock on the invitations, but I really don't care," she said. "Just as long as you show up!"

Shinichi nodded. "I will, I will," he replied. "I promise."

"You better," Ran said threateningly. "You may be the great detective of the East, but I can still kick your ass and you know it!"

He just smirked. "Wouldn't it be a bit hard to kick my ass if I'm not there, Miss Karate Champion?" he retorted.

"SHINICHI!" she bellowed, so loud that Shinichi had to take the phone away from his ear for the moment to salvage his hearing. She was even loud enough for Dr. Agasa and Ai to hear, and they both tried to hide their teasing smiles.

"Kidding, kidding!" Shinichi replied. "Relax! I'll be there, okay?"

Ran narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, yeah," she replied. "Just remind me to slap you when you get here."

"Yes ma'am," he said chuckling.

"Oh, I better get going. My dad finally woke up, and he's yelling for his breakfast," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll see you at the party, okay?"

"All right," he replied. "Talk to you later, then."

"Bye!"

They both hung up with smiles, and Ran was so happy she could barely be angry at her father anymore. She looked forward to her birthday more than ever; her worries were over. Shinichi's, however, were a different story…

Hope you guys enjoyed it so far! Please R&R and you can expect the next chapter within the next week or so n.n;;