As the four teens walked out of the building Ran asked Shinichi "How do you know him?"

"Who?" He looked at Kaito. "Well, he's been trying to track down the people who killed his father and he got a little to close."

Kaito interrupted, "Kudo and Hattori showed up and I've been stuck hanging around with him ever since." He turned to Aoko and quickly changed the subject. "Sorry for getting mixed up in that mystery back there, I think we missed our movie."

Aoko didn't really want to change the topic of conversation but went along with it anyway, for now. "That's ok, I kind of liked watching you two find the murderer. Why don't we go get something to eat and you can tell me how you solved it."

"Shinichi and I were about to go to dinner," Said Ran. "Why don't all four of us go together?"

Aoko grinned. "Maybe we can get these two to tell us what's really going on around here."

Shinichi's smile looked a little sick.

It was only a few blocks to the restaurant, once there they were seated at a table in the corner. As they waited for their food they sat and chatted. Kaito noticed Aoko seemed kind sad.

'She's thinking about how I can only be here one day' He thought 'Well I can't let her mope around tonight.' He leaned towards Aoko and grinned.

"Aoko?"

"Huh?"

He handed her a dozen white roses he pulled from thin air. As she blushed and took them there was a 'poof' and the bouquet vanished in a small cloud of smoke, leaving Aoko holding a single blush rose. Tangled around its stem was a charm bracelet. Aoko untangled the bracelet, looking at the many charms. There was a dove of mother of pearl and a green enamel four leaf clover, a tiny silver mop and a small gold locket shaped like a heart and set with a pale moonstone that held a blue inner fire.

Aoko opened the locket to see a picture of her and Kaito on each side. One picture showed her threatening a grinning Kaito with a broom, the other showed just their faces, laughing. As she looked at the picture her face went from pink to red then she looked up, and leaned closer to Kaito. In one hand she held the bracelet, the other hand was clenched in a fist. Kaito's smile faded as he looked at her, obviously he wondered if he should run for his life. But he seemed to be glued to his chair as she leaned forward and kissed him. Then she jumped out of her chair and ran to the bathroom. Ran and Shinichi stared after her for a moment.

"I'm going to go check on her." Said Ran.

"Good idea," Said Shinichi as he watched her leave the table. Kaito just sat there with a dazed expression and a goofy grin.

When Ran entered the bathroom, Aoko was the only one in there. She was slumped against the wall clutching the charm bracelet in both hands.

"Are you ok?" Asked Ran.

"I didn't mean to kiss him! I thought I was going to hit him."

"Why would you hit him?"

"He just, everything becomes a trick with him. He never takes anything seriously because it's all a set up for a prank or trick, and, and I don't know why I kissed him!"

Ran put her hands on Aoko's shoulders, "Look," She said "You told me that he loves to do magic. That he does it in memory of his father, he does magic even when he doesn't have an audience. That it's as much a part of him as running after mysteries is a part of Shinichi."

"But!"

"It doesn't mean he doesn't take things seriously, it's just who he is."

"I guess…"

"Come on."

"No! I, I can't go out there!"

"Aoko?"

"I just kissed him! What will he think?"

"Oh Aoko, just come on."

When they got back to the table Kaito hadn't moved and Shinichi was waving his hand in front of Kaito's face.

"Where's the reset button on this idiot?" He muttered. "Hey Nakamori, if I'd known you had the ability to shut him up I would have insisted we come back months ago."

Any reply the girls might have made was interrupted by the arrival of their dinner; the smell of the food also seemed to help Kaito to snap out of it. Without saying a word about it, they all decided to stick to fairly innocuous topics of conversation. Although Kaito and Aoko tended to blush when their eyes met.

After dinner the girls decided it would be fun if they all went to Tropical Land together. To no one's surprise Kaito loved the idea, it didn't take long for Aoko to remember or for Shinichi and Ran to learn why Kaito and theme parks are not a good mix.

"DO NOT CLIMB OUT OF THE MOVING ROLLERCOASTER!"

"But Aoko."

"Do you want me to get a fish?"

"…"

And later.

"You cheated!"

"Lighten up Shinichi, he was running a crooked game anyway."

"But!"

"It's not like I kept the prizes."

"That's not the point."

"You're no fun."

Still later.

"How did he do that?"

"Trust me, we're better off not asking."

"But."

"He's right Ran, you really don't want to ask."

And again,

"Oops!"

"You know Ran is the captain of the karate team at school?"

"She is?"

"Uh huh, she has been for years."

"She has?"

"Yep, since she made black belt. And Kaito?"

"What?"

"She really liked that cell phone."

In spite of, or maybe because of the chaos surrounding Kaito, all four teens were able to forget. To forget the loneliness and worry, the fear and heartache that had been so much a part of their lives for a while now. And be, just for now, teenagers having fun with friends, and ignoring that, like Cinderella, this gift would last only one night and in the morning it would all seem like a dream.

Both our computers died. One was rescued by completely reformatting the harddrive, the other is a large paperweight. We will thank all reviewers and answer some questions at the end of the next chapter which will be posted in about a week, maybe two. It'll also be a bit longer than usual.