After the roller coaster that was his conversation with Ran, Shinichi felt a huge weight lifted off of him. Their interaction as 'Conan' had become stiff and uncomfortable, but that was a price worth paying for. At least they were honest to each other now.

With the organization gone, he was considering returning back to his own house, but living alone in his current form would prove to be difficult. And there was also the issue with the Detective Boys and anyone he met as 'Conan'. To keep things from suddenly being uprooted and shuffled around, he decided to stay with Ran until a cure was found.

To a certain extent, Ran allowed 'Conan' a lot more freedom and covered for his actions more often. However, she remained fretting over him since his body was still that of a small child. Each time Shinichi left to do his own thing, she would remind him about his limits. "You better come back by eight this afternoon! Don't go in empty alleyways by yourself! You need twelve hours of sleep!" Things that he should already know and yet won't follow.

"Yo, Kudo! Hey, Ran-chan! Ooh, I smell breakfast!"

Ran and Shinichi thanked their lucky stars that Mouri Kogoro was fast asleep in bed when Hattori bursted into the agency.

The tiny detective looked at his fiend disapprovingly. "What's your reason for coming here this time?"

"Hattori-kun! It's so nice to see you again! Why don't you join us for food?" Her beaming face switched to a scolding one, keeping her voice low. "Shinichi, he's your friend! You should thank him for coming all the way here from Osaka."

"Heh heh, yer Big Sister knows how ta be nice! Ya should learn, ya lil' brat." Taking advantage of his height, he messed the shorter detective's hair up. Ran simply watched from the side with great amusement.

"Stop that, you idiot. You didn't even answer my question..." Shinichi readjusted his glasses and patted down his hair back into place.

Hattori looked surprised. "Ya mean, ya didn't check yer phone? Hakuba told me he sent ya an invitation too."

"I just woke up, Hattori. Plus it's a weekend."

Climbing onto a chair at the table, Shinichi grabbed his phone and checked. Like Hattori had said, there was a message from the blond teen. "Shibuya at noon, huh..."

Taking a seat across from him, Hattori chimed in. "Right? I asked 'im why and he said that it's a check-in o' sorts."

Two weeks have passed since the takedown. After a short stay at hospital to recover from minor injuries, the four of them split their ways to rest and recover back home. In between now and then, a Kid heist took place but none of the detectives attended due to them still tying up loose ends from the fall of the Black Organization. Once they weathered the initial storm, the next wave of paperwork and interrogation still came by frequently but in less quantity. Kid likely had to endure none of the administrational nightmare the rest of them had due to his status as a wanted criminal. The thief said that he wanted his assistance to remain unknown, saying that there would be too many strings attached and unknown consequences from being associated with the incident.

After a light breakfast, Hattori and Shinichi left the agency with Ran's approval. In case the Detective Boys were looking for him, she was to say that he was meeting his parents at a restaurant. A short ride on the bus later, the dynamic duo arrived around the place of the meeting spot. The crowds were not as thick as the main shopping and touristic area but it was still packed due to it being a weekend.

"Kudo, I see 'im!" Making use of his height advantage over Shinichi once again, Hattori spotted the blond detective first.

"Lead the way then. Don't walk too fast or I'll lose you in this sea of strangers."

"We can go faster if ya hold my hand!" He offered mockingly.

"Have you no shame?" Shinichi bit back with a half amused smile.

Just when Hattori was about to return a witty response, he looked back up at Hakuba. His eyes widened slightly. "That guy… He's actin' kinda funny. Let's hurry after 'im, Kudo."

Pushing through the crowds, Shinichi weaved his way through much more quickly than Hattori since legs took up less space. He still had to dodge properly since most people couldn't see him as they walked.

"Clear the way! Coming through!" He loudly yelled, using his childish appearance as an excuse to plow his way into the crowd.

"Sorry! Pardon us!" Hattori was hot on his heels and threw in quick apologies. He was aware that his tiny friend was clearing a way for him too by being a public nuisance. "Ku-Conan-kun, he turned around the corner ahead."

With Hattori being the spotter and Shinichi creating the path, they made it to a less populated section of the ward. Finally, Shinichi could see Hakuba walking ahead. The blond seemed to be looking around him, wary about something. Was he tailing someone or watching for potential dangers?

Hakuba approached a desolate shopping building and entered like any other potential customer. Shinichi looked at the name of the building. It was the same as the one in the text message.

Keeping their distance, Shinichi and Hattori followed suit. Unlike most of the people going in and out of the place, the blond detective opted for the stairs in the dimly lit back area of the first floor instead of the main ones at the center. Listening to the echoes of his steps in the dusty stairwell, the pair paced themselves so they wouldn't be spotted by Hakuba on their way up.

Once they heard the telltale whine of a metal door leading to the rooftop opening and closing, Hattori and Shinichi moved quickly. Just when the taller of the two was about to pull it open, they heard Hakuba's voice coming from outside.

"Ah, you're early. It's rare that you came as yourself, Kid."

"Hakuba-san." Another voice greeted the detective. He sounded eerily like Shinichi, if he hadn't shrunk.

Hattori and Shinichi stared at each other wide eyed. They were unaware that the thief would join the 'check-in' meeting as well, although they should have expected it in hindsight. When did Hakuba have a way to contact Kaitou Kid? It was always the other way around.

Instead of joining in, Shinichi and Hattori continued to press their ears against the cold metal door out of curiosity.

"So, Detective-san, what is this about?"

"I invited Kudo-kun and Hattori-kun too. They should be here any minute now."

"Why?" There was a tense irritation to Kid's voice.

Hakuba seemed to have expected the other's hesitancy. "We need to discuss the case I've been pursuing. I am very certain that it's related to the organization we helped take down, Kid. It's time that you put a little more trust in the police."

"..." Kid didn't respond immediately, which was slightly concerning if one were to consider that he was a known conversationalist. "'Trust the police', huh? Are you saying this case is official?" He began chuckling at the idea of it.

"Not yet, but I have collected plenty of evidence to open an investigation."

"Why didn't you launch it then? Is it because you're a child in their eyes?" There was a distinct tone of mockery in the phantom thief's voice.

This time there was hesitation in Hakuba's response. "I-I can't be sure that whoever I'm chasing won't go after the people I know."

"Then I suggest you stop." A stern word of warning from Kid.

"!"

"Hand the case to me. You're better off dropping it and moving on to solve other crimes."

Hakuba had never sounded this highly agitated with someone before. "Are you out of your mind?! If you think that I'll just let you handle this problem by yourself, then you can forget about it. You have no idea how far they would go to silence-"

The other voice cut him off with obvious frustration. "I do have the idea." There was a strange emphasis in it. "Now drop the case or I will break into your house to take the files."

"...What's with you today? Is this about her?"

"Keep your mouth shut, Detective."

"W-what?" Hakuba was not expecting the snappy response. "Is everything alright, Kuro-"

Kid didn't let him finish. "This meeting is over."

Shinichi and Hattori flinched when they heard steps coming closer towards them. Panicking, they stepped back just in time for the door to be slammed open by Kid. The door handle narrowly missed the top of Shinichi's head. Both of them were nearly flattened against the wall by the door as it flew wide open. Kid probably heard them since they yelped but didn't pay them any attention as he made his way down the stairs.

Hattori's gaze followed the thief until he was out of sight. He winced from getting hit on the elbow. "What happened ta bein' a gentleman before? Jeez..."

From what they could see, Kid was dressed in dark clothes, completed by a cap. A recon outfit. They couldn't discern much of his face when he passed by them thanks to the door.

Hearing the Osaka detective's voice, Hakuba walked back inside. He peeked in and spotted the duo. "Hattori-kun. Kudo-kun." He acknowledged their presence apologetically. "I'm sorry about what happened."

Shinichi responded first, shaking his head. "We should be the ones who should apologize for eavesdropping."

"And it ain't yer fault for, well, this. I'll blame Kid fer it." Hattori said while rubbing his aching arm.

Hakuba sighed. "Actually, I'm glad that you two stayed behind the door. I wouldn't know how he would have reacted if he saw you guys."

Raising an eyebrow, Shinichi looked up at Hakuba. "What do you mean? You're worried he's gonna do something to us?" Knowing Kid, the guy had a penchant for practical jokes and would probably use them to exact revenge. A chill went down his spine at the thought of it.

The expression on the blond turned pensive. "No. It's just that Kid is not usually like this. He seemed really antsy and paranoid about something. He's been acting odd ever since yesterday when I saw him at school."

Hattori and Shinichi gave Hakuba a shocked look. "Y-ya mean ya know the guy? Like, the actual person behind the gaudy suit? I guess that makes sense on how ya could contact 'im..."

"School, huh?" The shrunken detective wondered out loud.

Hakuba blinked before realizing what came out of his mouth while lost in thoughts. "Perhaps I said too much. Kid is a bit touchy about his night 'job'. Even when it's only the two of us, he still denies that he's got his thieving side."

"Eh? I thought ya were friends with 'im? Bein' in the same class and all."

"I...didn't make a pleasant first impression when we initially met. I was headstrong about arresting him, to the point that I even decided to attend the same school once I found a sample of his DNA and narrowed down the suspect list."

Shinichi stared at him. "That's… quite something." If not a bit over the top.

"I came close to catching him, almost like you, Kudo-kun." Hakuba sighed once again wistfully. "Except that...Looking back, I may have been a little too unforgiving and aggressive about it even though I had a more pressing issue to solve."

"Such as…?"

The blond detective straightened up. "It was going to be the main subject of discussion. Kid is already aware of who I'm hunting after. He had a few run-ins with that assassin."

"Assassin?! Ya've gotta be jokin'!" Hattori yelled out, taken aback from the news. "I don't like where this is goin'..."

The eyes of Shinichi narrowed into a sharpness unfit for his apparent age. "So back a few minutes ago when you said that it might be related to the organization we helped take down, could you explain that?"

"Gladly. After a few strings of deaths back in England, I managed to figure out that it was the work of a single man. His public name is Gunther von Goldberg II, but that could be a fake name. In his line of work, he is known as Spider."

"A codename? You mean, there's an organization?" Shinichi's blood ran cold. His heart began to race. Just when he thought he was free from them, he hears of another one hidden just nearby.

"When you pulled me into the investigations on the Black Organization, I realized what a behemoth of a case I had gotten myself into. It made me think about my own chase after Spider. All of my evidence points to the fact that he couldn't be working alone. There was a group behind his actions and I don't know if I can handle that on my own."

"So, what yer sayin' is that now that we have some experience with one group o' shady men, then we can handle another?"

Hakuba nodded to confirm Hattori's guess. "Exactly, which is why I wanted to talk to you and Kudo-kun." His gaze fell on the shortened detective. "I know it's selfish of me to ask you to endanger yourselves once again, that's why I arranged this meetup. Please, lend me your help."

Shinichi felt a bit surprised by Hakuba's sincerity. At the same time, he was a bit worried that the blond would think that he would refuse to help. "As someone who considers himself a detective, it would go against what I stand for to refuse. Then again, we're already friends aren't we?"

The blond detective became flustered by Shinichi's bluntness. "R-right. I knew that. Erm… Thank you."

Seeing the rare few times Hakuba was lost for words, Hattori burst out laughing. "Just when I was thinkin' that Kid had ruined the meetup by leavin', I got to see this! Good one, Kudo!"

"Excuse me for not being good with this...sappiness." Hakuba shot daggers out of his eyes towards Hattori.

"I didn't mean to make it corny, Hattori… " Realizing what he said, Shinichi was also left sheepish. "But I really meant it when I said that I would help."

"I'm on board too! Can't have any more bad guys runnin' around while we know of 'em. Plus, gotta keep Kudo here from gettin' himself killed tryin' ta play hero again."

"Very funny..."

Hakuba cleared his throat to bring their attention towards him. "Getting back to the issue at hand, I'd like to include Kaitou Kid into my list of 'friends'. I neglected to mention that Spider once targeted Kid during a heist. Working with someone who's familiar with the criminal side of the world towards a common enemy seemed like the best bet to catching Spider and his group."

"Ya've got a way ta try ta make 'im cooperate with us?"

"Unfortunately, no. I would rather not use blackmail tactics. He's the type to hold grudges. After school on Monday I'll try to talk to him again."