A/N: I actually wrote this one in two days? It seems I've forgotten how my writing speed is when the inspiration strikes...

This chapter became surprisingly long and angsty. Yes, I think this is angsty at least to some degree... And since last time we got Red Moon to pretend Tsukiko, now is Kage's turn. And can't you imagine how hard it's to find words to describe them? With Tsukiko I have bespectacled girl or former blonde or something like that, with Red Moon I have thief or woman... But Kage... Okay I came up with few after all but... Graah!

I think I'll just let you read...

Chapter 59.

It is strange how the time flows. One moment you are taking the first awkward steps in a new situation and the next you are confidently making your way through the days like you've always been in this role. In a sense it was true for Kage. The first awkward steps they took was when they still were part of Tsukiko. Being mistakenly identified as male by Irish and being given a name by Vermouth. Both of which had stuck.

The danger that Tsukiko had set herself back then was the starting point for Kage. Something in this world or in the girl's own mind had reacted and began separate them. Later on the beginnings of Red Moon had been created too, probably as a response to the shock received when being thrown out of the airship.

At first the differences weren't that clear to Tsukiko herself. Just little acting and she thought Kage and Red Moon were just alter egos. She was colder as Kage and flirtier as Red Moon. But that wasn't the case. The prophecy from Lucifer delivered by witch Koizumi Akako made it clear. They were three separate beings in one body.

There was Red Moon to divert attention and protect Kaitou Kid. Young woman having fun and enjoying flying with her paraglider. Making Nakamori and the Kaitou Kid taskforce to run circles. Enchanting audience with her flirty smiles and childish behavior.

Then there was Kage. The mastermind in destroying the Organization because really, the FBI and Conan weren't doing much. 'Let them protect Sherry, I direct the troops.' They had stated about the situation. They were a loner, trusting only the few hand-picked allies they had. Personality-wise they were complicated. They weren't against killing but hadn't killed themselves. Once the gun had been fired. It had been at the Touto Tower. The hand that had shot at the black helicopter had been Kage's, not Tsukiko's. They were the one to work in the shadows and direct the Living Legend of the Organization.

And finally there was what was left of Jade: the high-school girl going by the name Okiya Tsukiko. Ally of Kudou Shinichi, ward of an FBI agent, friend of Miyoshi Mai and sister of Okiya Subaru. A girl who'd never go where she'd come from. A girl who thought her life was in her own grasp when it actually wasn't. She was getting more and more tangled into her own web.

Kage blinked lazily. School was so tiring. Red Moon and Tsukiko were both taking a nap while the third faction of their shared existence was struggling to stay awake. Why they'd agreed to this… they didn't know. The lessons on this day were so tedious and easy. Kage knew everything that had been thus far talked about on the lessons. She had made some vague notes for Tsukiko to read later so the girl could to her own homework.

Pretending to be the younger girl (Kage's mental age was closer to 20) wasn't too hard for her. Unlike RM, Kage had known the girl relatively long and the aim of the two of them was quite similar. Tsukiko wanted Organization to go down and Kage wanted it too. The two of them had been together a longer time and Kage liked to spend their free time by observing the other's habits and behavior. They didn't take pleasure of taking over when it wasn't necessary like Red Moon did, but Kage wasn't against it either. Especially when Tsukiko obviously needed sleep. The shadow of the Organization wasn't sure what was keeping the girl up during nights but as long as the situation didn't worsen, they'd let it be.

After school Kage told in no uncertain terms that Tsukiko better stay up for the remaining day unless she wanted to screw up her sleeping rhythm to even more scrambled mess that of her 'brother's'. Tsukiko hadn't been too pleased at the prospect so she'd gathered her things and left straight from school towards the second block. She had just bid good bye to Mai who headed to work, and Namida who left with her sister for a change. The former blonde didn't see the upper classmen during the day at all so she decided not to bother with their whereabouts.

"Hello?" Tsukiko called as soon as she opened the door. "Subaru-nii?"

"In here." Came a faint voice from somewhere in the house. After a bit of maneuvering around, the girl located the man from the kitchen, placing a plate to the sink.

"Eating breakfast or lunch?" She decided to ask after plopping on the abandoned chair opposite him. Her schoolbag took the seat next to her and the jacket of her school uniform was neatly draped over the said chair's back.

"…" At Subaru's reluctance to answer, the girl just sighed.

"Breakfast it is then."

"How was school?"

Now Tsukiko had to blink. Quite an abrupt question in her opinion.

"Just fine. Dozing on and off… Thankfully not much homework was given." She shrugged. "How about you? Anything interesting found out?" She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Actually yes. A man named Sakata Shirou was killed last week. It made to news only today." Subaru picked up the newspaper from the table and opened it at the correct article. "He was a university professor at Kanagawa so it's quite surprising it took so long…"

"Maybe someone tried to cover it up then?" Tsukiko suggested with a frown. Sakata Shirou… Now where had she heard that name?

"I doubt it. He crashed his car but this article makes it sound like someone had tampered with the brakes." Subaru told while studying the article. "Eyewitness tells that Sakata-san was raving about people being after him while running out of the hotel he was staying at to his car and driving away…"

"Is there something else about the 'accident' then?"

"When his phone was discovered-…"

"There was a message? Is this one of those Hunter of Crows cases?" Was that is then? She read it from the memory card's list? Kage had been working quite independently lately so it was entirely possible they'd sent the next name to Yamato who used then his own connections to find the person in question.

"It seems so. I wonder what is the contents of the message that makes the police and the media dub these people like that."

"You think its multiple people behind this then?"

"Either this is a hired assassin with a variety of methods of killing… Or then it's a group of people targeting one at time a certain person."

"The message is from the same number every time, isn't it?"

"Yes…"

"Do you think this is somehow related to the Organization then?" Underneath the table, Tsukiko crossed her fingers. Subaru knew of the Touto Tower incident but she wasn't sure if he had been contacted by Kir too. Probably not though since he was only suspecting Organization involvement one way or other. Or then he was gauging her reaction… Tsukiko had to suppress a snort at the thought. Paranoid much?

"I'm not too sure. One way or other, yes. This far the reports have been scattered… I doubt Organization would cause that much noise so more likely someone is targeting them. Or this is some rogue group killing randomly for fun… Can't be too sure yet." Subaru set the paper aside and went to exit the kitchen. Right then the front door opened and some hurried steps were heard to go to the direction of the library. The sibling duo exchanged a glance before walking quickly to the library.

They found Conan making his way to the balcony.

"Sorry for the hurry. Ran, Sonoko and Sera-san are coming here unless I manage to retrieve details of one case for them." The boy explained without stopping.

"I see." Subaru stated then after a moment of silence. "I suppose you have quite a small window then."

"Very." Conan grunted as he dragged ladders to the right place.

"Who wants to bet they're coming here anyways?" Tsukiko muttered before plopping on the couch and crossing her ankles on the hand rest. "They're going to walk past anyways, Suzuki-senpai has a crush on Nii-san despite already having a boyfriend, Masumi-ne-… Sera-san is curious about both Kudou-kun and Nii-san… So naturally Ran won't protest."

"Since when have you called Masumi, 'nee-san'?" Subaru asked amusedly.

"…Since she, Suzuki-senpai and Mai-san dyed my hair." The girl snapped, fingering her black locks in discomfort. "Speaking of hair, shouldn't you go and fix your wig? It doesn't look like your usual case of bedhead."

With a chuckle, the man retreated to the bathroom. He merely wished Conan luck with finding the case in question.

"Nee, Kudou…" Tsukiko spoke after a while.

"Yeah?"

"What sort of case is this then?

"Ten years ago my father came across with a case that he gave up on. Ran says she has just encountered a dead man with a character of 'death' next to them, just like was the case ten years ago."

"I see… Are you sure it isn't just a coincidence?" The girl grinned from her place on the couch. Conan shot her a glare before muttering something. "Hm? What was that tantei-chan?"

"That's just something a friend of mine said a while back when this case was on the table… He stated his amazement of the coincidental nature of the death."

"A friend." Tsukiko frowned. "This doesn't happen to be the 'Shugo' character, Ran-senpai mentioned?"

"Yeah… How so-…?" Conan began but was cut off by the ever so cheerful voice of one Sera Masumi.

"Hello! Sorry for intruding!"

Tsukiko grinned up at the boy. "It seems like I was right."

The detective just swore under his breath and went back to his search. A couple of more minutes later the girl trio came in not noticing Tsukiko lying on the sofa at all.

"Did you stumble upon niisan brushing his teeth again?" Tsukiko greeted the older girls when they were about to exit the library on Conan's suggestion.

"Ah-!" Ran was taken aback by the former blonde's presence.

"Again? What do you mean again?" Sera asked.

"The first time Ran-senpai and Suzuki-senpai came here after niisan had moved in… Ran-senpai apparently thought Kudou Shinichi-san had come back and once noting that there were light in the bathroom…" Tsukiko left the sentence hanging.

"She opened the door in very similar manner than you just did, Sera-san." Sonoko finished.

"Subaru-nii must've experienced a bit of a déjà vu…" The girl on the couch mused before sitting up and running her fingers through her hair. "Pity I didn't see it."

"Déjà vu except for the kick in the chin." Sonoko snickered, making Ran blush in embarrassment.

"S-Sonoko!"

"Kick in the chin?" Sera mused amusedly. "Now, how did that happen?"

"Those two though niisan was a thief." Tsukiko supplied, picking her glasses from the sofa table and putting them on her face. She got up then, brushing the skirt of her school uniform and putting her feet into the guest slippers once again. "You were talking about heading to kitchen, right? How about we make some tea?"

"I wonder if he's hiding them after all… Porno mags…" Sonoko pondered aloud.

"No way…" Ran was blushing at the mere possibility of her, ahem, boyfriend having something like that.

"I doubt that." Tsukiko stated bluntly behind her cup of tea. "Because… Like Subaru-nii said last time you visited, there's no trace of anyone living in here. No clothes, journals or photoalbums… So why should there be porn magazines of all things?"

"But Tsukiko-chan! Isn't it suspicious that Shinichi-kun lets Ran come in every month to tidy up this place but then tells specifically her not to look for that photograph?" Sonoko complained.

"… Did it occur to you at all that maybe he thought it would be polite not to barge in? After all niisan is the one living here." The bespectacled girl glared at the rich girl while trying to ignore and uncomfortable feeling at the bottom of her stomach. The knot that tightened every time she called Subaru 'niisan' while Sera was present.

But before Sonoko could answer, Sera had another idea.

"No… I think what's being hidden is… the existence of a woman…" The tomboy detective stated.

"A-A woman!?" Ran stuttered.

"See! A hair elastic…" Sera showed her finding. "Women do tend to leave them on top of shelves all the time…"

"Ah, those must be Shinichi's mom's!" The karate champion laughed.

"Since she collects them…" Sonoko added.

"But among the dishes that haven't been washed yet… Here's a glass with lipstick that's been wiped with a thumb… It's been mixed in, you know?" The female detective continued. Tsukiko just listened and sipped her now unfortunately lukewarm tea.

"WHAAAT!?" Ran and Sonoko gasped.

"Plus, there's a long hair in the sink trap… It looks like from a wig though…" The latter sentence was muttered but Tsukiko heard it clearly.

"D-Don't tell me Shinichi-kun brought a woman here and is committing adultery!?" Sonoko shouted in rage.

Splash!

And the girl was drenched in half a cup of lukewarm tea.

"Just listen to yourself. Kudou Shinichi-kun is kami knows where and you are talking about adultery happening in here." Tsukiko huffed while placing her now-empty tea cup on the table. "Besides… It's Subaru-nii who's living in here now. What does it belong to any of you what is going on in here?"

"Now, see there-!" Sonoko began, tea dripping from her bleached locks, but Tsukiko overrode her easily by a slight raising of her voice but not quite shouting.

"First, you barge in unannounced! If Kudou-kun tells you to wait, shouldn't there be a reason for that? Subaru-nii could as well as charge the lot of you for invasion of privacy. While this is the Kudou Residence, it's Subaru-nii who's living in here right now by their permission.

"Second, you, Sera-san start going through the cabinets just like that. The tea is already at the table so there's no need to look for anything anymore. This isn't your home so stop acting like that.

"Third, you make baseless and completely ridiculous accusations. Especially considering that the subject of your accusations isn't even living in here at the moment. Which brings up my last point…" Tsukiko smirked evilly.

"Why an earth are you talking about adultery? It isn't like Ran-senpai and Kudou-kun are an item or anything… True, they might like each other and Kudou-kun confessed his feelings at London… But they aren't together now, are they?" With a shrug the younger girl got up, turning her back to the stunned trio. "I'll get you a towel, Suzuki-san."

And with that Tsukiko left the kitchen, walking past perplexed Conan in process. Apparently she hadn't been that quiet after all.

Tsukiko had brought Sonoko the towel before disappearing to upstairs. If she remembered correctly, Yukiko had come yesterday for a visit. Out of all the days… Right on cue though as Tsukiko opened the door to the bathroom in upstairs, there the actress was helping Subaru with his mask(?) and wig. The voice changer was in place already though.

"Konnichiwa, Yukiko-san." Tsukiko greeted.

"Ah, Tsu-chan!" Yukiko twirled around and hugged the girl. "I've missed you."

"Same here, Yukiko-san."

"Well, I think I'll head to downstairs now. I'm quite intrigued about this case." Subaru stated then, taking his glasses from the edge of the porcelain sink and placing them on his face.

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit. After I cool down a bit." Tsukiko nodded. Once Subaru was gone, Yukiko looked at the girl concernedly.

"Cool down? What happened then?" The actress, wife and… mother asked her while leading the girl to the room she occasionally used. The two females sat on the bed, Yukiko having Tsukiko's hands in a gentle hold so the girl wouldn't unexpectedly bolt anywhere.

"I… I got mad. At them." Tsukiko muttered, looking away.

"At whom?" Yukiko enquired with a smile.

"At Ran-senpai, Suzuki-san and Sera-san…"

"Why?"

"Because they were being stupid, irrational and completely unreasonable."

"About what?"

"About… About facts. They barged in while Kudou-kun told them not to come. They snooped around and then came up with a theory that Kudou-kun was hiding a woman in here and committing adultery." Tsukiko mumbled. Yukiko seemed like she was struggling not to laugh at the idea but for the girl, she remained collected.

"And you put them in their place, right?" The actress smiled.

"Yeah. And I'm not taking back any of it." Tsukiko pouted and this time Yukiko laughed. The tension lifted.

"I am not asking you to. I think it was good that someone pointed out where they went wrong. I've many times watched how Sonoko-chan drags Ran-chan around. It seems like she is constantly pulled into whatever her friends come up with… be it Sonoko-chan or Shin-chan." The brunette sighed. "And from your words I guess this Sera-chan is doing that too?"

"Yeah… Even I get dragged into whatever insanity they have decided to do." The girl gestured her hair, her shoulders slumping.

"It's alright, Tsu-chan." Yukiko gave the girl a brief hug. "Now, could you help me packing? My flight leaves in couple of hours and I think I can sneak away from the back door while the girl's a distracted by the case."

"'kay."

Tsukiko helped Yukiko downstairs and fetched the woman's shoes to the back door. After a quick goodbye the actress stepped into a taxi that headed to the Narita Airport. Tsukiko closed the door with a sigh. Now she didn't really have an excuse to stay away, had she? Even her school bag was at the kitchen so she couldn't pretend doing homework.

"I guess I have no choice…" The girl muttered.

"It's not that bad, Tsukiko. I'm sure they've seen the sense already." Red Moon offered. Apparently she'd been napping enough too.

"Tch, as if…" And Kage was there too.

"Ah, Kage… You don't happen to have sent a name to Yamato a couple of weeks ago?"

"Yeah. So?"

"A bit of warning could be nice next time."

"Alright." Tsukiko could sense the other shrugging resisted herself the urge to roll her eyes.

"You better warn me since you've been doing thing behind my back."

"Isn't that just better? Then you don't need to lie even if someone happens to ask you something."

Tsukiko could only blink. Yes, the situation was similar than with the promise to Jodie. Kage was required not to hide anything from the agent but it wasn't like they talked often. Actually that one time was the only one they'd face each other. Not that Jodie knew.

"Fine."

"I'm glad you see this from my point of view." Kage grinned before falling into silence. Maybe it was their time to sleep.

"I've gotta admit that no-gender has a point so no use of sulking." RM remarked. "D'you think you can now go and join your friends? I'm sure they are already alright with everything."

"I guess…" And honestly, did she have a choice? Sooner or later she'd had to interact with the trio again and she had already made a point, hadn't she?

Tsukiko stepped into the kitchen where the call to Takagi had been just cut off by the detective himself, leaving Sera to glare the cell phone. Silently, the bespectacled girl picked up the casefile from the table and read through the main points from each page. It was quite enlightening to read an actual police report…

"Isn't it odd? I was pretty sure that Megure-keibu was also in charge for that case 10 years ago, so shouldn't they suspect this was a serial murder?" Ran thought aloud.

"Don't tell me they've already figured out who the culprit was, but the police were conspiring to cover it up?" Sera suggested.

"Isn't that a common plot in the movies and dramas…" Sonoko gasped. "That the culprit is the son of either a police higher-up or a powerful political or business figure, so they couldn't do anything much to their chagrin!"

"And that's coming from you, the daughter of Suzuki Financial Group, Suzuki Sonoko-san?" Tsukiko snickered, echoing Conan's thoughts aloud. Sonoko spun around to glare at the younger girl.

"Why you-…"

"However!" Ran cut in, not feeling like hearing another argument between the two. "I don't think Shinichi's dad would've withdrawn from the case just because of that."

"I-I guess that's true…"

"In that case, why don't you consult him? Your classmate who loves deductions…" Subaru joined in the conversation. "That Kinichi-kun…"

Oh, the face Conan was making was hilarious!

"Ah, yes, you're right…" Ran spluttered at the sudden reminder of her white lie. But Sera busted it all, not that it wasn't already the time...

"What are you talking about? If you want to discuss a case, shouldn't you take it to Kudou Shinichi-kun? He's The high school detective and your boyfriend! Although apparently he's pursuing some case at the moment and left this house vacant." The female high school detective spoke.

"Oh… So the owner of this house was that high school detective?" Subaru questioned. It wasn't like he had bought the lie… but you get the point.

"…Don't tell me you've been living here without knowing that?" Sera deadpanned.

"Indeed… Since Ran-san told me the Shinichi-kun who used to live here was your average high school student without any forte. Plus… I got wind of rumors about how the high school detective Kudou Shinichi lost his life during a case investigation and had already vanished from the podium of mystery solving…"

"I-Is that what the rumors are saying!?" Ran asked in astonishment.

"Yeah… That's why I thought the 'Shinichi-kun' you kept mentioning was a different person." And Conan had an interesting face again. Tsukiko snapped a picture of it before putting in her ten cents… erm, yen.

"That's right. I also heard about them before transferring to Teitan. I was quite surprised to hear from you two that Kudou Shinichi-kun is alive after all. And even more so when I heard from Hanajima that he made an appearance at your school play of all places."

"That's right. He couldn't have died now, could he?" Sera chimed in. "After all, he and I were involved in the same case on two different occasions. Although he was over the phone on both times. Right, Conan-kun?!"

Even though Tsukiko was the one to call the detective during the hotel case. Hopefully Sera wouldn't mention it… Otherwise Tsukiko would get chewed out by Ran and Sonoko for withholding information. Not that it was any of their business…

"Then, who is this Kinichi person?" Subaru asked Ran.

"Shinichi told me not to mention things about him in front of you, Subaru-san… So I lied…" The karate champion confessed. "I'm sorry…"

"But why are rumors claiming he's dead flying about?" Sonoko frowned.

"I bet he's been persistently requesting the parties involved in cases ensure he remains anonymous, no?" Ran smiled before becoming serious again. "In order to not raise the guard of the culprit in some sort of case he's after…"

"As if he were a ninja, lying in wait in some enemy's castle!" The rich girl huffed.

"Ninja…" Tsukiko chuckled mentally. If anyone here was a ninja, it was Subaru.

"Then… why don't you call him right now? I'd like to hear his deductions as well." Sera smiled. Cue panicking Conan. Hmm… Maybe Tsukiko could give him an excuse to leave the room.

"Tantei-chan, would you go and fetch my tie from the library? I think I left it there earlier. I could try to teach you to tie it correctly." The bespectacled girl told the boy.

"Huh?" The chibi detective blinked up at her. Tsukiko just smiled at him and winked.

"I remember you asking me about learning it."

"R-Right! I remember now, Tsukiko-neechan!" And the boy dashed away before he could hear anything embarrassing. Not that he could miss Sonoko's squeal.

"…Since you're going to confess your feelings back to Shinichi-kun while you're at it!"

"WHAAAAAT!?" And Ran was blushing.

"Oh, the drama…" Tsukiko sighed so only Subaru and Sera could hear. Sonoko was egging on Ran to make the call while the poor girl was still blushing.

"Ah, if you're going to call him… can you pass my message on to him?" Subaru asked with his usual smile. "Tell him that you could well be a ninja… You're Kirigakure Saizou."

"I think I'll go to look for Edogawa-kun…" Tsukiko simply mused before exiting the kitchen to go back to upstairs where her tie was. The bloody thing had annoyed her and she had gotten rid of it as soon as the talk with Yukiko-san was over.

With the tie back on its correct place, Tsukiko leaned against the wall opposite the restroom where Conan was hiding. From her place she had a perfect view also behind the corner where Subaru was. The girl couldn't help but smiling when the kid-detective ran out of the restroom, still talking to the phone. How careless…

"Hurry to the scene from this morning at once! According to my deduction it should be a perfect match!"

A short laugh escaped Tsukiko's lips when she exchanged a glance with Subaru.

"He's getting sloppy." She remarked when the man emerged from his hiding spot. "He worries so much about Ran finding out that he forgets the other factors… It's almost like she is more scared of Ran-senpai's wrath than the threat of the Organization…" The dimensionally lost girl paused to think. "Although they are linked in a way…"

"Like how?" Subaru asked when they began making their way back to the kitchen.

"He thinks that if Ren-senpai finds out about his real identity… It's only a matter of time until the Organization finds out… And begins targeting her. Even though only the knowledge of him actually being alive should've already put her in danger."

"Hmm?" The strawberry blonde man gestured her to continue.

"The Organization never observed the reactions of the immediate associates of Kudou Shinichi after his supposed death. They came to check this house to find it empty. Miyano Shiho was the one to confirm his death on the files but when she escaped no one double checked… Except possibly Vermouth but that doesn't really count since she is kind of loose cannon… But the Mouri's weren't checked. Otherwise they'd discovered Edogawa Conan from there and note that Ran-senpai isn't upset at all about the supposed death of her best friend." Tsukiko drew deep breath before continuing. She had a lot to say before they reached the kitchen. "Not to mention after Sherry's deflection from the Organization if someone were to ask any time Ran-senpai about Kudou-kun… She could've truthfully say that he is away but occasionally called her. Thus making her a target.

"If only Kudou-kun would tell her that the difficult case he's working with is dangerous. Or even reveal his identity as Conan thus explaining the situation… She'd be much safer." The girl concluded with a sigh. "He is such a moron. Not to mention he doesn't seem to trust anyone… I mean… You are a primary example at the moment."

"I noticed." Subaru mused with a smirk on his face. "Which is why I'm going to have a little revenge of my own."

"Oh? Is that so?" Tsukiko chuckled, hitting the man in the arm. "I can't wait!"

"Hmm? Conan-kun, is that a bowtie attached to your smartphone?" Ran was heard to be asking the boy.

"D-Doing this kind of thing is really popular at school right now…" The boy stuttered back when the Okiya 'siblings' made their appearance.

"Anyway… If you're going to the scene and determining whether his deduction is correct or not, there's no way to get out of it." Subaru spoke, light reflecting from his glasses. "Isn't that right? High school detective, Kudou Shinichi-kun… is the one who said so after all…"

Tsukiko had to hide her smile behind her palm as Conan's face morphed from nervousness to fear to confusion. And boy continued staring at the man and his knowing smirk. The smirk he had worn so many times as Akai Shuichi.

"Th-That's right! Let's go and take a look! Ran!" Sonoko hurried the long haired girl who nodded on agreement.

"Hey, Conan-kun, come on… Let's go!" Sera called from the door when Rans and Sonoko were already out. "Kudou-kun sent you the deduction email, right?"

"Ah yeah…" Conan ran after the other two girls, leaving Tsukiko, Sera and Subaru in the kitchen.

"Are you coming too, Tsukiko-chan?" Sera asked after lifting her suspicious glance from Subaru who was his back towards her.

"Ah… I think I'll pass if you don't mind…" Tsukiko smiled nervously, discreetly glancing at the man next to her.

"Just go on Tsukiko. I need to organize here anyways." Subaru told the girl.

"Alright… Just wait a second, Sera-san." Nervously, the former blonde pushed her glasses better on her face and turned around to gather her bag and jacket. She was fumbling her phone out of the back when Sera answered.

"We're waiting for you at the hall then, Tsukiko-chan." The tomboy announced before disappearing. "And I told you to call me neesan!"

The phone slipped through Tsukiko's fingers and clattered on the floor. The girl took a sharp breath, her shoulders tensing.

"Tsukiko?" Subaru spoke once it was clear the other girl was out of ear shot. "Are you alright? You haven't been yourself lately…"

The girl took her glasses off and run a hand across her face.

"I… I will be fine. I will." She tried to feebly brush off the concern as she pulled on her school uniform jacket. "It's… nothing."

"You haven't been sleeping lately, have you?" The man continued.

"I have!"

"Then what it is?"

"I… I don't know…" The girl lied but her voice was faint enough to fake confusion. Subaru furrowed his brows but let it slide.

"You better hurry. Your friends are waiting for you." He stated then.

"Yeah… Jaa na, Subaru…-nii." She stumbled over the suffix that hadn't before really caused her troubles. But the stumble was enough for the man to deduce the situation and not to comment it. He understood the guilt the girl must be feeling now from saying that one simple word.

The quintet made their way quickly to the alley way where the dead guy had been found. And yep, there it still was. The 'death' character that might've once been red but was now dark brown.

"Just as I thought, there isn't even one officer here. It looks like they're so set on it being a theft case that they've completely withdrawn from the scene of crime…" Sera spoke while kneeling by the mark. "But normally, you wouldn't think that the corpse was the one who wrote the word labelling them as such. For this 'death' character to have been left, written in blood, it wouldn't have been odd at all o have considered this a murder…"

"Ran-neechan, did you bring your wallet?" Conan asked then.

"Y-yes…" It seemed Ran was a bit surprised by the question. Sonoko's conclusion about it didn't help at all either. But once Conan go the coins in his hands everything started to become clear.

"Shinichi-niichan wrote it in his email! That if you line up some loose chance with the character written in blood like this… See, it matches exactly, right?"

"No way… But why?" Ran whispered in awe.

"He said that this wasn't a character written by someone, but because the loose change fell like this and blood fell on top of it, it just turned out this way!"

"But what's with that long skinny gap?" Sonoko pointed out. "Are yoy trying to say that the blood just avoided that area on its own?"

"… The cigarette." Tsukiko mused from her spot, leaning against the machine. "The cigarette was probably in between the wallet so that when it fell down, it conveniently covered the necessary spot. Later on it was just brushed aside when the wallet and change was swiped away."

Sera then elaborated the story as she knew the detail she'd seen and deduced. Naturally, it would've suspicious for Tsukiko to know everything. Plus, she didn't feel like making lengthy explanations right now.

"So there's no way the one who stole the money was the one who killed him?" Sonoko asked.

"No. If the change and the wallet hadn't been taken after the blood had dried, the character written in blood wouldn't have been left so clearly." Sera answered.

"So this was indeed a theft case, huh!" Ran confirmed.

"Yeah." Sera grinned and turned to talk with Conan. "But you! You figured it out pretty handily, huh?"

"Th-The one who figured is out wasn't me, it was Shinichi-niichan! He said that it because crystal clear once he heard that phrase from Subaru-san!" The kid sweatdropped.

"Oh, that phrase he said to tell Shinichi…" The karate champion remembered. "'You could well be a ninja… You're Kirigakure Saizou', right?"

"Then could it be that this sort of character written in blood is often used by ninja?" Sonoko asked dubiously.

"No. And if it were, the clue wouldn't have pointed to the right direction. After it was the coins in this matter that made the final conclusion." Tsukiko stated. "But what did the clue point to… was Sanada's Ten Braves and the flag of Sanada Clan…"

"It's six coins, right?" Conan chirped. "That's how I figured it out! That the character wasn't written in blood, it was a shaped that was made because there were six circular coins!"

"Really?!" Sera gushed, making the boy back-track a bit. Seriously… Tsukiko had to resist the urge to facepalm at the boy's carelessness. The cases were taking him along for the ride. Stupid genius that needed stimulation for his brains…

The three upper classmen turned their attention then to the original case from ten years ago and came to the conclusion that the case back then had indeed been an accident. Tsukiko began dozing off. For some reason the whole day had been tiring despite the nap she took during class. Damn that Shugo guy… Whoever he was. She couldn't help but thinking if that person was from Jade's world. She couldn't help but fearing he was going to change the plot… But there was nothing noticeable now. She couldn't help but wonder if that person was someone she knew. And what if they weren't from Jade's world? Who were they then? Just a background character that Gosho hadn't deemed important to actually introduce? Or a character that was thrown into a trashcan but existed in this world after all.

"Because who says that this is the most original one anymore. My involvement hasn't affected manga at all…" The girl thought before falling asleep. Her head nodded off for a second before the greyish blue eyes snapped open.

"Damn girl… She knows very well now isn't the time to fall asleep." Kage thought in annoyance ad they took in the current situation. Ran was holding Conan by his jacket and apparently confirming something, Sonoko was nearby and Sera was picking something from behind the vending machine. Then the non-gendered teen turned mentally to address the female who was awake.

"It just couldn't be your turn?" The master-mind grumbled.

"Ah, gomen, gomen…" Red Moon grinned. "But we decided that it's your day today. I've tomorrow if needed."

"Tch. I was rudely woken up because you couldn't be bothered to step in."

"I know. I'm the one that kicked you awake." The thief rolled her eyes. "Besides… According to the foreknowledge we have, your skills would be more useful now than mine."

As much as Kage didn't want to admit it, the thief was making sense. Red Moon wasn't a fighter. She was an actress and an acrobat. Kage could fight. Tsukiko could fight too even though she wasn't as strong as Kage.

"Fine…" The hunter of the Crows muttered when they focused back on the present.

"But it's a shame, isn't it?" Sonoko huffed. "We went through all this and solved the case, but not know who the thief is…"

"As far as clues go, I found this 10-yen coin with blood on it underneath the vending machine!" Sera told the rich girl. "It must have been that this one slipped through their fingers as he or she was picking up the change, and it went under the vending machine… It the fingerprints on this turn up a criminal record…"

And cue the arrival of three pervert criminals.

"Assault…"

"Infliction of bodily injury…"

"Blackmail…"

"Add the three of us up and you'll get those three crimes on record. Oh now, if you add the theft to that it'd turn into four…"

"So hey… You think you could return that, hmm?"

"It's just 10 yen after all…"

"Afterwards, we can all have some fun together…"

No one of their little quintet was amused. Sonoko, Ran and Conan glared at the men. Kage gave a lazy glance to their direction. Those men weren't any of the teen's business. The Shadow didn't even bother to tell them apart by the voices.

"OK…" Sera stated and flicked the coin in the air. "Catch."

"You bitch! What the hell do you think you're-…" And the first thug went down. The second one came to attack Sera from behind them but Kage aimed a kick in the small of his back while Ran kicked the side of his head.

"Even that annoyance could've done this…" They thought idly but brushed it aside then. Whatever, they were awake now so they'd also handle this situation.

"Kyaaaah!" The last thug had gotten a hold on Sonoko.

"Oh dear…" Kage mumbled before leaning back to avoid the soccer ball flying straight at the head of the last thug. And he was down too.

"Case closed!" Sera announced when catching the coin again.

"That ball was you, Conan-kun?" Ran was asking the kid who was picking himself off the ground.

"Y-Yeah…" The boy answered. How eloquent…

The police was called to pick up the three pigs. Kage announced then that they weren't coming to the questioning. Sera agreed, asking Ran and Sonoko to handle it in their stead.

"Shall we go together?" The tomboy asked the other teen. Kage regarded her for a moment before shrugging.

"Sure…" It wasn't like they had any other choices. Behind them Ran was tending the scrape on Conan's arm… An action which brought tears into Sera's eyes.

"Are you alright?" Kage asked the high school detective.

"Yes… It just reminded me of something…" Sera chuckled, wiping the tears away.

"Alright."

"How about you? It seems like something has been bothering you lately."

"I'm fine. It's nothing special." Kage shrugged. They were fine. It was Tsukiko who wasn't…

"Hey, would you like to spend some time a day with me? Just the two of us." The detective girl asked then.

"Plus me and Reds…" Was added in Kage's head as the question was actually meant to Tsukiko. Oh, why the girl couldn't be awake now?

"Hmm… Why not? It could be refreshing."

"Great!" Sera smiled brightly. Eventually they parted ways and Kage was left pondering the tomboy's reaction to Ran and Conan.

"Bad kid… I guess that's because she's practically using them in order to find the answers she's searching for… Answers she have to wait for longer…"

A/N: Poor Tsukiko. She feels quilty of calling Subaru 'niisan' and pretending to be his sister while Sera is actually around and should be the one to call him that... And then is this Shugo business that is bothering her... Thankfully it'll be solved... in over ten chapters.

I just realized that I use the same way to indicate Kage's thoughts than when people are speaking English... hmm...

Some of you might remember how Shugo reacted to this case in LtRU. I wondered if he should've been mentioned for the second time in this chapter by Ran or Sonoko but desided then that if it happened, it was when Tsukiko wasn't in the room. I can't have her put the pieces together too soon... (Ten chapters...)

I can see that I have some new followers and favourites. Thank you very much for reading and enjoying this fic.

Replies to Reviews:

-ZeroRandomNumber:
Ah, no. I don't forget about my stories. I just don't always have the required inspiration to write...
That's great to hear. I also like reading those fics btw... Have you read Revolver by xXFallenAngelsXx? It is also into-dc-world fic and quite good.

-Kimmiko T:
Glad to hear that. :)

-SunnyStormCloud:
That's good to hear. I also like the idea although I realize it's also quite hard to write... But I hope you liked this chapter too.

-Zeladious:
:D
'Don't worry, be happy!'

-A'stories10:
I also kind of liked it(my own hair color)... For now it'll remain as it is. Tsukiko thinks it's a good way to hide. While at first she wasn't comfortable with it, she has come to accept it despite being reminded about it occasionally. You can 'see' 'her' as blonde when Kage or Red Moon are taking the stage on public. Those two are using wigs though but the point is there. As you can see from the cover image, Tsukiko is black haired while the rest remain blond.

()

I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter is coming. It'll be Movie chapter(try to guess which one) and right now I have a loggy internet at my student apartment. I'll go home for weekend but I'm not sure how much I can work with the chapter there. But until then see ya! Remember to review, it alwasy makes me happy!