A/N: And finally a new chapter for this fic as well. Yeah... Akai intro yet Chiyuki barely spares a thought to Akai. Maybe she hopes that if she avoids thinking about him, he won't notice her.

Short version: Get invited on a skiing-trip, have the bus hijacked, have the bus explode, everybody lives.

Chiyuki tried to sell that story to Nabiki. Nabiki was not impressed.

So the long version it was…

Everything started on a nice crispy February morning. Technically it started before that, when Chiyuki got the invitation but all the excitement happened later.

Chiyuki was with the Detective Boys and professor Agasa, ready to board the bus. The rest of the kids were chatting excitedly about the prospect of going skiing and then also berating Agasa for not taking a good care of himself and thus getting himself sick just prior the trip. Meanwhile, Ai and Conan were talking about Haido Hotel and Black Organization. Chiyuki was sitting on the seat with them but not really paying attention on the things said. She knew what had happened after all. And as a child outwardly, she was not expected to pay attention. Despite the Detective Boys being nosy and always butting into the two shrunken teens' business.

Then Ai froze in fear and asked Conan to swap seats with her. Thus she was placed between him and Chiyuki. Jodie and Araide-Vermouth had entered.

The Detective Boy's greeted Araide, remembering him from the annual health checks. Genta teased the man of being on a date. Thus Jodie introduced herself.

"Hi, Cool Kid!" The English teacher greeted and then smiled at the others. "I'm Jodie Saintemillion. I teach English at Teitan High. Doctor Araide and I are going to Ueno Museum."

The two Teitan high faculty members took their seats and mere moments later…

"Everybody shut up! I'll kill anyone who makes a fuss!" A busjacker declared. There were screams but then the guy shot once at the ceiling. "Didn't you hear what I just said?!"

"Put up the "No service" sign!" The other busjacker instructed the driver. "And drive for a while. When you get stopped by a red light, call your bus company."

"Good kids… Give us your cellphones! Don't hide them… If you do, we'll make sure you'll never be able to use a phone again. Got that?"

Chiyuki didn't have a phone of her own yet. Neither did the other kids bar Conan who had the earring cellphone. Considering Chiyuki's spot next to window, she was safe from the accomplice's gaze but at the same time she couldn't do anything. However, she had full faith in Conan and was sure he'd be able to solve this just like in canon.

Moreover… Chiyuki needed to be Ai's support. Vermouth was sitting right in front of them. Ai might not have known whether the woman was disguised as Jodie or Araide but Chiyuki would do her best to divert attention.

The girl threaded her fingers through Ai's and gave a reassuring squeeze. Ai clutched back, trembling.

Everything sort of faded out. The bus rode on, Chiyuki kept looking at the scenery. Most of the places were some that she'd never seen before…

Only the occasional twitch of Ai's hand and the busjackers barking at other passengers when a message of something suspicious happing was sent out, jerked Chiyuki back to the present. Watching Araide-Vermouth defend Conan was… Well, it was. Chiyuki couldn't help but wonder what Jodie and Akai thought about the boy now, given that Vermouth protected him with her life.

Then…

"Don't risk it, Cool Kid. A good chance will come along soon! You don't have to be scared. We'll get rescued soon." Jodie spoke first to Conan and then to Ai.

"What's your name, little red riding hood?" The woman leaned against the backrest of her seat. Chiyuki looked up.

"Oh, her? She's just a girl we met on the bus! She's really scared, so could you leave her alone?" Conan whispered back.

"Yeah, the busjackers really spooked her so we had her sit between us." Chiyuki continued.

"Oh sorry!"

"Hey! What are you guys doing?!" One of the busjackers shouted and thus had Jodie retreat.

"Jodie-sensei, please don't provoke them." Araide admonished Jodie.

"Oh yes!" She smiled at the doctor and sat down. "Let's talk later…" She whispered to Conan. Chiyuki stared at her intently as the woman observed Ai until Jodie finally turned back to face the front. Then she continued watching the back of her head, wishing she'd know what Jodie was thinking. Chiyuki knew that Jodie wouldn't put together Ai being connected with Shiho until way later. Was it Four Porches case or something? But all the same Chiyuki knew that the woman's curiosity was piqued now.

"I just noticed… You don't really seem worried, do you?" Conan spoke to Chiyuki then, snapping her back to focus. The girl blinked back.

"No… Not really…" Chiyuki shrugged.

"Why?" The small detective frowned.

"Because I'm sure you'll solve this. Just like you solve those murders. I'm a Harumori. We have faith in people." Nabiki had had faith in Akemi, all the way until her death. Chiyuki had faith in her friends, including Detective Boys.

"Harumori?"

"My legal name. Be sure to use that outside school." Chiyuki smiled. And her smile widened when she saw Conan's eyes wander past her, at the window. He saw the balloon!

It was showtime!

The busjackers ordered Araide and Akai to come to the front. The bus drove to the tunnel. Conan explained his plan for the Detective Boys.

"What about me, Edogawa-kun?" Chiyuki leant past Ai. The boy frowned for a moment.

"You do magic tricks, right?"

"Some."

"How quick are your fingers?"

"Quite quick."

"Can you get the woman's watch without triggering it?"

"Can't guarantee anything but I'll try."

"Good."

Chiyuki let go of Ai's hand. It was disconcerting how easily she was let go. No reassuring squeezes. No desperate attempt to stop her. Nothing.

In the dark it was easy to move without the busjackers seeing. Moreover, they were more focused on adults than children. Mitsuhiko and Genta moved to the gaps between the seats to secure one of the skibags. Agasa and Conan lifted the other ski bag to be horizontal and Conan wrote the backwards letters on it with the lipstick he got from Jodie. Ayumi suffled to the back seat to secure the old man with hearing aid. Chiyuki crawled beneath the seats so she was at the very front near the woman. She was keeping her arms aloft though in the pretense of tensing against her captor.

The bus drove out of the tunnel.

"OK! DRIVE FASTER!" The thug but smarter of the busjackers commanded the driver. "Don't try anything funny. As long as you do as I say, you'll go home alive…"

"You're one to talk… You intend to kill us anyway…" Conan spoke up then.

"What?!" The thin hotheaded one growled.

"See, that's the reason you're showing us your faces, right? If we don't do something, we're going to be killed… By this bomb!" Cue shock among the passengers.

"I'll make this brat shut up!" The thin one shouted. Oh, was that a bulging vein on his forehead?

"Oi, you idiot, don't shoot!" The smart one retorted.

"Hn? What's that read writing?"

"NOW!" Conan yelled.

It took maybe a few precious seconds to happen but the driver did make an emergency brake. The three busjackers fell to the floor. Conan and Chiyuki both darted forwards. The smart one was tranquilized in short order.

"Araide-sensei! Get a hold of that woman's arm!" Conan told the doctor. "The watch on her wrist is the switch for the bombs!" Okay, it was canon and opportunity presented itself but… rude.

"Little brat, you made a fool of us…" The thin one growled, pointing a gun at Conan. But Jodie was there to take him down.

"Oh sorry! I lost my balance when the driver slammed on the breaks…" She lied – badly.

"Stop kidding around!" The man pointed the gun at Jodie but no matter how many times he tried to pull the trigger, nothing happened. "O-Oi… The trigger…"

"How silly… Lifting the hammer of a Tokarev slightly and twisting midway activates the safety, you know? Study that before hijacking busses…"

"W-What? W-Who the hell are you?"

"Shh… It's a big secret. I'm sorry, I can't tell you. A secret makes a woman woman." The secretly FBI agent replied in English. It was doubtful the busjacker understood her. "Oh, you surrendered!"

"Araide-sensei, Edogawa-kun asked me to get that woman's watch." Chiyuki told the man. Right then the woman looked at the watch herself.

"A-Ah! Gotta run, get away asap… I must've hit the watch when we stopped the bus. The bomb's been activated! We have less then 30 seconds before it blows!"

It got everyone moving. Passengers rushed out in no way orderly manner as soon as the driver got the doors open.

And Chiyuki was in their way. Someone stumbled over her and sent her to the floor. But then someone else lifted her up and carried her out.

"…" Chiyuki looked at her savior. "Araide-sensei?"

"Not now, Harumori-san." The man hurried on, away from the bus. For a moment Chiyuki forgot that it was Vermouth actually and just watched over the man's shoulder as Conan hurried back to the bus. Her heart sank. Ai had remained in there after all.

Why? Just… why?

Wasn't Chiyuki enough for her to stay?

Or was the fear so overwhelming that she rather disappeared without a trace so Chiyuki could be free?

A bundled figure flew through the bus's back window. The bus blew up. Araide halted to a stop. Everyone stopped.

But then the police were there. Takagi took the Detective Boys and Agasa to the hospital, the busjackers were arrested, the passengers gathered together. Araide let Chiyuki down.

"Thank you for saving me, Araide-sensei" She told the man sincerely.

"Stampedes can be very dangerous as well." The man told her and gave her a handkerchief to use wipe her scraped hands. Chiyuki nodded seriously, taking the piece of cloth and dabbing on the sluggishly bleeding wounds. There had been some gravel on the floor of the bus. Araide headed to go to check Edogawa-kun. She trailed behind. Aside from Conan and Araide, there was no one else Chiyuki knew around. Better to just stick with them.

"You're hurt all over. Are you going to be okay?" Jodie was asking the little detective.

"Yeah, I'll be okay!" He chirped back. then Araide grabbed his hurt arm. "Ouch…"

"Thought as much! You've got a big wound here! You're so reckless!" The doctor scolded the boy.

"A-Araide-sensei…"

"First, you have to get that checked out before the police questioning, alright?"

"Ah, yeah…"

"Edogawa-kun! You're okay!" Chiyuki hurried towards the boy.

"Ah… Moro-…" Conan began but was interrupted Chiyuki slapped her palms on his cheeks.

"How could you be so reckless! I saw you running in there!" She alternatively squeezed and pulled the chibi detective's cheeks. "I was so worried! I… I…"

Chiyuki let out a sob.

"A-Arigatou…" She whispered. Thank you for surviving. Thank you for saving Ai.

And then she was bawling against the front of Conan's jacket.

The police called Nabiki in. They called the Mouri Detective Agency as well. While waiting – and dreading – for their guardians to arrive in a separate room from other passengers.

"Why Harumori?" Conan asked her.

"Why not?" Chiyuki countered.

"Okay, let me rephrase. Why so strictly Harumori that you even stopped me from calling you Moroboshi before?"

"Because it's dangerous."

"Huh?"

"You know who mama was. When I was born I was legally Harumori because that was the name mama used when giving birth to me so I wouldn't be found." Chiyuki explained quietly. "Papa… Papa was part of the organization too. But he was a mole. So using his name is dangerous. School is a closed environment so it's okay there. The only way I can honor him. But everywhere else I'm Harumori. It's my real name after all."

"I see. Good to know, Harumori-san."

"Thank you for understanding."

"Think nothing of it." True, given that Conan was an alias as well.

Nabiki was not impressed. But she didn't hold against Chiyuki. She did tell her though that there would not be trips any time soon. That Chiyuki would need to calm down from her experiences properly before going again out there… anywhere really.

Chiyuki gathered that Nabiki had realized that Detective Boys ran into crimes way too frequently and were become desensitized to them. And addicted to adrenaline. So the woman had decided to keep Chiyuki away from them so Chiyuki wouldn't start thinking crimes in Beika as something normal and everyday occurrence.

Chiyuki didn't mind. It had been a while since she had had a good game night with Ayano, Kaito and Toshiya.

And given that the next cases the detective boy's ran into where a dog-napping, someone wanting to kill Genta and an actual murder, Chiyuki was glad to have kept her distance.

She kept frequent contact with Ai despite that but had declined some invitations from the kids.

Until the Animal Show, that was.

A/N: I probably should've spared more effort to this chapter but since I only little while ago did this same case for Bloodstained Colibri and was quite detailed in that one, I couldn't be bothered to be here. But most lack of detail could be put onto account of Chiyuki still being a child and having a child's attention span.

Replies to guestreviews:

-Tsuki:
You're welcome!

-kalmaegi:
Thank you, I'm glad to hear that. DCMK world has many wonderful characters out of which only few become reoccurring ones. Ayano, Kaito and Toshiya are wonderful. I try to write them more in the future as well but plot sometimes requires Chiyuki to hang out with DB.
Chiyuki is a crybaby indeed. Balances out nicely Ai's will probably be one trait noted by Akai once he finally knows the truth.
Vermouth is interesting character indeed. While she may have plans for Chiyuki she also knows that Chiyuki is an actual child and in this case an innocent. Akai siblings... nye he he he. They will have hilarious reactions. Bourbon in the other hand... conflicted. On one hand, Akai... on the other hand, Akemi and thus Elena.

()

Thank you for all the reviews and follows and faves once more! I try to keep updating as soon as possible but you know me... too many WIPs going on at the same time.