File Seventy-One: An Unexpected Visitor

"Based on their mood, it seems like someone might have died..."

Mitsuhiko burrowed himself further inside the blankets of his bed, trying to force himself to sleep. He had actually been trying to do this for several hours now, but to no avail. It seemed as if there was no end to that vicious circle of closing his eyes, calming himself down just for those words to ring in his mind, causing him to jump awake again and prompting his anxiety to spike up. Like that, it happened for hours and hours.

It was late, the numbers on the bright screen told him so. There's nothing to worry about. He squinted at the phone in his hand ─ his eyes were unused to the light. We're talking about Conan-kun here. He must have everything figured out by now…

Yes, because it's Conan-kun…

"If you don't want a hole in this kid's head… you will hand the Jewel of Destiny over."

… Right?

He wasn't so sure anymore.

"Mitsuhiko-kun?" Before he even fully registered what he was doing, her concerned voice rang through his ear. "What's wrong?"

His free hand curled around the sheets, tightly enough to make his knuckles grow white. "R-Ran-san," he tried to sound as calm as possible, but he was certain his voice cracked at that. "I'm very sorry, I know it's late, but… Can… Can we talk?"

Her breath hitched at that sentence with surprise, but ultimately kept silent, patiently waiting for the boy to speak.

I'm sorry, Conan-kun. He closed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. I'm really, really sorry for this!

The sound of the alarm was stopped not even a second after it had gone off. While setting the phone back on the floor, the young kid in the futon groaned tiredly, glaring at the device as if it was the sole cause of his troubles. Eventually, though, he sat up and silently made his way to the bathroom.

This will be a long day, the boy lamented in his head as he lethargically brushed his teeth, and made a face at the mental picture of Ayumi and the rest's loud excitement that he would surely meet upon arriving at school. It would be especially hard today. Considering I didn't sleep a wink last night...

It was clear at first sight ─ Conan grimaced at the sight of his own reflexion in the mirror. Yet, that was the most logical outcome from lying in bed all night long, wide awake and staring at the ceiling, recalling repeatedly those words Eisuke had pronounced.

Someone in the FBI had died.

And if it was the person he had been thinking about, it would make perfect sense. That would explain why his phone's serial number was different. Jodie-sensei saw Akai-san grabbing my phone. He frowned, hopping off the stool Ran had put for him a long time ago. Were they trying to identify his… body?

If they had to result in fingerprints to identify him, Conan dreaded to know what exactly had happened to him.

"Ah, Conan-kun," Ran's surprised tone met his ears the moment he stepped out of the bathroom. "Good morning."

She had just walked out of her room, the boy noticed. "Good morning, Ran-neechan."

"You're up early," she observed.

It was true. Usually it would've taken him longer to wake himself up enough to get up, but this time around he was already awake. He decided not to say anything about this, however, and merely shrugged, then stepped aside so she could get in the bathroom before her father awakened. Yet she frowned instead.

"Now that I look at you, you're a little pale." Kneeling in front of him, the girl immediately felt his forehead with the back of her hand. "Doesn't look like you're sick…"

"I'm just tired, that's all."

"You didn't sleep well."

Conan paused, very aware of the fact that she hadn't asked it. Opening his mouth, he debated with himself about what he should say next, but nothing came out of his mouth. A sigh was all the reply she got from the older girl who, after passing a hand through his hair affectionately, she went back into her feet. "After you change, sit for a bit, Conan-kun," she told him, a smile on her face. "I'll fix you something for breakfast."

"Ah, no need. I can do it myself."

"It's okay, I'll take care of it."

With that, Ran shuffled inside the bathroom and Conan stood there for a moment more than needed. Just now, the kid could have sworn that something was off with her ─ the way she smiled, how she acted, it was different. As if she was doing her absolute best to act normal in front of him…

He seriously didn't like where this was going.

That didn't mean he could do something about it so, giving the door a last frown, the kid went to change out of his pajamas. Once he did, he went to sit at the table as he had been told, not daring to disobey her, and stared at the phone in his hand. I could call Jodie-sensei and ask about Akai-san…

But he decided not to. If she was intending to let me know, he wouldn't have tried to give me an identical phone. What was there to say that she would be honest with him if he asked directly? Jodie had clearly been trying to hide the fact from him.

The sound of the door of Kogoro's bedroom prompted him to look up. "Occhan." He blinked, stunned to see the man there. "You're awake?"

If Conan usually had a slow awakening, then the man in front of him was even worse. Any other day, it would have taken Ran to shout at him that breakfast was ready, several times, before he could be roused.

"Don't need to look surprised, brat," Kogoro grunted, all but collapsing in the seat across Conan. "There's nothing wrong with getting up early once in a while."

"… Right," drawled Conan, highly unconvinced. "Though a responsible adult wouldn't need his daughter to wake him up on a daily basis."

"What is that brat? You're saying I'm not a responsible adult?"

"Exactly."

Kogoro said nothing in return, just grumbled something under his breath as he looked away, offended. Conan couldn't care less, really ─ he shrugged at his reaction, absently watching Ran getting out of the restroom and going to her bedroom to change. Leaning his head against an open palm, Conan sighed, waiting for Kogoro to stand up and go brush his teeth or something.

He didn't.

And Conan had no idea why.

"You know, even if you seem to forget it from time to time..." The serious frown that appeared in Kogoro's face confused Conan. "I am an adult." The severe gaze cast on him made the boy uncomfortable. "And you're a child."

"Yeah." He nodded slowly. "That's obvious."

… Not for everyone, apparently.

"And children shouldn't keep shouldering so much by themselves," Conan flinched at his words. "That's what adults are for, right?"

"I… I don't understand where all this is coming from."

A deafening quietness followed the statement and, while Conan was definitely a fan of silence, he didn't seem to enjoy it this time around. He still fought to keep his face straight, and the panic cursing through his veins to show.

"It's not the first time you come home looking distraught and go straight to bed without having dinner." Kogoro's stern expression didn't waver. "And just like the other time, you're not planning to say anything."

"I'm pretty sure I told you. I was tired." He met his gaze with a defiant one of his own. "Try hanging out with Genta and the others, then running into a murder case. That's beyond exhausting-"

"What book did you buy?"

"Eh?"

"Ran said you went out your way to buy a book." Conan cursed in his mind. "Even if you got Shinmei Kaori's new mystery that morning. Buying two books in a single day, several hours apart, is kind of pushing it, even for you, isn't it?"

The kid was not used to this. Mouri Kogoro, the man who couldn't solve a case to save his life, was pressuring him, cornering him against the wall. He struggled to get through his panic-addled mind and get a decent answer for his questions, but he couldn't. Probably it was taking him too much time since Kogoro's gaze hardened further, if possible.

"Conan," the severe tone in his voice told the boy he wouldn't like it. "Is someone named Gin giving you trouble?"

Indeed, he did not like it.

"Never heard that name."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Look, I seriously have no idea what's all this about." The child stood up, suddenly. "But I need to leave for school right now."

Obviously, the man looked far from convinced. "You're almost an hour early."

"I agreed to meet with Mitsuhiko to talk about our art project."

"You haven't even eaten anything."

"I'm not hungry."

Mouri abruptly stood up, prompting Conan to freeze in the doorway, his school bag already in hand. Despite the fierceness in his gaze, Conan held it with a tight frown on his face. "You're not going anywhere," said Kogoro, with a stern tone he had never heard him using before, and pointed to the seat where Conan had previously been sitting at. "Come here, now."

Conan did not move from his spot.

"It's alright, Dad."

The female voice caused the two males to look away from each other and back to Ran, who smiled calmly at them both ─ her smile didn't settle right with the child, though. "He said he needs to go to school, right?" she stated, making her way to the kitchen. "You can go ahead, Conan-kun. I want to talk with Dad for a bit before I leave."

Dumbly, the boy nodded, inching closer to the door. A bamboozled expression took over Kogoro's face, spinning around to look at her, only to pause before he could say anything. They both exchanged looks, coming into an unspoken agreement, before the man turned back to the child.

"Just remember this, brat," Kogoro's frown was back in place when their eyes connected. "You can't run away forever."

Conan didn't answer, just hurriedly disappeared through the door.

"Ah, so here you were!"

Jumping slightly at the voice, Conan looked up from his book just to see his four friends making their way to his desk. He smiled a bit, raising his hand in a greeting gesture.

"We have been waiting for you to walk to school all this time," grumbled Genta. "And now it turns out you were already here?!"

"Sorry." He shrugged, closing his book and placing it back on his bag. "I wanted to finish that book so I got here earlier than usual."

Ai's eyes narrowed. "Weren't you just reading The Sign of Four?" Hesitantly, Conan nodded. "Which you have read over a dozen times."

"I… wanted to read it again."

She raised her eyebrow, but otherwise let it go. Mostly because Ayumi had walked closer and, with a concerned look.

"Say, Conan-kun," she asked, a frown decorating her face. "Do you feel good?"

"I didn't sleep until late last night," he settled with that answer, since experience told him he couldn't really lie to her. "I had many things in my mind, and-"

"Oh," Genta pipped in. "Was it about that FBI agent that died?"

At that question, Conan felt as if time itself had gone completely still. Slowly his gaze moved to meet the boy's, who seemed to have frozen as well after realizing what he had just said. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko turned to look at him, equally horrified expressions plastered all over their faces.

"You turned your Detective Badge on by accident," Ai was the first one to break the silence with her monotone voice, calmly making her way to her seat next to him. "They overheard your conversation with Hondou Eisuke last night."

"Eh?!" He stood up suddenly. "You guys did?!"

The way Ayumi and Genta smiled, sheepishly told him everything he needed to know.

"I tried to warn you," shrugged Ai. "But I couldn't call you with Ran-san around. I trusted they would have, at least, some sense of decency and not listen to it, but..."

At the thought of the older girl, Conan groaned, slumping back into his desk again. "Yeah, that would be more troublesome." He massaged his head. "I don't need her being even more suspicious than she already is..." then, with a frown, he added. "Occhan and Ran-neechan already know something is going on… Even this morning, Occhan asked me if I knew someone named Gin..."

Ai's eyes opened wide. "That's… actually not good."

"... Say." They both glanced at Mitsuhiko's direction. "... If they actually knew about it… would it be that bad?"

"Why do you ask?" asked the girl.

All the while that Ai questioned it, Conan observed the way his friend took a step back, seemingly unsure about something before lowering his head. He mumbled some excuse, timidly, that Conan did not listen at, far too focused in the way he shifted, with a downcast look in his eyes.

Conan frowned in confusion, giving him another careful look.

"You can go ahead, Conan-kun. I want to talk with Dad for a bit before I leave."

There was a loud gasp, causing the other four kids to stop discussing amongst each other in order to look at their other friend. Conan was staring right at Mitsuhiko, eyes open so wide that it gave him an almost crazed kind of look. Then, his mouth closed slowly and his bewildered gaze turned into a furious glare and hissed three words:

"You told her."

"What…" tried Mitsuhiko, with a violent twitch. "What are you talking about, Conan-kun-?"

"You told Ran-neechan." The unusual rise of his voice startled Ayumi, who was the closest to him, out of them all. "You told her everything, didn't you?"

He got no other reply but an indecisive nod.

"Why would you do that?!" continued Conan, not paying attention to the staring from other classmates settled on them. "I can't believe you-!"

"What was I supposed to do?!"

Everyone, including the other children in the classroom that were overhearing their conversation, were stunned to see Mitsuhiko ─ quiet, polite Mitsuhiko ─ speaking up like that to a friend. Not that Conan particularly cared about it, just continued glowering at the boy.

Once she recovered from her shock Ai, predicting where this conversation was going, gave a general glare to everyone outside of their group. They all flinched, then shuffled back to their own business. Satisfied with that, she focused her attention back to Mitsuhiko, whose hands were curling into fists now.

"Do you…" Conan breathed out. "Do you have the slightest idea of how dangerous these people are?"

"Yes, I do," he said, with astonishingly assertiveness.

"Then why?!"

"Because they are dangerous."

Conan paused, confused. To that, Mitsuhiko sighed before continuing in a softer, nevertheless firm, tone.

"Clearly this is something far too big for children like us to handle," he stressed out. "Telling an adult is the first thing you should have done!"

"Are you telling me I should just let them investigate them?" Conan growled. "They're going to wind up dead!"

"You are going to wind up dead!" Then, he closed his eyes, tightly. "Especially if you keep running head-first into danger-!"

"I don't-!"

"Conan-kun, last time you tried to go after one of them ended up with a gun on your head and got thrown off a moving airplane!"

Words momentarily left the bespectacled boy, dying in his throat with a violent shiver. He closed his eyes, struggling not to let his friends see he was sweating at the feeling of a familiar coldness against his temple that was definitely not there.

His eyes snapped open when fingers latched on his hand. "Don't be mad at Mitsuhiko-kun!" Ayumi had a tiny frown on her face. "He's just trying to help." Her grip on him tightened. "Because… because you're hurting, Conan-kun."

… Hurting?

"Besides, we know about it, right?" the girl beamed. "So why would it be a problem if Ran-neesan knows too?"

He looked away at that. "That…" Ayumi's smile faltered. "… That was my mistake…"

"… Eh?" Her grip on him slacked.

"I shouldn't have told you anything." He stared at her straight in the eye. "If I knew this would turn out like this, I wouldn't have..."

The hurt in Ayumi's eyes made Conan look away guiltily, but did not take his words looked up, however, when a pull from the collar of his shirt forced him back onto his feet.

"What are you talking about?!" His expression did not waver, even at the sight of Genta's furious glare from very close, as he held tightly into his shirt. "You're saying that it would be better if we never founded our group?! Our detective club?!"

"If it keeps all of you away from this, then yes."

At the answer the boy offered him without giving it a second thought, Genta gritted his teeth. "We are trying to help you, Conan!" He shouted at him. "That doesn't give you any right to act like a jerk!"

"A jerk, you say?"

"Yeah, a big jerk! To say that you would throw away everything we did together, just like that!"

The other boy did not reply for a moment, but held his glare with a fierce one of his own.

"I might be a jerk..." he started, slower, before raising the volume of his voice. "But at least I don't go getting my nose where it doesn't belong all the time!"

"We're trying to help!"

"Well, I didn't ask for it!"

"What are you saying?!"

"If this is the way you're going to help, it will be better if you just… just stayed out of this..." He paused, his frown getting more prominent. "You only make it worse, you-!"

A hand gripping his shoulder, tightly, prompted him to stop before he could finish that sentence. He didn't really need to turn to know that a certain strawberry blonde was burning holes into the back of his head with a disapproving glare.

Sensing that she had gotten her point across, Ai removed her hand from his shoulder, but Conan didn't recede, just continued to scowl at Genta, who didn't look any better than him. The boy was bristling with anger.

"You know, Conan… For all you complain about your brother being stupid and not telling you anything..." like so, Genta shot at him. "You're acting exactly like him!"

Conan did not answer him, verbally.

He did lunge at him, though.

There was a collective gasp at that ─ not even Ai could help herself. As soon as the two boys hit the floor, however, Conan felt himself roughly brought back into his feet and away from an unsettled ─ and still fuming ─ Genta.

"Edogawa-kun, Kojima-kun!" their teacher yelled, furiously, as she set both children apart. "To the principal office, now!"

Admittedly, Conan's first trip ever to the principal's office had been nowhere near 'fun', but had been bearable enough. Other than having to shake hands with a still irritated Genta as they mutually apologized ─ even if none of them had looked actually sorry ─ it had felt just like a watered-down version of Ran's stern, long scoldings. He had gotten off lightly since it had been his first time misbehaving and had just to promise he wouldn't do it again before they had let them off.

Currently he sat on the floor, in the library of his real house, glaring at the referral form he was to bring back signed the next day. Sent to the principal's office for starting a fight. Any other day, he would've rolled his eyes at the thought. How pathetic is that, really?

He really didn't want to see Ran's face when she saw that… Or Kogoro's, for that matter.

In fact, he didn't even want to see their face after everything that had happened that morning. Hence, he went straight there after school, without waiting for his friends ─ who he didn't want to face, either.

What a mess. He groaned, passing a hand through his face and sighing, forcing himself to look back at the scribbled notes on his lap.

"AJahSIWnj

aJaHsiwnJ

aJahsiwnJ

aJahsiwnj

ajahsiwnj

ajahliwnj"

And the list of combinations went on and on ─ he had filled over ten pages and he still couldn't get anything but gibberish nonsense. Did I get something wrong? he wondered, taking another look at the code.

"Did you know, Oneechan? Today is White Day. Yet, on a day like this, I...

I don't know, it's messed up, isn't it?

Please, don't hate me for this.

There are lots of things I still want to tell you, but I guess I'm far too shy to tell you about them. I need to take my time, be patient with myself until I can say them.

Please, don't forget me.

I love you so much and I hope that you feel the same for this girl that, even though she seems to think so highly about herself, will always remain loyal to you.

So thank you for being generous enough to give me a place in your heart. I will always treasure this strong friendship the two of us share.

─ Hana."

If we go by Hanakotoba like the last time, it makes little sense…

'Hate' is for 'orange lily', 'shy' is for 'amaryllis', 'patient' for 'azalea'… The quote 'don't forget me' sounds like 'forget-me-not' to me…

'Think so highly about herself' could refer to 'narcissus'… 'loyal' definitely means 'iris'... and 'generous' is definitely 'honeysuckle'...

There is also 'friendship', which could mean 'jasmine'... And could the 'two' word mean to consider it two times?

But of course it wouldn't be that easy, unlike the other time it didn't make the message any clearer. Changing the order didn't seem to help either.

There's just no end to it, he groaned. Well, considering that Ai-san was in a hurry, maybe she didn't consider that there were so many combinations...

Especially if you considered their Japanese names. Then 'azalea', 'honeysuckle', 'orange lily', 'iris', 'forget-me-not' could also refer to 'tsutsuji', 'suikazura', 'sayuri', 'ayame', 'wasurenagusa' or 'suisen'... Or if it was meant to be put in capital letters or not...

Conan groaned, this was getting nowhere. Stretching his arms, he stood up and ambled across the extensive library, hoping to find something ─ anything ─ else to keep his mind busy. His eyes fell on the section where his father kept his mystery books and his hand reached for them.

Shaking his head, he decided not to. I have already read those. He needed something… challenging. His eyes continued to travel across the shelves.

Until he stopped at a certain spot. Letting his shoulders drop, he took a step away, until he paused, and looked again. A frown took hold of his features.

Gingerly, he took a book out of the place. Now that I think about it, this is the place where I met Ai-san. Blankly, he contemplated the dark hollow space that was revealed from behind the row of books. Well, actually, that's not true.

His hand reached to put the book back into place. It was shaking.

"This is a secret between us two," the older boy winked. "Okay, Conan?"

A small smile crossed his lips. That's right. He put the book back in place. This is the place where I would hide when playing hide-and-seek with Dad… A long time ago.

Chuckling, he would remember Shinichi's grin, genuinely pleased to see their father frustrated beyond belief because he couldn't find him. That had been the sole reason his brother made him promise he would never tell him about it.

Once the book was gone, the hand remained hanging in the air, quietly still.

"Let's play, Conan!" his brother beamed, brightly. "I can't wait to see Dad's face when he realizes he can't win!"

Something cold hit his hand, causing Conan to blink confusedly and to stare at it. At first, he couldn't understand why it was wet, but instantly realized it upon the feeling of that same strange coldness making its way down his cheek.

Come on. Stubbornly rubbing his face, Conan scolded himself. Get a hold of yourself, would you?

As in an attempt to fight them back, Conan took a deep breath and promptly left the room. He willed his mind to stop thinking, for once, as he wandered around the house, but to no avail.

His phone vibrated with a call, and his brain instantly pointed out that it wasn't his. Jodie had taken it to investigate because Akai-san is dead. Which he should have seen coming.

Before long the call went to voicemail, to which he was infinitely grateful for. He didn't want to check who it was, fearing that it would be Ran and remember that they know every single thing.

Groaning, he messed his own hair. It was getting out of hand… which wouldn't have happened if Mitsuhiko had said nothing. If he hadn't tried to help, he…

Then again, Conan himself had been the one that only made it worse. I hurt them. He had made Mitsuhiko mad, Ayumi sad… And almost fought, physically, with Genta. He was not like that… Why…?

He stopped, not entirely surprised about where he had ended up while in a daze. His expression did not change from the plain, emotionless look as he slowly walked inside the room he had unknowingly landed into.

What… The mattress beneath him sunk when he sat on it …What should I do now?

I… His eyes stung. I don't know what… He sniffed. … I'm supposed to do...

He leaned down, unconsciously reaching for the pillow. Damn it, just stop! With a frustrated groan, he pressed his face against it.

"What's wrong, Conan?" He hugged the pillow tightly, bathing himself in the familiar scent that would calm him all those nights, back when he was very young and in need of comfort after a scary nightmare. "Hey, it's okay to cry. Don't be embarrassed about it."

"Shh, it's fine..." Drawing in a quivering breath, Conan curled around his brother's pillow, closing his eyes shut, letting soft, heart-wrenching sobs fill the silence. "... Oniichan is right here, isn't he?" Soaking it wet with tears he had valiantly fought to keep from escaping, the young little boy pressed himself further against his soothing scent, embracing it with all strength his short arms could manage...

"I won't ever let anything happen to you, Conan. I promise."

… All the while wishing, fervently, that he could be hugged back.

Something was buzzing in his pants' pocket, Conan realized with a tired groan, yet he didn't attempt to move, just snuggled against the pillow when it stopped, deciding that, whoever it was, the caller had just given up. They didn't, however, and the buzzing started once more.

Scowling, he finally reached for his phone and faltered upon reading the name on the display. 'Haibara Ai', his frown softened at the name showing on the screen, his annoyed expression replaced by a thoughtful one, as his finger wavered over the 'ignore' button.

"Just remember this, brat. You can't run away forever."

With a defeated sigh, he answered and placed the phone against his ear.

"You should head back to the agency," her calm voice stated long before he could even try to articulate a word. "Ran-san called a few minutes ago. Said you weren't answering your phone."

Wordlessly Conan sat up, his free arm still hugging the pillow against his chest after finding himself unable to let go of it. He didn't try to offer her a reply, and she didn't wait for one.

"I told her you were taking a nap here." The boy was almost certain that 'here' meant the Professor's house. "But you should still go back. She sounded worried."

Conan swallowed the lump in his throat. "You aren't going to say anything?" If she noticed how raspy his voice sounded after crying, she didn't let him know. "About this morning..."

Ai was quiet for a second. "You just got past your breaking point, nothing unexpected there," her tone was even, just like always, but didn't sound as harsh as usual. "After being subjected to stress for so long, I should have known that you would snap at some point or another. It's a wonder it didn't happen earlier."

Conan barely hummed at that, unable to deny her words. "Could've managed it better, though," he mumbled, resting his chin against the cushion.

"True," she admitted, with no kind of hesitation. "You surprised us a lot." He shifted at that, frowning at the thought of everything that had happened just that morning. "They haven't gotten over it yet, and Kojima-kun is still fuming… He didn't even want to eat some pudding when the Professor offered it to him."

He grimaced. "So they were there?"

"Still are. They are all sitting by the window right now," Conan blinked at that. "They haven't gotten their eyes out of your house, not even Kojima-kun. Ayumi-chan wanted to try talking with you, but she was afraid that it would upset you further."

He sighed tiredly, timidly glancing outside the window to Agasa's home. Even after everything, they…

"Go home, Conan-kun," he was mildly surprised at the gentleness coloring her usually cold, nonchalant voice. "Go home and get some rest. We'll talk this over tomorrow, okay?"

Even after the sound of the call being disconnected, Conan did not move. Just gazed out from the window, blankly, before burrowing his face against the pillow, taking into the comforting scent once more…

Wait a second.

… Scent? Eyebrows furrowing with confusion, the child sniffed again and jumped back, startled. … They smell like him… But how?

Last time Shinichi had stayed home was after he suddenly showed up at his school's play as the Black Night, which was in November. Since then, Ran and Conan had been cleaning the house every month, and that included sheets, obviously. They were nearing May already.

There was no way his scent could still remain there.

Unless… Outraged, he threw the pillow away. That bastard stayed here for an entire night. He was here.

Renewed with anger, the child brought his phone back. Where is he staying anyway? He scowled while he scrolled down his list of contacts. Probably not far from here, considering he keeps coming and leaving Beika with little-to-no complications...

He hesitated, a trembling finger hovering over Shinichi's contact. With a frustrated groan, he put his phone away and passed his hands through his face. "Just… Where are you?" he wondered out loud.

His mind instantly wandered to that mysterious person he met at Tsukikage Island. Hirai Arthur, who he had saved him from a fire more than a year ago. Who he had, supposedly, helped Asou Seiji when he got into trouble with an organization. Helped him get another identity and a completely new life somewhere else ─ until he ultimately resorted to murder, of course.

With the new discovery of Watanabe Satoshi's new identity, and that Shinichi had helped him, it was hard not to make the connection between those two. Conan frowned.

Hattori tried to investigate him a long time ago, he remembered. Classmate of Hakuba Saguru and friend of Kuroba Kaito, Mom's teacher's son.

Grasping his phone again, he made a quick web search. If I'm not mistaken, Oniichan had been riding with Ayumi and the others when the Touto Circular Railway was almost bombed one year ago... His eyes narrowed upon seeing something on the screen. As I suspected, in that train, getting here from that place takes about fifteen minutes.

Closing his eyes with a sigh, he put his phone down. Of course, that's all circumstantial evidence. Hoping off the bed, he slowly made his way out of the room. I can't say for sure they are the same person...

"But, did you know this?" He remembered Hakuba saying that to him once. "You actually remind me of someone I know."

He stopped at the doorway, pensive at those odd words.

"Ah, look!" Haibara looked up at Ayumi's sudden loud exclamation. "Conan-kun is..."

All four children were huddled together next to the window, pleasantly surprised to see that, true to the girl's words, Conan slowly made his way out of his house, his skateboard tucked under his arm. Ducking his head, he let the gadget on the ground and stood over it.

"Do you think he's going home?" wondered Mitsuhiko out loud.

"I hope he is," Ayumi commented, eyes not looking away from the young boy.

Both of them shifted their attention to Genta after he scoffed. "Who cares about that jerk?" he grumbled, leaning back into his seat. Haibara raised an eyebrow at that, noticing that, indeed, he sounded relieved.

She decided not to say anything, just focused back at the boy outside the window, watching as he skateboarded away, getting smaller and smaller before disappearing around a corner.

Get back home safely. Closing her eyes, she turned around, leaving his friends to chat amongst each other. You can do that at least, can't you?

"Seriously? Your master plan is spying on Nakamori?"

Kaito's phone fell to the floor with a sickening thud at the sudden voice and, upon realizing it was just Shinichi ─ or Arthur, as he went by nowadays ─ walking to the living-room, a cup of coffee in one hand, a thick book in the other. With a surprised gasp, the thief went to gather it and Shinichi stared blankly, quietly sipping in his coffee.

"So, is that it?" he inquired, sitting at the table.

Exasperated, Kaito motioned to his phone. "You could have shattered it."

"Looks fine to me."

"Really, if it happened to break, I would have charged you."

"Can't charge someone that doesn't have the money. If I had, I wouldn't be living here," he raised an eyebrow. "Besides, it fell from your hands."

"Because of you!"

"Did you find anything?" he didn't bat an eye at the accusation. "You snuck a camera and microphone in the necktie pin you gifted Inspector Nakamori, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he placed his earphone back into place. "From the looks of it, she gave it to him."

"So you were spying on her."

"Of course not, idiot."

Just in time for that, the doorbell rang. Kaito sighed tiredly, wondering who it could be. "You answer that," he focused on the phone. "You can do that at least, can't you?"

Merely rolling his eyes, Shinichi stood up, passing by the magician and heading for the door. Seriously, he groaned, already annoyed even if he hadn't opened it. If it's another salesperson, I swear I...

It rang again. "Coming," he grumbled when he was steps away from the door, and it rang again. Geez, somebody is impatient.

With a sigh, he turned the knob and opened, far too irritated to even look through the peephole. "What is it?" he spat out, only to freeze in space when he realized he couldn't see anybody in front of him. Better not be a bell-ringing prank...

All irritation and anger suddenly washed away from him when he lowered his gaze and realized, with a violent widening of his eyes, that there was someone there.

Someone looking up at him, blinking innocent blue eyes behind thick glasses and wearing a bright, childish grin that stretched from side to side in his tiny face.

"Hi!" the little boy chirped cutely. "My name is Edogawa Conan!"

A/N:

ajjr12: Just one of them, actually…

CherryGirl 21-6: Sure, tell me! I'll try to consider it ;)

snowy: I'll do my best to do that, but don't blame me if I forget from time to time.. I'm a creature of habit, and I've grown used to call her 'Haibara' at this point XD