File Seventy-Five: Codename: Bourbon

I hate this.

Under Shinichi's amused gaze, the kid scrubbed at his eyes, stubbornly wiping away the remains of tears still present beneath his glasses. He heard his brother laughing a bit, fuelling his irritation and prompting him to huff. It's not fair.

It really wasn't. He had been making a good job keeping his feelings in a bay, but like every single time, his brother would mess everything up. He would break, his efforts going down the drain in a matter of seconds.

It was beyond frustrating.

... Yet it wasn't all that bad, either.

"Make sure you apologize properly with Ran and Occhan, alright?" the teen spoke up as they walked side by side. "And try not to get murdered by Ran."

Conan rolled his eyes at that. "Will keep it in mind," he grumbled quietly, grimacing at the mental image of Ran setting her glare on him, ready to spit fire and demand him to explain himself. "I can't blame her, I kind of stirred trouble for everyone there..."

Something entirely different crossed his mind, causing him to trail down into thoughtful silence.

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

"Starting a fight at school… Running away from home..." Shinichi sighed, half-heartedly. "I fear that my little brother is turning into a delinquent before my very own eyes..."

Huffing irritatedly, the young boy was about to shoot something back at him, until his brain finally processed his words. "How-?!"

"I have my ways." The older boy shrugged, then continued before Conan could ask about it. "Though I still can't help but wonder what in the world possessed you to fistfight Genta." His eyebrows arched. "And what made you think you could win against a boy four times bigger than you..."

Conan's mouth clicked shut.

"So? What triggered that?"

Flustered, the young boy looked away. "He called me a jerk..." he mumbled, fidgeting anxiously. "He said I was stupid… and..."

Shinichi blinked, unable to comprehend how come that had tickled him off so much.

"And that I was like you."

The high school detective tripped, barely catching himself before he could break his nose against the pavement. "You wanted to hit him for that?!"

"... I was a bit angry with you, okay?"

"Sounds like you wanted to hit me."

Conan snorted. "Can't deny it."

"Hey, hey..."

Shrugging, the young boy stuck his hands inside his pockets and increased his walking pace slightly, standing in front of a building which Shinichi easily recognized as the place where the Midnight Crow's heist had taken place. Sighing softly, the older brother joined him.

Conan's gaze lowered to the ground. "Maybe I should apologize with them, too," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

"For attacking Genta?" he asked, but the boy shook his head.

"Not that." He shifted uncomfortably. "I said… mean things to them. All of them." Shinichi kneeled down to pay better attention to him, but the kid only avoided his gaze. "And if Ai-san didn't stop me… I'd have probably made it so much worse."

"You're lucky she did," pointed out the teen. "Once your words leave your mouth, you'll never be able to take them back."

Conan did not react, causing his brother to frown and, ever so gently, lift his chin so that he would be forced to meet his eyes. "Remember this, Conan. Words are like swords," Shinichi pronounced, firmly. "If you use them the wrong way, they will turn into ugly weapons."

His words seemed to reach him, the teenager could tell by the way his eyes widened slightly. It made him smile.

"You want to remain friends with them forever, don't you?"

Forever? Having been far too focused in surviving his day to day with cases and so many deadly situations he had already lost count ─ such as chasing after a dangerous organization ─ the kid had never given it much thought. What the future could be like.

Things were bound to change, he knew that already. People change, grow apart as the years pass by. Life had an unpredictable nature after all, and that wasn't a bad thing by itself, but...

Slowly and timidly, the child nodded. Shinichi smiled gently.

"Then, be more careful with what you say." A groan escaped Conan as his hair was roughly messed by the teenager. "Once you sever your ties, you might not see each other ever again."

That was… something Conan didn't truly want to experience. So he nodded once more, before taking a step forward, towards the building. "Anyway," the kid pronounced. "I should get going."

"Wait, Conan." The child stopped in his tracks, giving his brother a questioning look. "Before you go, I wanted to ask you something..."

He just waited quietly.

"If you already knew it was me, why did you go through all this trouble instead of just calling?"

At first, he didn't get another answer but a blank stare. Then, he rolled his eyes and, with an exasperated sigh, replied, "Do I have to spell everything out for you?"

The clueless look he received from his usually far-too-knowing amused him more than he would admit, causing his lips to stretch into a bright, sheepish grin, before turning back around and jogging inside the building.

Idiot, he sighed fondly while running up to Kogoro, whose eyes widened in surprise upon seeing him there. You're the greatest detective I know, yet you can't deduce this.

Mouri was scolding him from running off again, demanding to know what the reason he had done that. The reason I came here… Shrugging, he told the adult he had been trying to chase after KID, but that the magician had slipped away once more. … is simple, and so incredibly obvious that I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet.

… On a second thought, it shouldn't be so surprising you didn't.

"You know what," sighed Kogoro, placing his hand back into his pockets, after trying to smack some sense into the kid. "We can do this later. I'm too tired for this."

"Not surprising." Conan shrugged. "They say you tire more easily the older you get."

Immediately after that comment, the boy had to dodge a blow to the head coming from the adult. He laughed at the glare the older detective sent his way, before running back to the entrance, Kogoro's angry grumbling still resounding in the room.

He paused once he stepped out into the chilly night, eyes roaming around the darkness to realize that, unsurprisingly, his brother was nowhere to be seen.

"Come on." Kogoro's gruff voice sounded in his ears before he could see him. "It's late, and Ran must be worried."

Nodding slightly, the kid followed the adult suit, taking a few steps before something caught his eye. Covered by darkness, there was a figure standing behind a tree, watching them both intently.

The reason I came to Ekoda is, after all… A small smile caressed his face. … my genuine desire to see you, Oniichan.

"Hey, brat! What are you doing?" Kogoro called for him. "Let's go home."

He hurried up to catch up with the adult, a grin still plastered all over his face as he thought about it. Going back didn't sound so bad, actually.

"Make sure to apologize to Ran when you see her. She was worried sick about you."

As things were, Conan could only nod silently at the grumbling man beside him. With each step they climbed towards the agency, he could think of another different person he would most likely need to apologize to next time they met. Ran-neechan, Genta… The list went on and on. Ayumi-chan, Mitsuhiko… And there also is...

When Conan's gaze fell on him, Kogoro didn't really know what he was supposed to do. "What?" he asked, unnerved by the hesitant, but equally serious look the youngster was giving him.

"I'm sorry," not looking away, the child pronounced, with unshielding conviction. "I worried you, didn't you, Occhan?"

The man's mouth opened, then clicked shut on its own. "Don't be stupid." Annoyed, the detective looked away. "If anything, the agency has been nothing but peaceful these couple of days without you running around."

"Ah, really?" Conan raised an eyebrow, unconvinced at that reply, hurrying upstairs and leaving the detective to trail behind, sighing to himself and mumbling something about having forgotten to bring his keys.

He's hopeless. Rolling his eyes, the kid stood in front of the door, frowning slightly as he stared at it. Sighing to himself, he brushed his knuckles against the wooden surface, and didn't move from his spot even as he listened to some shuffling on the inside of the residence.

"Seriously, Dad." He could hear Ran's voice getting closer. "You can't expect me to open the door every time you get home late-"

When Ran opened up, she definitely wasn't expecting to see him there, standing in front of the door and looking as if he wanted to shrink under her surprised gaze. She said nothing, simply watching as the boy looked at her in the eye, then dropped his head to stare at the floor.

"Ran-neechan," he began quietly, uncertain about how he was supposed to word it. "I-"

All words suddenly died down in his throat when he felt himself pulled inside a tight, warm embrace.

Even Kogoro found himself smiling despite himself, watching the little boy slowly returning the hug his daughter had buried him in.

"I'm back..."

"Welcome back..."

Leaving his shoes scattered at the entrance, the high school detective made his way to the living room, dropping unceremoniously on the chair right beside the magician who didn't even glance at him, just stared blankly at some random old movie on TV.

"Where is Tantei-kun?"

"Beika. Must have arrived home by now."

"Oh."

"Chikage-san?"

"On a plane. Went back to Las Vegas."

"Oh."

The sounds coming from the television were the only thing keeping the room from falling into complete silence, with none of the boys willing to do anything but to stare wearily at the screen. Without Kaito's unpredictable mother and Shinichi's demonic little brother, the house was strangely quiet.

Both sighed heavily in unison.

"So it's finally over?" asked Kaito, head dropping forward.

"You could say that."

"Dodged a bullet there..."

"Conan knows I'm Kudo Shinichi, though."

"What?!"

"From the moment he took a train to Ekoda." Shinichi shrugged. "Just wanted me to tell him. Face to face. That brat..."

"So… Does he know that I...?"

The high school detective opened his mouth to answer his question before it closed. He gave Kaito a long, thoughtful look, that the magician returned with a questioning one of his own. "Who knows?" Shinichi shrugged. "Can't read his mind, you know."

"Hey, hey! If you don't know, how am I-"

"Guess you will find out next heist."

Kuroba gave him such a crazed look that Shinichi faltered, creeped out. "You're letting Tantei-kun attend my heists, even-"

"I'm banning any encounters at high places."

"Excuse me?" The thief scoffed. "Meitantei, I'm a grownup thief. You can't tell me what to do..."

"I can, actually."

"Come on! We both know I look best soaring through the sky. Banning high places-" Shinichi's glare made Kaito's every word die down in his throat. "... I understand."

Satisfied, the detective smirked before letting his gaze fall on the letter on top of the table. Even as he picked it up without asking, Kaito didn't even bother stopping him, just stared at him with a bored, and almost annoyed, expression all over his face.

Need to stay away from people with 'Kudo' as a surname. His eyebrow raised while cradling his head to his hand. It's not good for my health. Seriously.

Meanwhile, Shinichi frowned at the letter in his hand.

"Dear Kaito:

The truth is, I came back because I wasn't sure about letting you continue the dangerous life of Kaito KID, but it seems you have conviction, so for now, I'm giving up and going back to Vegas.

P.S. You'll burn yourself if you stick heating pads all over your body."

"Tantei-kun might have figured I would use heating pads," stated Kaito, noticing the frown decorating Shinichi's face. "But the only one that actually saw me was Kaito Corbeau."

Shinichi gave Kuroba a serious look. "I knew, too."

"You're not Corbeau. Black doesn't suit you."

"Funny thing to say to a crow."

Sighing, the magician stood up, stretching his arms as he did so. "You aren't a crow, Kudo." He began to make his way to the kitchen to prepare something. Tea, or even hot chocolate, were Shinichi's best guess. "Not anymore."

The detective said nothing, just frowned lightly.

"Oh, by the way," added the thief as an afterthought. "Snake showed up at the heist." Shinichi winced violently at that comment, yet it seemed like Kaito didn't notice. "Corbeau retained him long enough for us to leave." Really, with the heater, the black magician had produced fire, activating the sprinklers and soaking them wet. Then, turning the refrigeration on, he had frozen his feet solid. "He's an impressive magician. Too bad I won the bet, and he isn't going to show up anytime soon..."

"Kuroba..."

"I heard his shoes were all they found." He didn't even hear the other boy. "He escaped before Inspector Nakamori arrived there… But it doesn't matter. It won't happen next time."

"There isn't going to be a next time."

That prompted Kaito to pause, blinking at the detective, confused at the serious look he was giving him. "We, Conan and I, had a close encounter with the Organization today." The thief was startled by the fact. "From what we gathered, Detective Mouri was trying to investigate Snake, and they found out, somehow. Vermouth was disguised as Hakuba to determine how much they knew." Kaito's eyes widened at the revelation. "And the boss gave out an order to take out whoever was in their way."

"Hey, hey… Did he-?"

"No, he's safe." Kuroba sighed at that, relieved. "But..."

"But…?" Shinichi's gaze fell to a random spot on the table he sat at. This agitated Kaito. "Don't scare me like that! What-?"

"Snake was eliminated."

The high school detective did not look back at the teenager, even as he could clearly hear that his breath had frozen inside his lungs, because of the shock. "He was being more trouble than he was worth, so Vermouth shot him in the head."

Shinichi stood up, slowly. He carefully approached his housemate, but he didn't even look back at him. His gaze was fixed on a random spot ahead of him, not really looking at anything.

Closing his eyes, Shinichi patted him on the shoulder. "This might not be the best way, but at least the one who murdered your father received what he deserved." The detective walked past him, but the thief didn't react ─ not that he expected him to. "I'm sorry, Kuroba."

Shinichi gripped the phone in his pocket tightly as he stood right in the hallway, not failing to notice that Kaito had not moved from his spot. "I will leave tomorrow night." This time, Kaito looked away and focused on the boy, shocked to see Shinichi, of all people, bowing lightly at him. "Thank you for everything, Kuroba."

With that, the detective disappeared from his sight, and by the sound of the door closing that followed, the magician figured he might have gone to his room.

Does that mean… that this is over? All of it?

For the longest time, the phantom thief just stood there, uncertain of what he was supposed to do next.

Even after closing the door right behind him, Shinichi didn't move either. Leaning against it, the detective remained quietly still for what seemed an eternity, eyes closed and hand still clutching the phone inside his pocket. He took a deep breath. Then another.

And brought out the device in question, scrolling through his contacts, until he found it.

This had to be done.

"Hey, Ran. It's me."

"So, what do you want to know?" Shinichi's voice rang from the other side of the line. "From what it looks like, you know most of the story, don't you?"

Despite she couldn't be seen, the girl nodded. "You are..." Her eyebrows were brought together in a deep frown. "... were a member of a dangerous organization. They know you as Singani."

It took a moment for Shinichi to reply. "Yeah."

"And Ai-chan was also a part of it." Her hand, which was resting on top of her lap, was curling into a tight fist. The thought of a mere child being forced inside a criminal syndicate, getting thrown into such a mess and used like a mere tool made her blood boil. "They made her create the poison that almost killed you."

Again, he made an affirming sound. "She was the girl kidnapped at Conan's day care."

That barely surprised Ran, somehow. "So that's how Conan-kun got involved with those people," she concluded quickly. "You became one of them in order to protect him." This was followed by a weak laugh from her part. "If that's the reason, I guess I can forgive you for acting like an idiot and diving into danger without thinking."

"... It would be nice if it was that easy." Ran blinked at his whispered words. "I was arrogant. I thought I could save anyone, you know. That I had control over everything and anything." He let out a dry laugh. "But I was wrong. I was only a pawn in her own game."

"Her?"

"For all Conan is angry with himself for trusting the wrong person… I'm not so different at all." On the other side of the phone, Shinichi let himself plop down on top of his bed with a defeated sigh. "I listened to someone I shouldn't have and know everything has gotten unnecessarily more complicated." He passed a hand through his face. "Conan's teacher was actually a member called Vermouth. Said the Organization could get their hands on Conan… But virtually nobody knew about that case. Or at least, his involvement with it."

Ran pressed her lips. "And, by the time you knew, it was too late."

"Exactly."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence following that. It was late ─ both Conan and her father had gone to bed by that point, which made the quietness even more evident. Ran waited a bit more, but when he didn't speak up, she let out a long sigh.

"You had no way of knowing, Shinichi. It's not your fault."

"Ran..."

"But what is your fault is not asking for help." Her voice rose a little at that. "Did you seriously believe you could take down an entire criminal organization all by yourself at thirteen?" She heard Shinichi flinching at that, but she couldn't really bring herself to care. "Why didn't you say anything? My father is a detective. Your father is a genius, and has a friend in the Interpol, doesn't he?"

Shinichi didn't answer, but Ran stood up from her bed.

"There's so many people out there! A lot of people that care about Conan-kun. A lot of people that care..." Her voice trailed down into silence and didn't return until after the girl took a deep breath. "A lot of people that care about you. They… We want to help you."

"... I know but-"

"It's scary, I know. To have so many people involved. To think that somebody can end up hurt." Her hand on the phone clenched slightly. "But you can't keep pushing people away. You're destroying yourself, Shinichi."

His fingers gripped the phone tighter as well and sighed faintly. He didn't need to see her to know that his dearest childhood friend's face was decorated by an angelic smile. A smile he longed to see again.

"Everything will be okay. You just need to be a bit braver."

Before he knew it, a similar expression was painting his features.

Thank you… Thank you, Ran.

"Don't you think I will stop there." Ran said before he could think of ending the call. "I still want to know how you tricked them into thinking you were eliminating people, when you clearly were not."

"... Wait, Mitsuhiko knew that?"

"Shinichi, I have known you since we were four. There's no way you could kill someone."

That stole a laugh out of the boy. "Of course you knew," he mumbled, causing Ran to smile gently.

The smile remained there, even after they talked everything out and the call had ended minutes ago. Oh, wow. Ran glanced at the watch standing right over her bed table. Is it that late already?

Thankfully Golden Week started tomorrow, so she didn't need to get up early for school. With a small shake of her head, she quickly put on her pajamas and left her room to brush her teeth, like any other night.

But, unlike other nights, she stopped right before she could reach the bathroom. Just stood there for a moment in front of that other door, not minding her father's snores echoing loudly across the house.

Unable to help herself, Ran opened the door just a tiny bit, peeking inside, and saw it. Just barely because of the darkness, she saw a young kid, burrowed in between his blankets, fast asleep.

Making as little sound as she could, the teenage girl approached the futon and crouched down next to it. The child, far too gone into dreamland, didn't notice the fond sigh that escaped from her lips, gazing down at him with loving eyes.

Everything will get better from now on. Ran leaned closer to him, her lips curving into a slightly sad smile. I won't let anyone hurt you again.

Gingerly, the girl pressed a light kiss on the boy's forehead, and giggled faintly when he sighed, snuggling deeper into his pillow. I will make sure of that. A faint smile drew itself in his face, settling back into that peaceful slumber that had a tight hold on him.

Goodnight, Conan-kun.

For all that Conan had been fearing confronting Ran and her father, it had gone… surprisingly well, actually.

It had been late when he had arrived home with Kogoro, so Ran had told him they could talk about everything the next morning. He had accepted it without a second word, eaten the meal that the girl had prepared for him and gone to bed. Sleep had come to him easily, especially when he heard, faintly, from the other side of the wall Ran's voice as she, apparently, talked with someone else on the phone.

Oniichan, had been his last thought before dozing off.

His surprise had been big when he woke up the next morning to find both Ran and Kogoro already sitting at the table at the office, and braced himself for what was to come.

But he didn't have to explain anything ─ as it turned out, Shinichi had made everything clear so that he didn't have to go through that. What he did have to get through was the expected scolding from Ran and Kogoro landing the law on him.

Eventually, he had been let off with a new set of rules. No getting home late, no going anywhere without letting Ran or Kogoro know first, and absolutely no getting his nose in dangerous stuff ─ Ran had almost gotten a heart attack when Shinichi commented that he had hid in a car trunk belonging to one of the most deadly, terrifying members of the Organization he had once been part to. Yet, they did let him leave the house.

Not without promising that he would tell them everything. No more hiding stuff. Conan did not like it one bit, but it wasn't like he had any say on that.

Now, he had genuinely thought the worst part had passed, until the moment he checked his phone.

"I can see you're back home.

If you're available, pass by the Professor's.

─ Haibara Ai."

That would be hard ─ that impression would soon turn into certainty upon arriving there and feeling three gazes, besides Ai's usual sharp yet emotionless stare, piercing through his skull. For a moment, the young boy stood there, in Agasa's doorway, hesitation prompting him to take a step back, as if trying to shrink out of sight.

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko were a bit uncertain about how to act, by the looks of it. Genta's face, unlike the other two, had contorted into a scowl, arms crossing in front of his chest as he glared. Ai just observed them all, quietly, from her place on the sofa.

Despite his entire self telling him to turn back and get away, Conan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Guys..." He stepped ahead, back straightening as he forced himself to face his friends. "I… I'm sorry."

None of them said anything. It wasn't like he opened his eyes to see their reactions ─ if he did, he wasn't sure he could do this properly.

"Genta was right, I was acting like a jerk." He continued, face drooping slightly. "I said a lot of mean things, to all of you, when all you were doing was trying to help me." A weak, humorless chuckle escaped from his lips. "Maybe that's why I got that angry with him… Because he was right."

Silence met his words, making Conan momentarily worried that he was doing it wrong. "I can't keep doing this to you, expecting that you will, somehow, forgive me. It's not right." His voice had dropped into a soft whisper. "I have to do my best too, because… Because, I..."

Conan trailed down into silence as his mouth went dry on him. His hands closed into fists inside his pockets. "I want to..." he forced the words out, regardless. "I want to remain friends with everyone, forever." His eyelids were tightly shut, unwilling to look. "All four of you." Not yet. "That's why I-"

Something wrapped around his neck, causing him to finally open his eyes, startled. Mitsuhiko and Genta were giving him equally surprised looks as they stared at him, their mouth wide open.

"Conan-kun!" Ayumi's happy squeal almost left him deaf ─ that was when he noticed that she was clinging onto him, hugging him tightly enough to break his bones. "Me too! I want to be friends with you, too. Forever and ever!"

Even after she had let him go, looking at him with a dazzling smile, Conan found himself unable to do anything else but stare back stupidly. The other two boys exchanged glances, before they nodded at each other and looked back at him, mirroring the girl's expression.

"This is stupid." The scientist hopped off the couch, sighing as she did so ─ he couldn't really help but flinch at her remark. She stood right next to Ayumi and gave him a long, blank look until she smirked. "I thought it was implied that you would be stuck with us all until the day you leave riding the pale horse into the sunset."

Conan stayed quiet for a moment until her words really dawned in his mind. Hey, hey...

"Pale horse?" Genta raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a horse, Conan?"

"Ah! Why didn't you say anything?" Ayumi instantly shouted in indignation. "White horses are beautiful, aren't they?"

The boy didn't even find the strength to tell the girl the truth, just looked at Ai from the corner of his eye, who shrugged, the wicked smile still plastered all over his face. Sighing, exhausted suddenly, he turned his attention back to the rest of their little detective club.

"I don't think he has one," Mitsuhiko spoke up. "I think I heard it somewhere else. It's an euphemism."

"Euphe… What?" Genta was confused at the strange word. Ayumi didn't look any different, nodding at the boy with her eyebrows brought together.

"She meant death," Conan finally said, a bored look taking over his face. "That I would be..." He paused, a light blush tinting his cheeks under the intense staring coming from his friends. "... with you guys until the day I die."

After a moment of appreciation, the other kids looked at each other and laughed, happy smiles all over their faces. "I take it..." Ai spoke up. "... you don't dislike the idea that much."

"Idiot. Of course I don't."

"Ah! Conan-kun is blushing!"

"What's with you, Conan? Getting all flustered over nothing..."

"Conan-kun doesn't like the attention, Genta-kun. He's rather shy, even if he doesn't look like it."

"Oh. That explains a lot!"

Don't talk as if I'm not here…

"Speaking of white..." Ai suddenly spoke up, thus saving Conan from even more embarrassment. "Don't we have something to talk about with Kuroshiro-kun?"

The girl fixed her eyes on him. Conan blinked.

It had to be a joke.

Because, after staying at Kuroba Kaito's house for almost two entire days, he wouldn't have come across a case, requested by third-grade student from class A, Sugiura Kaito.

At least ─ he hoped ─ this one didn't go around at night fooling around and giving him headaches just by glancing at him... Right?

"His father is the landlord of a small apartment building," explained Mitsuhiko while they made their way to this boy's house. "This apartment building has three residents, and one of them has been behaving suspiciously. And he wants us Detective Boys to find out what he's been doing."

Conan hummed at that, partly interested ─ after months of searching for lost cats, the occasional gruesome murder and waltzing along the Organization's footsteps, he was hoping for a somewhat 'normal' case. "I'm surprised, though," he commented. "I'd have expected you guys to go out your way and stay at his house, or something."

"Kaito-kun said that night was when he would play Othello with his dad," Ayumi replied before Mitsuhiko could. "Besides..."

"Besides, it would be better if Kuroshiro-kun saw it for himself, too!"

"Kuroshiro-kun?" Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Edogawa-kun!" The boy seemed to be almost embarrassed about his mistake. "I meant Edogawa-kun! I heard he has a cold, right?"

The three kids looked at each other, hesitating for a moment. "He is," so it was Haibara who replied instead. "He said he was feeling better, though. I'd say he will be good to go by tomorrow."

"Then, if it's all right, why don't you come during the day?" Kaito was beaming. "I want to show you my room and the inside of the apartment building! Tell Kuroshi- Edogawa-kun to come along if he's better."

By the time the girl had finished her story, he was seriously wondering how in the world Ai knew he was going to get back to Beika that day.

"I talked with Shinichi-san the other day." Conan almost jumped out of his skin, startled by the scientist that seemed to read his mind ─ luckily, the rest was so focused in their own conversation to notice a thing. "It didn't look like the situation would stay like that for much longer."

"A-Ah." It took a moment more than needed for Conan to recover. "What did you talk about?"

"Oh, you want to know?" The way her lips curved into a teasing smirk didn't settle well with the boy. "Too bad it was a private conversation."

"A private conversation about me."

"The world doesn't revolve around you, Conan-kun." He scowled in response, and she giggled, satisfied with his reaction. "So, I guess it went fairly well with your brother. Considering you're back to your annoyingly nosy detective self."

"Well, it could've gone worse..." Conan shrugged. "With a bullet in my brother's head. Or in mine too, actually."

Ai gave him a look. "What did you do now?"

"Nothing. Just stumbled upon Gin and company." Her entire expression went pale at the mention of that name. "Was convinced you bugged his car, but it was my brother. Got him out of there in the nick of time. Snake didn't have such luck."

He paused and watched Ai, who seemed to have a hard time processing all that information. "How..." After a while, she spoke up. "How did all that happen?"

Conan let out a long sigh, then opened his mouth to retell all that had happened last night.

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

The scream coming from the generally quiet scientist made all three children spin around, shocked to see the girl looking at the boy as if she wanted to either beat some sense into him or strangle him with her own two hands. He laughed nervously, meeting their gaze in an attempt to avoid hers.

Here we go again… He sighed, resigning himself to tell the story all over again from the beginning.

"It says the showdown between phantom thieves KID and Corbeau was a draw!" Aoko exclaimed, with a smile, while she scrolled down the news.

"Hey." Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Whose side were you on?"

"I'm on neither side!"

Arthur observed the couple for a second before sighting. Honestly. He turned back around so that he could continue with his work of putting all his glasses in order. Kaito and Aoko were arguing again, prompting him to sigh. I wonder if those two are ever going to take the next step into their relationship…

They should take the chance while they can. A sad smile crossed his face as he focused on the glass in his hand. You never know when life can set you both apart, suddenly.

Well, it's not like I'll be around to see it. He was going to resign from this place tonight, after all. His things ─ not that he had a lot, to begin with ─ were already put together in a corner of the guest room he had borrowed. Even if it happened.

Hirai Arthur would leave suddenly because of a family emergency, not to be heard of ever again.

"Hirai-kun!" Aoko's voice brought him back to reality. "I want another one, if you don't mind."

The question is… Where will I go now? He sighed tiredly, turning back around to the two teenagers. Well, I will think of something… I guess.

"Coming right-!" He stopped in his tracks, surprised at the sight of a very familiar face. "... Hakuba?"

Kuroba instantly spun around at that name and was shocked to see that, indeed, that same detective was standing behind him, smirking towards the magician's way.

"I invited him!" Aoko explained right away, grinning.

"Oh," a female voice resounded in the group and, sure enough, a red-eyed teenage girl joined Hakuba, a sly smile crossing her face as she studied the place. "Considering Nakamori-san invited me here, this isn't a bad establishment..."

"Nakamori-san." Arthur raised an eyebrow. "You invited Koizumi-san here, too?"

"Oh, why does it seem like you don't like my presence here?"

Because I don't like it, you creep.

In the background, Jii was pressing a hand against his forehead, struggling to hide how much he was sweating right now. "Why are they here?" It wasn't like Kuroba was any better, but at least his poker face let him pretend he was just barely annoyed.

"I invited them here because I had a good idea!"

Arthur was certain it wouldn't be a good idea.

"What, pray tell?" Kaito crossed his arms, leaning against the counter.

"The five of us can form a detective team to catch Kaito KID!"

Oh, just a detective team… Hirai thought over her words for a moment, before they really fell on him. Wait, she said what?!

"Hakuba-kun is a great detective, right?"

Hakuba nodded quietly. "Indeed."

"Akako-chan is beautiful, so I think she can seduce KID!"

Akako merely smirked at that. "It would be child's play."

"Hirai-kun is incredibly observant. I bet he can tell who is KID disguising as in the blink of an eye!"

Hirai blinked twice before forcing an awkward smile. "I… I guess I could, but..."

"And I could get information about KID from my dad!" Far from noticing Arthur's discomfort ─ or Kuroba's bewilderment, which he wasn't able to hide any longer ─ Aoko grinned, undoubtedly excited about what was about to come.

"Are you an idiot? You really think you can catch Kaito KID like that?!"

Actually, if you consider that she formed a group with two detectives, the daughter of the inspector in charge and a freaking witch...

"No, I think it's a great idea." Hakuba sneered. "Especially the part about you being a member, Kuroba-kun."

Kuroba bared his teeth at him. Hakuba, you little...

"So, your job is to analyze KID's magic tricks, Kaito!"

"Forget it! Why would I join your club-?"

"Why are you always on your high horse?!"

Arthur couldn't help but realize with a sigh, leaning over the counter as he observed them go on and on.

Some things will never change, do they?

Yeah. His gaze softened. They remind me a bit of..

But then, for a moment, he didn't see Aoko and Kaito. He saw...

The teenager shook his head, struggling to get rid of that image, and the two teenagers became those two once more. Get a hold of yourself, he scolded himself lightly, massaging his temples.

He completely missed the intense stare his fellow detective was sending his way.

"What?! If I got serious about it, that punk..."

"If you got serious about it, what?"

"If I got serious about it... yeah." A smirk covered Kuroba's face entirely. "One day, I'll become a Kaito KID who goes beyond Kaito KID!"

That... doesn't make any sense. Hirai cradled a hand to his head, giving Kuroba a bored, plain look. Seriously, even after Snake died, he still intends to be Kaito KID?

Then, for less than a second, Kuroba turned around and looked at him straight in the eye, all remains of the smirk from before completely gone. And nodded, slightly.

Eh? It genuinely confused Shinichi.

"Hey, are you listening?! Kaito!"

"Ah, by the way, Nakamori-san." Hirai's question prompted Aoko to stop, and give him a confused look, so much different from the exasperated one from before. "I was wondering..."

"What?"

"Where did you get this idea of a detective club, all of a sudden?"

"Ah." Her lips curved into a bright smile. "It occurred to me when I was talking with Conan-kun the other day."

Kaito winced at that, an action that was noticed by everyone but Aoko, who just continued her explanation.

"Did you know? He and his friends formed a detective group. They are called the Detective Boys, and they solve many cases that their classmates leave for them." She giggled a bit. "Isn't that cute?"

It would, if half of them didn't actually involve ugly murders...

"Then, at some point, he commented..."

"If you put together different people with different strengths, you can do anything." Conan's adorable grin was almost blinding. "You could even capture KID if you reunite the right people!"

"And that's when it hit me… If all of us work together, we can make it happen!" Her fist pumped up in the air.

That kid… Kuroba seemed as if he wanted to slam his head against the counter and hopefully lose consciousness right then and there. Making things unnecessarily harder.

Even if he couldn't read his thoughts, Shinichi couldn't agree more with the magician. He did it on purpose, didn't he? His eyebrow twitched. That little demon.

"So I'm counting with you, guys!"

Well, it wasn't like he would suffer from this for too long, right? Secretly, he wished Kuroba the best of luck and headed to the back of the bar to gather more drinks for everyone.

"Hi, Cool Kid!"

Conan was obviously shocked at the familiar voice that greeted his ears upon picking up. "Jodie-sensei," he breathed out, surprised, trailing behind his group of friends that chatted amongst each other, not paying attention to him. "What happened? I thought I had registered this number, but..."

"Well, after that 'Shiranpuri' case, my phone broke down for good, so I had to buy a replacement."

Conan hummed at that, not feeling particularly surprised.

"With all that's happened, I decided to start anew and got a new number also. Of course, as appropriate, I informed that girl who's infiltrating the Organization about it."

Hondou Hidemi-san, his mind supplied. Or Mizunashi Rena, as she goes by.

"I got a call from her. It seems they were off guard for a bit, so it was a fairly short call, but she was able to tell me this quite clearly..."

"The Organization has activated a new member. An agent who is frighteningly skilled at intelligence gathering as well as observation and discernment," she said, in hushed, yet harsh whispers. "Codename: Bourbon. Be careful."

Conan could only frown at that. "But why are you telling me this?" he questioned. "I thought I was a kid who shouldn't get into the FBI business..."

"Certainly, it would be like that any other day, but..." Jodie said, in a serious tone. "Most likely, their target is that strawberry blonde girl, known to the Organization as Sherry."

His eyes immediately fixed on the girl in question. Ai-san. His eyes narrowed as she watched her walk, smiling as Ayumi told her something he had no idea about.

"As far as the FBI is concerned, we'd like to assign a bodyguard to her, but if we do that now we would be in danger of letting them know about her whereabouts instead." The English teacher continued. "So, for now, all we can do is put our trust in you. Be vigilant and protect her for us."

Quietly, he agreed with her.

"If you see anything, please call me immediately. We'll be there in an instant."

"Yeah."

With that, the call ended. Even then, the kid couldn't help but stare at the screen, frowning at it for who-knows how long. The words were stuck in his head, and wouldn't stop repeating themselves over and over again.

Codename: Bourbon.

A/N:

CherryGirl 21-6: Well, I guess anything could happen, right? He's not going to die anytime soon, if you're worried about that XD

And well, about the other thing… Usually I have one or two chapters written in advance before updating. Then usually finish writing another one, and then I proof-read the one I'm going to publish, checking for mistakes and polishing a few other things :) It currently takes me around a week, but at some point in the future it might take longer than that if, you know, real life gets in the way.