I'm not going to ramble quite so much as I did last time this time (in case anyone actually reads my bold ranting). You might notice that this chapter is the characters that didn't get the chance to narrate last chapter, I think that makes it fair and helps it seem like the story isn't focused on any one person (on that note sorry if there seems to be a lot of convergence on Shiho, she's very important to the little amount of plot that I have planned so far).

In this chapter: Aoko's curiosity, Conan's views on life, Shiho's theory, Heiji's suspicions

Well here goes nothing, I hope you enjoy, please review it doesn't matter if it's short or long or if you like the story or not (though I can't imagine anyone getting this far without liking it).

KS=EC, MR, HS=MS, KK=NA, HH=TK

...

The lunch bell had rang out it's last chime and within seconds I heard a familiar voice from behind, "I'd never realized that you were such a narcissist, Aoko-san."

I turned in my seat to find Shiho-san (in Hakuba's body of course) looking at me with an amused smile.

"Wha- what do you mean?" was all I could think to reply.

"Well, you've been staring at your own rear end since second period, or maybe longer," She answered still smiling despite her tone sounding cold and analytical, "You must be quite the narcissist."

"Eh? Um... that is... well..." I couldn't think of any way to reply that wouldn't make me sound like a terrible person -in more ways than one.

After all, while I hadn't really been staring on purpose, it was mostly because I had been contemplating whether or not I should flip up Kaito's skirt. It's not like I actually wanted too but I'd have to if I wanted to really be believable in acting as Kaito. So there wasn't really much choice in the matter but that didn't change the fact that I really didn't want to do it.

"Hmm? What is it?" Shiho-san asked, no doubt looking for me to explain why I might be spending most of my school day looking at what used to be my own butt.

I know that she'd probably keep pressing until she gets an answer so I sigh and tell her the truth in the least embarrassing way I can think to, "I'm trying to act like Kaito but I don't want to flip his skirt..."

"Oh? You don't want to know what kind of underwear he'd have you wear? You aren't even the slightest bit curious?" She responded, raising an eyebrow.

"Eh What do you mean?"

She smiled again, a smile that made a chill run down my spine, "Well, naturally since he's the one who dressed you he would put you in whatever he thinks suits you best. He can make you dress however he likes."

However he likes... so then... he's wearing the kinda of underwear he thinks looks good on me? What could that be? Well he's always said he thinks white suits me best but is that really what he thinks? I mean Kaito's never been a very honest person...

The more I thought about it the more curious I became, until finally I'd convinced my self that it would be completely fair to take a peek after all the times that Kaito had done the same. Within moments I'd executed a perfect plan to take a peek under the skirt that would normally be mine, finding myself face to face with a pair of shorts that were enough to hide whatever else was there.

Why hadn't I ever thought of that?

For a fleeting moment I see a victorious smile flash across Kaito's face -my face- before it changes to an angry blush, he shouts, "Bakaito!"

I almost laugh, but then I realize that he's holding a mop -where on Earth did it even come from?- and I take off running.

...

I had thought that I was finally done with all of this.

It's been more than a year now, I thought that I'd never have to be Edogawa Conan ever again. Yet here I am... it just isn't fair.

I sit in the primary school class that I don't even need to bother pretending to pay attention to, the teacher stands by the board doing simple arithmetic as my classmates scribble notes to study later.

This is the third day since I returned to this body. Why am I here?

I should be in high school. I should be eighteen. I should be me.

But. I'm. Not.

What's stopping me? Why can't I be 'Kudo Shinichi'? Who was it that decided that I was better off being anyone besides myself? Why!?

I could skip grades. That would at least take care of one of my problems. It would be easy... but that would be too risky.

Even if the other guys an I had managed to get the main part of the organization out of the picture it would have been impossible to take care of it completely. An organization that large, secretive, and organized would be difficult to completely destroy, they probably had plans in place in case they were ever discovered. We managed to find their leader, Anokata, but he probably had several backups in line in case something like that happened... and for all we knew the person we could have just been a front, a person pretending to be their leader in order to hide the real one.

There's no way that I can do anything as risky as skipping grades now. This is already the second time that Edogawa Conan has appeared and come to live with the Mouri's immediately after Kudo Shinichi disappeared... it can't be helped that they know 'Shinichi' is alive because any remaining members will know that I was the one who destroyed the Organization, but I can't do quite as much in this form as I could as a teen detective, they'd take advantage of that.

I guess there's really nothing I can do about it. I just hope that Haibara and Hakuba are able to work out a more permanent antidote soon.

The bell rings signaling the end of the school day and with that I head home, glad that the Shonen Tantei dan have found themselves with fewer 'cases' (at least ones that didn't involve finding missing pets) in the absence of it's two smartest members.

Upon my arrival Ran and I share our usual casual conversation as she begins to cook dinner, it's strained... I don't think our relationship will ever return to being normal ever again. It was bad enough that she'd taken care me for nearly a year and now was having to do it again, the recent addition of the girls to the body swap seems to have been the last push needed to start tearing us apart, or maybe I'm reading this the wrong way... romance has never really been my forte.

I could hear the door opening downstairs, Ojii-san was here, Ran and I immediately made sure to stop talking about anything that would sound suspicious if it were over heard. He was coming up the steps, I could hear him but I heard something else too. Talking, I couldn't really make out what was being said though.

I had turned to face the door as I heard him approach so that I could greet him as per usual when he entered, but then suddenly I found myself instead looking up at Hakuba (or his body anyway). My eyes widen with a vague understanding, I'd been swapped again. I look down and find myself practically swimming in one of Haibara's outfit's complete with lab coat.

"...Eh?"

...

I went home after school, not Saguru's home where I've been living these past three days that I've been in his body, but the professor's house -my home. I did this mostly because I knew how bored Saguru must be throughout the day. Since the first day he's mostly spent his time trying to find a way to improve the antidote to APTX4869, he hasn't really made much progress, but at least he's trying.

He doesn't go outside much, mostly to humor my paranoia (I'll never believe that the four of them were able to completely tear down the organization and I really can't risk being recognized), so when I come I bring scientific equipment that could be useful, things like extra beakers and chemicals that I hadn't been able to buy without a reputation behind me (not that I didn't have one as myself, but seeing as I'm in hiding I can't let it be known).

But I digress, none of that was really relevant anyway.

"How was school?" Saguru asks, nearly as soon as I've entered the house. It still feels strange hearing my voice coming from someone else but I suppose I'll get used to it soon enough, the accent he picked up from his time as Hattori helps a little bit, if he talked the same way I do I'd be more worried about the effects of all this swapping on all of our respective mentalities than I already am.

"About how you would expect," I replied, "Have you made any significant progress?"

" 'Fraid not," He answered, continuing with something like a frustrated laugh, "Ya made one heck of a poison after all."

Well it's not like I'd expected much anyway. I myself wouldn't be making much progress at this point, scientifically there just isn't much that could stand to be improved.

"Ya were a bit later coming here dan ya usually are," He commented as a mere observation, then as comes natural to a detective he proceeded to deduce why it could be that I came late, "More magic lessons?"

Of course that wasn't really a question, he was certain that was the case... as he should be, it was correct after all. I answer anyway, "That's right."

"How're they goin'?"

"Rather difficult," I answered with an unintentional sigh, "Even the most basic premises of magic go against what I believe in as a scientist. It would seem I'm simply not cut out to be a mage."

"What made ya want ta learn magic 'neway? Aside from simple curiosity a'course," He asked, his eyes narrowing a bit to make it clear that he knew I wouldn't have asked to learn if I didn't have at least one other reason.

"APOTOXIN4869," was my response, he looked confused so I elaborated after a brief pause, "Three days ago when Ran-san and Shinichi switched back to their own bodies it was right after the antidote had stopped being effective. I believe that my poison may be having some sort of effect on the phenomena that we're experiencing, it's not much to go on but it's led me to believe that perhaps with out knowing it I'm a mage and that APOTOXIN4869 was a result of a mixture of science and accidental sorcery."

Saguru raised an eyebrow, "Do you have any idea how crazy..."

He trailed off, his face looked pale and he was starting to sweat. Why hadn't I noticed a moment sooner? I muttered a quick curse under my breath, "Speak of the devil."

The antidote I'd taken more than a year ago was wearing off, just three days after Shinichi's is a bit earlier than expected but I'd known it was going to happen soon. The current antidote doesn't give nearly enough warning time before wearing off... though I suppose that's inconsequential at the moment.

"So this is..." Saguru started to say, he'd already doubled over and his speech was becoming more staccato with huffing breaths in between, "... what... it feels... like..."

"Yeah, not the best feeling in the world is it?"

That body would return to being 'Haibara Ai' any moment now. There was nothing we could do besides wait for it to happen, Saguru knew that almost as well as I did.

I unintentionally winced as he began to scream.

My eye's opened as if I had simply blinked. I found myself looking at Shinichi or rather at Edogawa Conan. This wasn't right, why was I here? Suddenly I heard a door creak open and instinctively turned to the door.

I could see Ran's father standing in the doorway, he immediately asked, "Is dinner ready yet? Because I'm starved!"

I look towards the kitchen counter beside me, and try to sound perky as I give a reply in spite of my growing sense of dread, "Just a few more minutes and it'll be done... Dad."

...

Kazuha had been acting weird lately. I mean a kind of weird that I don't think was connected to being in my body, something else was bugging her.

I could tell as much simply by looking at her across the classroom, an act that made me feel odd because I felt attracted to her. I'm sure that sounds extremely narcissistic but I'm just going to chalk it up to me having picked up her emotions when I entered her body just like Hakuba had picked up my accent and Kudo had picked up Kuroba's thief skills... after all if I weren't in this body I'd probably never be attracted to a guy even if it's myself. Ugh, that was such a weird sentence, just forget I even said that.

Where was I again? Right... Something was bugging Kazuha.

I decided the best approach would be to just ask her directly after school, if only to avoid any unnecessary waiting for something that seemed like it must be pretty important.

"Ya've been lookin' pretty down lately, somethin' wrong?" I asked, trying to sound sensitive.

"Well... No, it's nothing."

Obviously there's something. You can't hide anything from me Kazuha! Have you forgotten that I'm a genius detective? Even if I'm not in my own body I'm still the Great Detective of the West!

"Whatever it is ya kin tell me ya know," I replied, making it clear that I was sure something was up.

She looked away for a moment as if deciding what to say before she finally gave a somewhat exasperated sigh, "Every night since I've been in your body I've had dese weird dreams where I'm talkin' ta Shinichi-kun, but de person `e's talkin' to isn't me... `nd in de dreams `e does somethin' dangerous ta protect me, but den `e winds up in da hospital..."

"Dat's what's got ya worried?" I reply, unsure how something so simple could be a problem.

"Yeah... I guess I'm jus' worryin' over nothin', You and de other guys must 'ave bad dreams all de time with all da weird stuff ya've been through, I must just be havin' dese dreams a'cause I'm in yer body," Kazuha stated, a faint smile flickers at the edges of her mouth, "Dey felt really real but in de end dey're jus' dreams."

Dreams would normally feel real while you're having them unless it's a lucid dream

"Yeah it's not like either a' us kin see de future `er nethin' so wat else could dey be?"

Or so I said, but that might not be entirely true. After all it'd happened before, not very often but I've had my dreams come true before. Kudo only survived getting stabbed the first time he came to Osaka because I loaned him the charm Kazuha made for me, but I'd only loaned it to him because I'd dreamed he'd get stabbed. Are these dreams Kazuha's having like that?

"hmm? What's wit' dat serious face, it's just a bunch of bad dreams... Right?"

"Yeah, a' course, but maybe ya should make a protective charm for him, jus' in case. He's probably gonna get 'imself in a ton 'a weird situations now dat he's stuck in chibi form again," I reply, trying to justify my sudden growing sense of worry.

She smiles, "I'll do dat den, a charm ta keep murders from jus' poppin' up 'round 'im."

Well... at least Kazuha's cheered up.

MR=TK=HH=NA=HS=EC=HA=MR KK=KK