"Moshi moshi!"

"Hmm hey... Hi! Do you speak English?" Emiko was really stressed, calling someone else than Kioshi in Japan was a first and trying her newly acquired Japanese skills would have been a bit much.

"A little..." the voice was really hesitant.

"Great!" She said in a rather excited tone, realizing later that it might be a little inappropriate. "I am sorry to disturb you but..." it took her a sigh to continue her sentence further "It's a bit complicated, I am looking for my mother's Japanese friends. Her name is Ran Mouri you were..."

"Wait! Ran Mouri! You're the daughter of Ran?" Surprise and shock could be heard on the other end of the line.

"Yes my name is Emiko..."

"You have to come for the dinner , ok?"

"Hmm yes" the places had been switched and Emiko was really hesitant.

"Great! I can't wait, I'll send you the details. Bye!"

"Bye."

What a strange person, I'll see what I can learn from that dinner.

The teenager shrugged the thought away, although the dinner was promising Emiko had to face her school detention in the afternoon. She still couldn't understand how she got into this, she didn't know what were the words Kioshi's girlfriend screamed at her.

To tell that I needed to get all the way to Japan to get my first detention, that's ridiculous... Kioshi's girlfriend is weird that's for sure, she is jealous of me and I don't even know why... Just a bad time to pass through.

She clapped her hands grabbed her stuff and opened the door in order to run out unnoticed of the agency. Emiko wanted to avoid the embarrassment of facing her grandparents before going to high school on a Saturday, she unfortunately failed as she met them on her way to the exit. Thus Emiko was asked to "try to avoid" to be sent to detention again. As if I did something.

Emiko had tried to text her friend a hundred times but Kioshi never answered, also he wasn't coming anymore after school to help her. Actually since their phone call after the incident they didn't exchange a word, or neither communicate in any other way. To her it seemed like there was an unbreakable wall between them, something or rather someone she couldn't overcome which weirdly upsetsher. When she made it to Teitan the couple was already in the gymnasium, the teacher ordered them to clean it thoroughly and they were soon joined by Emiko. At first she tried to greet them but only received a death glare from Kioshi's bodyguard. Or was it a watchdog the teenager couldn't tell, the atmosphere was a bit too tensed to her taste, she decided that she'd better get some space and went to the storage room. It was such a dusty mess, it took her a lot longer than expected to clear it.

Emiko got out of the dark storage room, she looked around her but there was no trace of the couple, the only persons there were what seemed to be the Teitan handball team. There were only 5 girls playing which is not even a full team from what Emiko remembers of that sport's rules, 4 of them were passing the ball around while doing small runs and from time to time they would shoot at the one standing in the goal. As her detention was done she stood on the side line, she just watched them until the goalkeeper made a nice save. As a result the ball bounced towards her, she holds it with both hands at first then quickly making it bounce a few times. She raised her head up, Emiko saw a girl asking for the ball but in a split second she started a run. She dribbled a meter or two towards the group, she closed her eyes get her focus ready when she jumped and finally opened her eyes to visualize the goal when she aimed. The ball flew straight into the corner and the girl standing in goal could do nothing more than follow the ball with her eyes just as Kioshi did before her.

Emiko raised her hand and did her best to send a sorry smile to the girls before taking her leave. She headed straight to her locker in order to put her pair of converse back on, she instantly noticed a block of paper which was popping out of the small metal door. She opened it and started to read the huge amount of documents. Each page was dated and untitled by the name of a subject, there was approximately a week of lessons translated into English. The work was pretty impressive, it might have taken hours to Kioshi to do all that, Emiko was left speechless by the act. She had no idea of how to return it to him but she'd surely find a way sooner or later.

She found herself if not late at least in a hurry, she quickly got dressed at the agency into something classy but casual enough to her taste. Emiko had no idea of what to wear, no idea of what sort of place she was going to or neither of what sort of impression she wanted to make. All that she knew about the dinner was that it was a great opportunity to collect information from someone who knew her mother. The teenager pulled of the excuse of a night at the cinema with her friends to escape the house off her grandparents guard. Emiko caught a cab and showed the text with the address of her destination to the driver. Fingers crossed, I've brought enough money.

After taking a good chunk of her money the driver let her out in front a huge complex of towers, Emiko had never thought that people would want to live in such places which was probably due to her small fear of heights. The British wandered around a few minutes lookingfor the right building, once she found it another was to find the right apartment. Despite the fact the she knew the apartment number Emiko still hesitated before pressing the call button.

"It's me, Mouri-san!"

"Yes yes, come in! 10th floor on your right."

It was quite long to take the lift all the way up to the 10th floor, Emiko brushed a bang back and brushed it forth since she changed her mind a few times. She nervously checked herself one last time in the lift's mirror as she made it to the right floor and what a surprise it was to see her host waiting on the doorstep.

"I'm pleased to meet you Mrs Kyogoku" Emiko made step forward lending her hand.

"Call me Sonoko!" with that she did grabbed the teenager's hand but only to pull her in a tight hug.

A bit too tight to Emiko who was hardly breathing, she was left paralysed until the woman's embrace slightly opened leaving a gap. Seconds later a small child could be heard and the reason for the breakaway was discovered as a 2 years old girl had made her way to the doorstep. As cute as little girls can look this one was really cute, wearing a candy like pink pyjama with classic plait in her hair. Her mother quickly pulled her up on her shoulder.

"Come in" Sonoko invited her friend's daughter to follow her with a wink.

Sonoko obviously grew older but time had some nice effects too, prettier and elegant she had the style she used to lack. She wasn't wearing anymore provoking mini skirt or neither extravagant shoes, still her clothes looked really expensive. The same went for the apartment and probably for the whole tower both probably freshly built in Ginza. The decoration was wonderful, probably the work of some high rank designer, by the looks of things Sonoko was a lucky woman.

"Wait for me in the living room, I have to put her back in bed."

The little looked to be already asleep in her mother's arm, Emiko nodded and proceeded. However she couldn't help it to just sit on the sofa. Instead of that she examined each millimetre of the living room. The effort remained in a total vain as there were no personal items in the whole room besides a family portrait. I guess they recently moved in or something. Well there was still something personal in the room a family portrait, again the only visible trace of the past was a picture. Makes sense I guess...

"My husband is abroad and I just put the kids in bed. So it's only you and I for dinner..." Emiko placed carefully the frame back while trying to keep her cool. "Hope you like pasta!"

Emiko just hummed a yes. At least that changes a bit from usual...She had a ton of questions to ask her but her mouth wouldn't let the words out although she really was trying. They were facing each other, sitting on opposite side of the table a glass of juice in their hands. Emiko was holding onto it as if it was the last thing protecting her on earth while Sonoko was staring at her intensely, scrutinizing her every expression.

"Emiko... How old are you?" asked Sonoko her head tilt on the left.

The teenager was stunned by how direct Sonoko brought up a real question, still she wondered what her mother's friend would really know or she was just being curious. "I am 16..." She instantly earned a smirk from her interlocutor. Just what is she thinking about?

"That's relatively old..." Sonoko bent herself closer to Emiko to look at her more thoroughly. "You really look like Ran, I feel like my old friend is in front of me."

They ate their pasta together while talking about good old times, really old times as most of her stories were more than 20 years dated. As for the hostess' cooking skills Emiko rated them as correct. After they were done eating they sat on the sofa to discuss things a bit further. Sonoko depicted the young Ran, joyful, cheerful, strong but fragile, courageous but scared of ghosts, cute but boyish at times. The mother of Emiko was a bit more serious but at least as caring of her loved ones, until recently Emiko thought as herself as the only person Ran loved.

"Did you keep in touch with a lot of your old friends?"

"Not really, you will understand when you will be my age. But besides that I met my husband when I was 17."

Emiko didn't give her much time to breath and asked another question right away. "Why did you lose track on my mother? You were really close, weren't you?"

"It is a good question, I don't know. Your mother moved abroad, she had not even told me, I was really sad when she left us."

Emiko clenched her hand under the table in a fist, she knew that this was her chance. "Where is my father?" Fingers crossed.

Sonoko nearly dropped her jaw "Y-your father?"

Crap she didn't name him. Plan B shite.

"Shinichi Kudo, where can I find him?" Emiko had surely lost all of her cool when she asked it.

On the other hand Sonoko couldn't help but giggle, when she managed to stop herself and opened her eyes Emiko looked really annoyed by her reaction. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to be rude to you. Ran and Shinichi, it is a bit funny... But I guess not really. To answer your question, I have no idea of where you could find him. I haven't heard of him since... I don't know, maybe since Ran disappeared."

Emiko sighed when she realized that her expedition to this place was again in vain as the only thing she'd bring back from this would be a few anecdotes. The girl was exhausted, she had pushed herself a bit too far. Thus Sonoko called her a cab and told her that she'd definitely called her soon.

What do I have? Not much... Am I the only trace of what happened between mom and my father? That'd be pretty dramatic. It has to be the picture guy, it has to be Shinichi although Sonoko giggled she didn't object or anything like that. Shinichi Kudo is my father, I'm sure of it I just have to find him, I need to do it. I just want to talk to him, at least once... Thinking about it there's a chance that he didn't know that I exist, after all I was born in London and from what I heard mom left hastily. All I have is a picture, my grandparents' weird behaviour, what Sonoko said and also... I have that feeling, deep inside me I know.

After she made it to the agency, Emiko headed directly to bed where she eventually fell asleep holding her precious picture against her chest.

The service had just ended, Ran was checking the night's reservation when Charlie literally popped up out of nowhere as he appeared in a blink of time. Charlie was wearing a navy blue suit which was a bit unusual but matched perfectly with his eyes. He looked delighted and without any warning he kissed Ran and brought her up in his arms.

"Charlie, what was that for?"

"I have the greatest news!" Charlie was excited as a kid on a Christmas day level and was holding Ran's both shoulders.

On the other hand Ran was still a bit uncomfortable with her lover's bold behaviour, she was looking around as if it was still a secret relationship. The secret part had been scratched at the exact second she allowed Charlie to visit her at the restaurant, which might have been for the better. Still she didn't want anyone else to listen to their conversation and she dragged him to her office.

"What is this about?"

He held both of her hands and invited her to sit on her own seat "Remember the editor with who I had a recipe book project? Well, he is going to publish it!"

Ran instantly jumped out of her chair, hugged him her arms knotted around his neck. She was about to kiss him but instead of her lover's lips she surprisingly met his hand.

"Actually the book isn't going to be published here, at least not anytime soon."

Ran let out a disappointed "Oh" before falling back in her seat, she thought a second before asking "But where then?" Charlie didn't directly answer he first laughed, he even needed time to recover.

"Know what? That's the funny thing... They're going to publish it in Japan!" He lifted his arms up just like he was going to celebrate the news but he quickly realized that Ran wasn't.

Indeed she was stunned "Wait what? Why there? Why not here?"

He crouched to level at her and covered her hands with his. "I have no idea, I thought that maybe it was destiny... Also I have to go there a week or so in a couple of weeks to promote the book and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to meet your daughter."

"Charlie..."