Hey guys! I uploaded the chapter as soon as possible I just couldn't wait any longer myself. Okay, my bad, my prognostic on the length of the fiction. Therefore I won't risk it anymore, it will last a little bit longer than what I said since a few majors stuff are yet to happen. Also I wanted to thank you all for the amazing support, this surely make it more enjoyable for me to write. Hope you'll like this chap too and I'll see you for the next one.

It was already late in the night when Conan made it back home, he had followed Emiko the whole afternoon. Although his walk was heavy he was still trying to be silent, Ai's shoes and coat were in the hallway and she was probably sleeping by this time. He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep, he sat in the dark and started to clean his glasses. However once he had dried and cleaned them he didn't put them back on, instead he looked at them.

What an irony, by wearing these for so long I actually hurt my eyes and started to need these. He smiled faintly.

As he got close to the sofa he thought about crashing on it for a second but instead he went for the mini bar. Conan served himself a whiskey, it wasn't a habit at all, it wasn't really recommended either as a professional sportsman but he just thought it fitted the circumstances.

When he was about to empty his glass a noise stopped him "Tsk tsk tsk..." Ai was half awake and only wore a long jumper, she took the bottle and the glass away. After a slight hesitation she drank what Conan had served causing an awful wince on her face. "See there was nothing good in that glass." Ai sat next to her future ex-husband in silence.

After an everlasting while Conan asked "How long have you known?"

"Hmm I think it's been a few months now..."

"Okay..." Conan was in his famous Sherlock thinking position, shyly starting to ask the flow of questions that was popping up in his mind.

However Ai took him out of his thoughts "Her name is Emiko Mouri, she is 16, she is British and actually my bet would be on London. Also she knows who her father is, I don't think Ran told her... And she was the one who broke in your parents' house." She put her hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him for a bit "I'm sorry Conan, I should not have restrained all this information from you... I think I needed time to accept the situation, even myself... You know it's weird, I sort of knew this would end like that."

"It's a lot for just one day in a man's life: a daughter and a divorce." He laid down on the couch his feet slightly resting on Ai. "Ai, by the way, why did you give the ring back?"

"Well you know, it took some time to realize it but this girl grew up without a father and I grew up without my parents. Even if she's luckier than I was, I think she deserves to have a father. I don't want to get myself in the way of a family... Also I wanted to prevent you from having to face such a dilemma, I admire your loyalty but I don't want you to make that sacrifice for me."

"Wow... That's... Actually I had never realized how unfair our relationship was, I never meant to..."

She cut him before he had the chance to excuse himself it was better this way. "It's fine Conan. We were not unhappy, weren't we?"

"Yes, we did fine." He smiled to her before letting his head fall back. Ai pulled his socks off as his feet were on her lap and started to massage them gently. "What are you doing?"

"Shshsh... You know I'm a physiotherapist, I know the basics of massage." She went on and slowly Conan drifted to sleep, he finally looked appeased. Proud of herself, Ai escaped the couch and also joined Morpheus.

However he found some sleep, Conan somehow managed to think about what was coming. He didn't know yet what he should tell Ran when he would eventually meet her but something was sure he needed to get closer to his daughter. Whatever reason would do he just had to approach her. But then what? Become friends and suddenly spill everything on her... No, no, no. He scratched the back of his head hundreds of times, till some hair fell off. Despite living through a teenager's life twice, Conan had to accept the fact that he only grew older and was unsure of how he should act around a 16 years old Emiko.

In the meantime his daughter had struggled with achiness to prepare for a brand new day. "I'd kill for my good old muesli, goooooooooosh" Emiko started her usual morning complain as she was moving her rice around with her spoon.

"I can eat it for you if you don't want it." Kioshi who had slept over on the sofa was already fully awake and ready to tease his friend.

"Don't even think about eating my food." She kicked his leg under the table with a bright smile on the face.

Once the pain was gone Kioshi and Emiko started to discuss on what they should do once they were done. Eri had been watching them from the corner of her eyes while pretending to read an upside down Agatha Christie, she was quite surprised when the door bell rang. She threw the book on the couch and went downstairs to check. The former lawyer was quite shocked to find Conan standing in front of her. After a quick conversation she politely invited him in the apartment.

Conan sighed nervously as he made that last step in, it was probably the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, still he was really good at wearing a jovial mask. He gave a bouquet to his host and as Eri was gone to take care of it he directly walked towards the teenagers.

He cautiously chose to speak Japanese as he wasn't supposed to know that Emiko wasn't Japanese. "Hey I was hoping that you guys wouldn't be done with breakfast, I brought croissants." He lent the paper bag towards them but none of the teenagers moved.

Kioshi looked like he was about to explode but was trying to resist. His mouth left opened as if he was going to say something and he pointed a finger towards Conan. Just next to him, Emiko didn't seem to care much about the intrusion. She just turned to her friend and casually asked "Did the man say croissant?"

"Yes I did bring croissants." Conan gave a smile to Emiko who just snatched the bag off him.

"That's not muesli but that will do." She started to eat and finally noticed Kioshi who was still pointing at Conan. "What's up with you?"

"That's... That's Conan Edogawa!"

"So what?" She acted distant as if the man wasn't standing in front of her.

"Remember the football poster on my wall?"

"Oh you have a poster of me on your wall! That's weird Kioshi... Your sister never asked me to sign it." Conan was thinking out loud a finger on his mouth.

"Wait wait wait! You know my name? And how would you know my sister?"

"I see, you don't remember me. Well I came a few times to your place but you were just a kid, Ayumi and I were at the same schools throughout the years." Conan stopped and thought about the five years old Kioshi he had met and how it would have been to see Emiko instead. Kioshi was thinking about his poster which could have been signed with a bit of help from Ayumi.

Emiko finished her croissant before paying attention to the stranger. "If you're on Kioshi's wall, what's your business here?"

"Hmmm I was planning on paying a visit to Oji-san but he isn't here, that's unfortunate..." He wanted to talk to her so much, he didn't know what he was supposed to actually say as he wasn't supposed to know her at all. Therefore he had to start simple "Kioshi introduced me brilliantly but I still don't know your name."

"Oh that's right... I'm Emiko Mouri, pleased to meet you!" She lent him a friendly hand.

Conan was obviously more than happy to shake hands with her, he took a second to look at her in the eyes. "You look just like your mother" he said it, maybe it wasn't the best timing but he did.

Emiko pulled her hand away and tilted her head like a little puppy. "How do you know my mother?" She finally asked as she sat back and crossed her arms.

"Well I lived or "free loaded" here for a while, she took good care of me but I am sure you could easily guess that." After a few seconds he felt uncomfortable and changed subjects "What did you guys planned anyway?"

"I don't know maybe chill out or something" said Emiko looking at Kioshi for some approbation, as a response he just shrugged.

"What about a tour? I could show you the inside of the stadium." He agitated his car keys in front of the teenager.

Emiko slightly shrugged and took a quick look at her friend's reaction, his eyes were shining, he was totally up for it. "Let me change" she sighed.

Emiko and Kioshi both sat on a side of the backseat, the seats were more comfortable than enough, the car wasn't too luxurious but still really expensive. Once everybody had fasten their seatbelt, Conan adjusted the rear-view mirror as he usually does before he starts driving, but this time when he took a quick look at it he could see his daughter. The moment went in slow motion, even though Emiko wasn't excited at all about the tour, she looked really happy for her friend and was teasing him about his new fan boy attitude. They look quite cute, I just hope they'll have a better ending. May I avoid driving her towards trouble... Quit the negatives thought already, damn Shinichi think straight!

Off he drove through the capital, Conan had turned on the music in an attempt to shut up the voices in his head. The stadium was just outside the city, slightly in the suburbs it didn't take too long to get there, fair enough time to start a friendly fight on the backseat. As the car made its way in the parking's entrance the guard stepped up but quickly nodded at the star player and let him in.

"Are you excited guys?"

Kioshi didn't even hear him as he was already taking loads of pictures, Emiko looked at Conan and then took a look around the underground parking before answering "It feels like backstage... Why are you taking so much pictures Kioshi? Stop it already!"

Emiko took the smartphone off him and started to run around, Conan observed the show rather amused. What happened to the –kun? Conan showed the showers, the lockers, they walked down the tunnel and entered the pitch. "This is my garden!" he said with his arms fully stretched. The Brit got the phone out of her pocket, took a 360 degree video of herself and threw the phone back at his owner.

"Okay I have something better for you, follow me!" Conan started to run towards the stairs, followed by his surprised guests, theyreached a backdoor which led to a narrow scale, Conan grabbed a high bar and started to climb right away. Emiko reached the scale first but stopped, Kioshi bumped into her in full speed.

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing?" Kioshi was holding his head as he nearly knocked himself out.

Emiko blushed and looked down "I'd rather let you go first, I'm wearing a skirt for god sake!"

"Oh, alright..." He was more than embarrassed and quietly went first. Conan helped them both up, they walked carefully on the roof holding to a guard-rail, the sight was outstanding, although they were not that high they could still see nearly the whole of Tokyo.

"Kio-Kioshi, don't go too far away, please" Emiko couldn't move anymore, her legs were shaking. She closed her eyes and reached for his arms. "I think I'm a bit scared, haaaa."

The young man breathed in and breathed out, he did his best to ignore the fact that she was touching him. As for the guide, he tried to avoid looking at them, give the teenagers as much space and privacy as possible, he had no idea of how he was supposed to act anyway. Slowly Emiko started to relax, she opened her eyes and enjoyed the beauty of Tokyo, she even decided that it was time for a selfie.

"Alright! We're not really allowed to stay here so we should better go back down" Conan led the way, Kioshi was ready to follow him but Emiko grabbed his collar.

"What?" KIoshi asked totally lost.

"Think harder mate, going down a scale is the opposite of climbing it so I have to go first!"

"Huh?"

"Otherwise you'd, you'd... Know what? I just go first get out of my way. Baka!" She slightly pushed him and went down the scale.

Conan then insisted on taking them to the club store and bought them two Edogawa named kits along with two seats for the next cup game. After checking his watch, Conan decided that it was far time to drive Emiko and Kioshi back home. Since he had been to Ayumi's place countless of times it wasn't too hard to find the way. The backseats partners were surprisingly quiet on the way back, whereas Kioshi was going through his pictures, Emiko seemed to be looking outside. Nevertheless she wasn't, instead she was discreetly watching the driver. During the tour she didn't take a second to do it, it was as if she had just noticed that someone drove them here.

An actual professional player... Just why did he do that? Either he has nothing to do or he is looking for something... She shook her head. Oh come on, don't over think Emiko! She gave a little kick to the seat in front of her earning a doubtfully look from her right side. Before they knew it, they were at the Yoshida's house. Kioshi left the car and waved goodbye leaving them alone. Conan was about to start the car when Emiko stopped him.

"Wait!" She got out of the car and opened the front passenger door. She sat besides the driver, tapped on the car plastic "Let's go!"

They spent the first half of the way silent, from time to time they looked at the other and pretend to look somewhere else as soon as the other noticed. He wouldn't have got much more opportunities to get to know her if he didn't speak to her on the way and he just knew it.

"So hmm, do you like Japan so far?" He asked kindly but Emiko just shrugged. "How long have you been going out with Yoshida-san?"

She smiled and laughed a bit "It's not like that... I am not looking for that."

"I see... What are you looking for then? Have you found it already?"

She sighed and took a second to think. Why would she tell that sort of things to a stranger? Why not? After all, she was so far from home, it didn't matter much. "Not really... In some way I just wanted to find myself, I also hoped that I could meet my father but he's dead." She sighed again and giggled a few seconds later "You know what's funny, I have no idea of what I would have told him."

"You gave up quite easily... I guess you're talking about Shinichi Kudo."

Emiko nearly had a heart attack "How do you know?"

Conan did his best to sound unaffected and just focused on the facts. "A dead person, who may be your father, he is a perfect match... Anyway it's not an impressive guess, anyone who knew your mother back then might have guessed too."

"If I got it right, everyone knew but me... It pisses me off, gosh!" She punched the dashboard to evacuate the frustration "I need to stop kicking, hitting things and people really. Sorry about that."

"You're very young Emiko, you shouldn't give up like that. Moreover, they never found a body and from what I remember the file is empty. There's still hope".

During the rest of the way they didn't say a word, nor looked at each other, Emiko was just lost in her thoughts as if on another planet. The man parked across the street in front of the Mouri detective agency, Emiko had unfastened her seatbelt and was about to exit the car when Conan lent her his card. "In case you need some help, if you keep on with the investigation... Feel free to call me, I know I am just a football player but I am alright."

Emiko silently took the card, climbed the agency stairs and headed straight to her room. Eri just had enough time to ask her how the tour was and Emiko to answer "Fine". She jumped on the bed and buried her face deep into her pillows. She was a bit confused, she had given up the idea of looking for her father and didn't know if the total stranger she met was trustworthy or not. She rolled over the bed, opened the drawer and took the picture between her fingers. What should I do?

When Conan made it home, he took a shower in order to clear his mind. The man didn't know what move he should make next and the shower made no miracle. At least it eased him a bit, he went to his bedroom to grab a bunch of clothes and nearly bumped into Ai. At the last second, he managed to avoid her and prevented her from falling. Due to the little accident, Conan's hands were both on Ai, he immediately took them off and scratch the back of his head embarrassed.

"I was just moving my stuff from one bedroom to the other and you know... I wanted precisely to avoid that sort of situation." Ai kneeled down and tried to put everything back in the plastic basket she had been using.

"At least we have more than enough rooms for us two in this house" Conan sat on the bed behind Ai.

"Well it's not quite from the use of it we had originally planned to have. That will do for now but I have to find myself a place to live soon." She grabbed the basket and walked out. "Oh and by the way... How was your day? I assume that you found a way to approach her." She placed the basket on the floor and rested her back against the wall out of the room.

Conan popped his head outside the room "What are you doing?"

"Get change already!" she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well it went fine I guess, I am not too good with teenagers. I can't just throw a ball at her to get a smile in return although it would have probably worked with the boy."

"What boy?"

"Oh hmm her future boyfriend, apparently he has posters of me."

Ai started to mock him "God she knows how to socialize! She might have gotten that from her mother."

"That's funny!"

"What's the plan now Kudo-kun?"

Conan walked out of the room as he had finally dressed "Honestly, I don't think you'll like it."

A few days later, Emiko came back from Teitan a bit later, she was alone as she had attended to her training. She directly rushed to the fridge to quench her thirst as any teenager would do from time to time, Kogoro who was a few meters away found it quite funny, but he still quickly returned to his checking the mails task.

"Looks like there's one for you!" The former detective lent her a big envelope.

The teenager took it and quietly walked to her room. She threw it on the bed, placed her bag next to the desk and shut the door. Emiko sat on the bed and quickly opened the mysterious envelope. Inside it seemed like there were only papers. Indeed it was a folding holder, Emiko started to shake as she fully took it out of the envelope and discovered her father's name on it.