A/N: Well, this was a fun chapter to write! But, I feel like it's unnecessarily confusing. XD; Maybe that's just my perspective? (Shrugs) Who knows? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this first part of the case! 8DDD

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito in any way or form. Ryukaze Erise is owned by Iriss-sama. (I own her dad and mother, though; but I suppose they're also partially owned by Iriss-sama, since she's the creator of their daughter ((who they're based off of)) and…yeah…I'm rambling. XDD)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Day 67 ½ of being here, and I had an incredibly sinking feeling.

Despite my dreading feeling and want to lock myself in my bedroom all day, I had a promise to keep. Today was Saturday; the day of the game convention that Erise had invited me to. It was actually more of a 'new release party', but I didn't really care – in my mind, it was a game convention. Technically, it was, so I didn't see the problems with said technicality. Or was that just my point of perspective with such things? I wasn't sure, nor did I care. As if to reflect my reluctant, petulant, mood, it was raining lightly.

"Oi, Erise-chan," I waved her over from where she had just arrived, looking for me at our appointed meeting place. "Over here." She looked over from under her dotted umbrella, brightening when she recognized me despite my soaked visage. My once light blue sweater had changed to a deep indigo, my hood up to protect my face and hair from the liquid – not that it was doing much now; I knew my hair had probably already turned to a dark black from its brown color, as my bangs were already dripping in front of my eyes, eyelashes thick with water.

To say I had come a bit too early was an understatement.

She quickly ran over and put her umbrella over the both of us when she got closer. "Midori-chan! You're soaking wet! Did you wait long? I'm sorry! My dad was fussing about who I was going with when I told him that it was the person who dropped me off at the house last weekend! He thought you were a boy, too–" She paused to laugh lightly and I felt my eyebrow twitch. Why did everyone think I was a boy at first? Was this going to be some run-on joke by some unseen force? How annoying… "–but I was quick to clear up that you're a girl. He still wants to meet you, though, just to be sure. I didn't think explaining would take so long, I'm sorry! You must have thought that you wouldn't be here long since you didn't bring an umbrella! I'm sor–!"

"Erise-chan." I cut in, pulling my hood lower, making sure to keep one arm folded, as we began to walk in the general direction of Beika hotel – the place the convention was going to be held. "It's okay. It's my fault for coming too early. There's nothing to apologize about." I reassured, feeling something squirm in my sweater. I chuckled before unzipping it a bit at the top, watching as a small, furry, head popped out almost immediately. Erise started in surprise, "H-Huh?!"

Kin turned to look at her, sniffing in her general direction before turning back to me, obviously disinterested in her. I rolled my eyes at the moody cat; why was it so rude to everyone else? He wouldn't even let Kaito touch him unless I was around. So much for being thankful to the guy who let him stay in his house. "Sorry about him." I had resorted to calling the cat a 'he', since it was just easier than always saying 'he/she'. Truthfully, I had a feeling that it was boy, but I was too embarrassed to ever check. "He's…not very good with strangers." I explained halfheartedly.

Erise peered at the black cat a bit closer, "Oh, I see. Is that the cat from last time?" She asked curiously and at my nod, continued, "Oh, that's cool! You took him in, huh? I had a feeling you wouldn't be able to resist! Even though Midori-chan acts cool and unconcerned, she's actually a really nice person!" She teased with a grin, making me blush. "W-What? You must be delusional. It just followed me all the way home, is all." I grumped, hiding my face in my upturned collar.

"Mou, Midori-chan~! You're such a tsundere~!" The older crowed, enjoying my torment.

In response, I only scowled and bowed my head lower so that my hood covered my burning face. I also blatantly ignored Kin's gold eyes glittering up at me in amusement.

Darn cat.

"But," Erise changed the subject suddenly; she tended to do that a lot. "Why is he in your sweater?" She questioned. Kin seemed to have taken a liking to her for her comment as he decided to be nice enough to not huff and look away from her gaze again. I stroked the soft fur behind his ear, earning a purr. "He's just a scaredy cat. When it started raining, he practically clawed his way into my sweater. I have the marks to prove it." I snickered, gesturing vaguely to my neck. The bandages were now gone and the bruises were almost completely gone – now only vague marks that were virtually unnoticeable – but now I had claw marks scratching down. They probably looked worse than they felt.

"Oh." She blinked in surprise. "Well, I guess it's to be expected. He's just a cat, after all." My lips lifted in a grin as Kin decided he didn't like her once more, burying his face in my neck even though my hair was still dripping. "True. For a cat, though, he's definitely brattier than usual. He's good company, despite that. And he's clingy. He wouldn't let me leave without him, so I was forced to bring him with me. Sorry about that. Animals are allowed in the hotel, right?" It would be a problem if they weren't. I had a feeling that if they didn't, it'd just end up with him in my sweater or shirt again.

"I think they do. Even if they don't, we can just sneak him in~!" She flashed me a peace sign as we approached the building of our destination. Beika hotel was a sight for sore eyes, towering over us, windows racked along the surface, giving an approximate location to the rooms in the hotel. It was also unexpectedly close to the professor's house; we'd actually passed the general direction of it on our way here.

I laughed, "Well, well, I didn't take you as a rule-breaker, Erise-chan."

"Expect the unexpected~!" She chimed and I nearly froze at the familiar line before smoothly continuing on. That's right. My eyes shifted to the ground as we approached the doors, footsteps heard over the rain clearly. In this world, it'd be best to do so. I bite my lip in thought, only looking up as we entered the warm building. Noise immediately assaulted me, washing away my contemplative mood, and making Kin gain a sour expression, ears folded to his skull in distaste.

"I told you that it'd be noisy…," I deadpanned, cradling him closer as we headed further in. I just followed Erise, not knowing where I was going. The brunette weaved through people skillfully, heading in a particular direction. It was only when we reached a middle-aged man that I realized she was taking me to her father; right, I'd almost forgot about her having to convince him. Guhh…I really hope animals are allowed. The man before me was tall and broad, looking very professional, not haggard like most people here. Judging by the hair, Erise had gotten her hair from her father; her eyes must have been inherited from her mother, since her father's eyes were a no-nonsense, sharp, grey hidden behind glasses frames.

Currently, his eyes were fixed on the cat half-hiding in my jacket. Shit. "E-Er," I started and his eyes darted up to my covered face. Belatedly, I realized he probably couldn't get a look at my girl face since my hood was up. My hand came up and brushed down the fabric down quickly, revealing my features. His eyes seemed to soften a bit at the realization that, yes, I was a girl. "I'm Koizumi Midori. Nice to meet you. Sorry about Kin-chan. He didn't want to be left at home with my…brother. They're not very fond of each other." I winced a bit, waiting for his reaction. He was an intimidating person.

Erise smiled happily. "Oh, his name is Kin-chan? I approve! It's just like his eyes~!" Her happy gushing seemed to break the tense atmosphere that started when he had first put his eyes on me and he gave a chuckle, shocking me. The intimidating man was laughing! "I agree, Erise. You picked a fitting name, Koizumi-san." He praised gently, bowing slightly in greeting. "My name is Ryukaze Hisao. It is a pleasure to meet the friend Erise has been telling me about."

I hastily returned the bow, "A-Ah, it's nice to meet you, too!"

Again, he gave a light laugh, "She's as jumpy as you told me." He directed to Erise, who laughed in return. "Yeah, she's very jumpy, isn't she? Kin-chan can stay with us, right?" I straightened, shifting said cat. Her father seemed to contemplate before looking at the animal. Their eyes seemed to meet; grey on gold. It was a bit awkward, watching their staring match, before the man smiled. "He seems like a reliable fellow. He can stay, but you won't be able to play while holding him, right?" I blinked. Oh, that's right…

I flinched as Kin struggled in my grip, digging his claws into my clothing and scrambling upward to balance on my shoulder, wrapping partially around the back of my neck, tail curling up to brush gently against my cheek. His sharp nails were digging into my shoulder, but I didn't really mind. At least this way I could play and he wouldn't have to leave; a win-win situation. Hisao gave another smile, nodding. "There you go. Have fun then, kids." He ruffled Erise's hair as he passed, quickly disappearing into the crowd of people. I stared after in surprise.

"He's a nice man." I commented. Erise grinned at me as I shoved my hands in my pockets. The sweater was drying off fairly fast, returning to its original, lighter, color. "Yeah. He just seems scary at first~! It's his eyes; they're an unusual color. But, he wouldn't have a job at Mantendo if he wasn't creative." Again, she began leading me somewhere. I spotted a counter in the distance as people began to clear, heading for the games and other things.

"Oh? Has he worked on a lot of games?" I was curious about the whole 'Mantendo' thing. It was like a Gosho spin-off of Nintendo, right? Or, well, technically, it wasn't a spin-off, since it was in its own world and stuff. Huh…

"Yup! He's worked on a few horror games and he even had to work on an otome game once." She giggled and I had to holdback a full-blown laugh. A guy working on an otome game?! Hah, I've seen it all! That must have been super awkward for him, I thought with no little amusement. The picture itself just looked funny in my head. "He even worked on a game that was supervised by Mouri Kogoro! It's titled 'The Great Detective Mouri Kogoro's Murder in the Mansion'." The whole detective game struck me with familiarity and I absently brushed it out of my mind. Don't even think about it; that coincidence wouldn't be funny at all…

"Isn't that a pretty long name for it? It'd even be long abbreviated, 'TGDMKMINM'." I could have sworn Kin was laughing, if it wasn't for the fact that cat's couldn't laugh. "What's the game about, anyways?"

"The player come across a dead body in a mansion and then has to solve the case while receiving hints from the detective Mouri Kogoro, who is there by coincidence, too." Well, well. Speaking of coincidences…

"That seems like an interesting game." "My dad said it turned out really nicely! Supposedly, Mouri Kogoro is supposed to be here, too. He's the guest of honor, of sorts!" We reached the counter that we had been heading for; the sign above it read 'cloak'. The woman at the desk smiled when we reached it. Erise gave a smile in return, handing the umbrella over to the woman. I waited next to Erise as the woman handed the umbrella to her co-worker, who then went to put it in the back. I saw it was filed away in a cubby.

I stiffened as a shadow loomed over us, suddenly feeling cold all over. I'm pretty sure my face paled and Kin seemed to sense my mood as he turned to hiss lowly at the person behind us. I didn't bother stopping him, though I did hear an irritated grunt from behind us. The woman at the desk handed Erise a small token with the number 123 written on it. "This is your numbered token." The woman said and Erise thanked her before pulling me over in the direction of the games.

As I was pulled around the corner, I could have sworn that I could a glance of a tall, tanned man in black clothing, but, again, I carefully disregarded it.

ooOOoo

The game room was packed and suffocating. I didn't voice my complaining, though, deciding not to be a kill-joy. Kin wasn't as cooperative, digging his nails into my skin and being a brat more than usual. He wouldn't even let me play a game for a long amount of time, lest he use his tail to tickle my nose again. I really didn't feel like sneezing again, thank you very much. Erise just seemed amused by his endeavors, even when he would give her a petulant look very similar to the one on my face at the moment. I was watching Erise play a shooting game, but my mind was wandering off to unpleasant thoughts.

Kogoro, Ran, and Conan were here. There was a game Kogoro had supervised, which was being explained in a different room at the moment – I heard it was like a meeting of sorts. Conan was here. A game convention for Mantendo. Did I mention the fact that Conan was here? If he was here, then could it be possible that I just walked into a very…sensitive case? Did I seriously have that bad of luck or was it because I've been hanging out with Kin a lot lately?

With a sigh, I watched as Erise's screen was covered with the large words of 'YOU LOSE'. I quickly masked my anxious feelings with a grin as I headed over to the pouting teen, ignoring the stares I'd been getting for a while. Geez, you'd think they'd never seen anyone with a black cat on their shoulder before. "Oh well. Not everyone is adapt at shooting a gun." I tried and she merely shot me a brooding glare. "Gee, thanks." "No problem."

She brightened as she spotted something behind me, proceeding to drag me there quickly. Usually, I would be angry at someone pulling me around, but since it was Erise, I put aside the need to free myself from her grasp. We stopped in front of a machine with a punching pad in front of it, the screen waiting. A guy in an orange shirt suddenly punched, hitting the pad with a dull thud. The man beside him, who was wearing an official suit, with glasses started to talk to him.

"So close! If you pass 250, it flashes even more brilliantly." The wimpier man stated. I'm guessing they worked for the company Mantendo, as well, if they knew that. The man turned to face another guy at another game. Erise was patient, waiting beside me. She was probably willing to let the people have their fun first and then she'd try to get a higher score than all of them. "Hey, Nakajima, why don't you try this one?" The man with curly brown hair headed over with an affirmative, taking off his suit jacket on the way.

He handed his jacket to the wimpy man as he passed, heading for the machine. "Ah…It looks like Nakajima-san's is going to try." Ran's familiar voice jolted me out of my absent watching and my eyes flashed to where her and Conan were standing next to the wimpy man. When the hell'd they get there?!

Ninjas. They're both ninjas…

The Nakajima dude poised to punch before slugging the pad, the thud a bit louder than the other man's in the orange shirt. People around gave 'oh's of admiration as the screen displayed a flashing '348'. "Oh, he's not bad." Erise murmured to me, impressed. "Wow! Have you done something like this before?" Ran gushed excitedly, hands clasped together. Nakajima took his coat back from the wimpy – you know, I'm just gonna call him glasses from now on – guy, preening a bit. "I used to box a little when I was in university."

Glasses took the boxing glove from Nakajima, offering it to Ran. "Would you like to try it, too, Ran-san?" Ran put her hands up in the universal sign of surrender, "Not me, thanks. But, the girl over there seems to want to play it." She smiled kindly, gesturing to Erise who was practically beaming at the offer to finally play. I held back a grin, suddenly feeling nervous as eyes focused on the two of us. I saw Conan give me a curious look once he spotted the cat on my shoulder and I internally cursed Kin. Great, now he was curious!

"Oh, well then, would you like to go next?" Glasses asked, handing the glove over to Erise, who nodded happily. "Thank you." She said before turning to the machine. I watched in interest as she got into a fighting stance before dealing out the blow to the pad. It hit with a thud similar to the Nakajima guy's. The screen flashed brightly; '356'. I snickered into my fist, realizing she hit harder than the guys before. I quickly covered it with a cough as Conan's sharp eyes darted up to me in bemusement.

Kin bared his teeth at the small detective before I flicked his ear gently. "Hey, be nice. That's a main character, right there." I whispered, just loud enough for Kin to hear me. Over the week, I'd learned that I felt much better confiding in my cat than in Akako. So, now, despite it probably not understanding a word I've been saying, it now knew about the whole dimension thing and the fact that we were currently living in a world called Detective Conan.

Kin glanced at me with his sharp, gold, eyes before turning away to brood about not being able to hiss at Conan. Good, at least he wouldn't draw much more attention to me. It was overwhelming to be here, right in front of Ran and Conan, in Midori's form. What if he figures me out? Erise handed the glove to Ran cheerfully, "Here, you should try it, too. It's good for relieving stress!" Ran had looked ready to reject the offer before the stress tidbit. "Stress?" She blinked before taking the glove and fitting it onto her hand. Erise came back to stand by my side as Ran poised to strike.

Her face was a bit scary at the moment as she finally let loose her punch, yelling out, "Hurry up and come home, Shinichi!" In the corner of my eye, I could see said Heisei Holmes reel back with a flinch, face worried. The screen flashed out colorfully. '400'.

Four-freakin'-hundred. I gave an impressed whistle as Erise and the rest around gaped in shock and astonishment. She must have a lot of pent up stress about that certain issue. Subconsciously, I sent a sympathetic grin down to Conan, who wasn't paying any attention to me. Still, this situation was very risky. Maybe I should just leave…

"Erise-chan, I'll be in the bathroom, if you need me." I told her scarcely, making my way around the people easily. "A-Ah, Midori-chan, you don't want me to hold Kin-chan for you?" She questioned, voice drowned out a bit in the buzz of the surrounding smiling faces.

Ran's voice was heard vaguely, "Do you want to try, Conan-kun?" I almost laughed, since he would probably only get, like, a 20 in his current form. Well, unless he kicked it with his power shoes, then I'd think he'd completely beat even Ran with it, but he wouldn't even reach it at the moment. He was too short. "No, I'm good. Kin-chan is a brat, anyways. He'll probably scratch you before running off after me. Isn't that right, Kin-chan?" I called to my companion as I took my lazy time to walk away, and Kin responded with licking my cheek in agreement. I could hear Erise's laugh disappear as I turned around the corner.

Unfortunately, my lame attempt at escape was ruined as Conan and the Nakajima guy rounded the corner to join me on my bathroom hunt. Shoot. I kept my eyes on the floor, careful not to make eye contact with either. "If I remember correctly, the bathroom is…," Nakajima trailed, when suddenly a shadow loomed over me and before any of us could react, we bumped head on with the larger person. Black clouded my vision as I stumbled back to fall onto my backside, careful not to squish the smaller Conan.

"Ow! That hurt…" Conan muttered, rubbing his bottom next to me. We all looked up simultaneously. My immediate reaction was to apologize to the person – my mouth poised open – but then once I got a look at the person I'd bumped into, my reaction was to hide, cower, or run away like a scared rabbit. My body would do neither, though, so I continued to stare up at the man. His black outfit only seemed darker under the fluorescent lights shining down, casting a shadow over the small area all of us were in, and I noticed he was holding a briefcase in his left hand. A lefty, then, I noted absently under my internal screaming. His tanned skin was familiar, as was his face.

Tequila.

The name was shouting in my mind, loud and clear. The answer I'd been running from was now in front of me and I couldn't deny anything anymore. For just a moment, my brown eyes met his cold, black, ones and I could have sworn the world stopped. My heart was beating too fast, feeling like it had lodged in my throat and was trying to bludgeon its way out of my chest; my breath shallow before it reversed to erratic. And suddenly the moment was broken as he continued on without apologizing, leaving me stunned and cold – adrenaline flowing into my bloodstream.

My hand automatically grasped the loose skin on Kin's neck gently as he hopped off my shoulder, about to pursue the dangerous man. He seemed irritated by my actions before noticing my pale face and wandering closer to my side for comfort; my mood had probably transferred. "Does he work for the game company as well?" Conan broke my train of thought, startling me into taking a shaky breath. He was gone now, calm down…

"I don't know. I've never seen him before." Nakajima said. Liar. The case that had been surfaced at the back of my mind was now rearing its evil head and supplying me with helpful details of said case. Nakajima knew the man very well, if I recall. My mouth closed from its gape as the two turned to me after they got up, curious as to why I hadn't gotten up yet. "Are you okay?" Conan asked with masked childish concern. I blinked, Kin staring out at the two from in the shadows of my arms.

"U-Uh…Yeah. I-I'm okay…," Was I? There was only so much a certain person could take. Had I reached my limit? That was such a short time limit, I mused. Then again, there's no real reason to panic, since Tequila would be dead soon, either way. I almost felt bad for thinking that way, but he was technically a bad guy while technically, he went much more peaceful than he could have gone and he skipped getting put in jail the rest of his life. It's kind of like he dodged a bullet. …But got mixed with the crash course of an explosive time bomb…

Grimacing, I finally scooped Kin up and stood up slowly. "Are you sure, oneesan? You look awfully pale." He commented, sharp blue eyes taking in my features swiftly. Guh, right. Conan – Shinichi – is right here. Focus! "Y-Yes, I'm sure. My stomach just feels a bit ill is all." I muttered, "Thank you for your concern." With a quick bow, I dashed off to the women's' bathroom. Once behind the closed doors, I checked under every stall door, making sure there were no shoes in sight, before I ran into the nearest stall, the door banging lightly behind me.

I leaned against the wall of the stall, splayed on the floor, staring at the other in front of me, trying to regulate my breath. Don't hyperventilate, I told myself. Digging into my bag, my shaky fingers pried the top off of a water bottle I had brought along and I swallowed some thickly, feeling as if something was lodged into my throat. Kin batted at my hand as I choked, coughing out the remaining water, splashing my sweater again and leaving darker patches. "…I-I'm okay…K-Kin-chan…,"

My reassurance didn't seem to reassure him, as he kept staring at me with his too-intelligent eyes. I didn't bother going for another drink of water, capping it again and tossing it back into my bag. I dug through it, spotting my 'Detective Conan Log' and flipping through all the worn, written-on, pages to a fresh, clean, one. It was full of the adventures that I'd been on through the first day to now – anxieties and worries; memories and fun times; little quirks I'd figured out about certain characters. It was my life in writing, plain and simple. It was a bit of a flight-hazard, so to say, but it was always on me; whether it is in my school bag or my regular bag.

The date was scrawled onto the corner of the page with trembling handwriting, and I jotted down my current situation, making a small note in the middle of the page, saying that I'd add more at the bottom once the whole affair was over. My hands stuffed the notebook back into the bag with all the other loose sheets of paper filled with words and garbled numbers in various colors. To anyone else, it'd look like complete nonsense. But, to a nonsense speaker like me, it made perfect sense to the plot and events I wouldn't miss and things I'd avoid. I knew that on one of those papers, it told me to avoid the Game Company Murder Case. So much for that…

Exhaling a loud sigh, I jumped when the door to the bathroom opened. "Midori-chan, are you in here?" Erise's voice echoed in the tiled room and I relaxed reflexively. Damn it, now I was jumpier than usual. Greaattt… "Er…Yeah, I'm in here…," I called back, voice slightly hoarse from choking earlier. Gathering my wits again, I swallowed before standing on now-steady legs and then opening the door to my stall. Erise came into view quickly, being the only other person in the room at the moment.

I walked out of the stall, a sheepish blush on my cheeks. "Sorry, was I taking too long?" I scratched the back of my neck nervously – how much time had passed? – and she shook her head. "No, it's not that. I was just worried, is all. You seemed a bit frightened before when we were leaving the cloak desk and you've been acting strange." Obviously, I wasn't as great as an actress as I thought I was, if she was seeing right through my act. Then again, I'd only been trying half-heartedly, so maybe it was just my lack-of-effort coming back to bite me in the butt for being such a lazy, moody, person today.

"O-Oh." With a warm smile, I ruffled her hair as I passed, heading out of the bathroom easily now. "Sorry for worrying you. I'll be fine now. There was just something I needed to confirm…," An idea – a stupid idea – suddenly popped into my mind, but I couldn't back it down. It could be useful in the future, so I just had to. "I may need to leave a bit early today, though. Not anything majorly, but perhaps." I grinned at her over my shoulder as she followed after me as we headed out into the hall again.

She looked like she wanted to question me more, but dropped it with a pout. "Okay, but you have to repay me by getting me some juice." She smiled cheerfully and I chuckled. "Okay, will do. You can head back to the games. I'll be there soon." She nodded, rounding the corner with a skip in her step. Once she was gone my grin turned a bit feral – manic – and I picked up Kin, letting him claw up to my shoulders again.

"What a coincidence that we happened to be here, huh, Kin-chan?" I murmured, smirking to myself as I headed to the vending machines I'd seen earlier when passing by.

'Expect the unexpected', was it?

I couldn't really tell if this was good or bad luck, but I'd gamble on both at once, if the chance upturned.

ooOOoo

"Are you looking for a beating, brat?!"

I heard a dull thud and scowled, remembering what had happened. The jerk, Tequila, had probably just kicked Conan. He was, apparently, one of those people who didn't care if it was a child that they were kicking, as long as no one got in their way. What a complete and utter…Black Organization member. I obviously couldn't come up with a better retort.

Rounding the corner, coins jingling the pocket of my sweater, I grinned down at the disgruntled Conan, who was watching Tequila walk away. My sharp eyes caught sight of the small tracking device on the bottom of his right shoes and I held back a snicker. Conan seemed to notice my presence, looking up with wary eyes. It looked like he wanted to just continue following the man in black. I shuffled around his prone form, going to the drinks and putting several yen through the slot, browsing the drink choices in a show of disinterest.

"Fancy seeing you here. We seem to have a habit of bumping into each other." I commented, finger hesitating between yuzu juice and orange juice before pressing the later. I didn't know what yuzu juice was, but it sounded good. The can dropped into the receiver with a metallic thud and I took it out easily, smiling back at Conan who still looked like he was having an internal debate. "You can go have your fun. Be careful~!" With that, he gave me a hasty, polite, goodbye before dashing off in Tequila's direction.

I glanced down at the canned juice in my hand, noting the strange-looking grapefruit on the bottle's decoration. Shrugging, I couldn't help but toss it up in the heat of the moment, before stuffing it in hoodie's pocket. Sorry, Erise, but something is just about to explode… Surely you won't miss me that much.

I began a leisurely pace down the same way the shrunken Heisei Holmes went, feeling a bit guilty about leaving her hanging, but wanting to see if I could get any information from the whole endeavor. I blinked before snatching my phone from my back pocket, flipping it open with ease. My fingers clumsily moved along the keys. 'I have something to attend to really quick. Sorry. I have your juice, though, so I'll give it to you when I come back.'

My pace slowed as I waited for her reply and, as usual, it came superfast. She had text hands, alright. 'Okay, but you owe more compensation. ;P'

Nodding to myself with a smile, I clicked it shut again and stuffed it back in my back pocket. It must have been perfect timing, too, because suddenly, a large explosion wracked through the hall. The walls trembled with the force and I was surprised to see smoke and ash coming from the corner at the end, so much closer than I had thought. Disregarding that fact, flashing Kin a signal to hold on tight, and then I was off in the direction of the explosion.

Arriving just after, I saw Conan dart into the mist of black smoke, disappearing temporarily from my sight. Kin didn't seem to like the thought of going closer to the carnage, but stuck to me like glue as I did just that, engulfing myself into the speedily disappearing cloud of smoke. I held back a cough as it assaulted my senses. "H-Hey! Kids!" A man called out from behind us. I only briefly glanced back, recognizing Glasses and two of the others – Nakajima and another man – in the background. Both Conan and I probably looked out of place in the midst of the chaos, but this was just the dawn of the Black Organization, before things got even worse.

"Little boy, young lady, it's dangerous here." Glasses said, kneeling next to Shinichi, who was observing Tequila's shoe. "Quickly, outside!" He directed to both of us, but I merely ignored him in favor for watching Conan with a slightly sinister grin.

Said boy pounded his fist to the ground in frustration, a frightening look glittering in his eyes; one of a man on the hunt who had just lost his prey. His thoughts were nearly tangible in the air and my eyes narrowed in interest, disregarding the fact that I probably looked mad, grinning in my current scenery.

I oddly felt like I was playing one, big, massive, game of chess.

Game, set…

ooOOoo

"Terrorists?" Megure asked the forensic team that was surveying the big hole in the wall. The police had finally arrived, called in by one of the men from Mantendo. I was currently stuck there as a witness, not to leave until the whole mess was cleaned up. It was annoying, but I supposed it was my own fault. I had decided to come here, after all.

"We think an explosive device was attached to the toilet door or something." One of the men answered in affirmative. "Hm…A random murder?" Megure inquired skeptically. "There was one victim." "I suppose we don't know his identity?" Megure guessed with a sigh, receiving his reply from another forensic, "Well, it's a real mess…," Somehow, the discretely gruesome comment didn't affect me much. It probably had something to do with the fact that I wasn't actually seeing anyone's dead body; an interesting thing to note.

The inspector turned to us all. "Did you see any suspicious people?" He questioned. Ah, here begins the interrogation…

"W-Well, no." Glasses stuttered out. "I didn't see anyone." Nakajima replied. "I know!" Conan called out, gaining the attention from all the others. I noticed a cut on his cheek for the first time and my brows furrowed as I dug my hand into my bag. If I remember correctly… "I saw the person who died."

"R-Really, Conan-kun?!"

"He was a really big guy!" He moved his hand up to emphasize his words and I found myself nodding in agreement. Tequila was a tall man – like, really, really, tall. "I think he was from the Kansai area. Oh, I think both this oneesan and Nakajima-san saw him, too." Conan elaborated and I found the attention then shifted onto Nakajima and I. "What?" The Mantendo worker asked. "The enormous guy we ran into in the lobby."

Nakajima's face became paler as he gave a strained smile, "A-Ah, yes, him." The inspector's face turned to me for confirmation. "Yeah, I remember 'im. Clad in all black, you'd think he was part of the yakuza or something." I joked, enjoying the way Conan frowned in contemplation. Megure nodded before looking down at Conan once more, "You think he's from Kansai?" Conan turned back to the inspector, "Before he died, I heard him say inside the bathroom stall, 'what's this? It doesn't fit. Huh? It's already open?' with a Kansai accent. He must have been talking about the toilet door, right?"

I crouched to Conan's side as the inspector continued, "If that's so, the explosive device might have been planted near the toilet door." A new voice interrupted, but I paid no mind, grinning at Conan as I produced a band aid from my bag. "Here you go, detective-san~! Just so that your cut doesn't get infected." I placed the band aid on his cheek gently and he blinked before giving me a slight smile, "Thank you, oneesan." I held back a shudder. How weird was it to be called 'oneesan' instead of 'Koizumi' by him? Really weird.

"No problem." I answered before standing out of my crouch to look at the Mantendo boss that had just entered the room. "Boss?!" The employees were shocked by his appearance. "Boss?" Megure asked. "Yes, I'm Ishikawa, president of Mantendo." The boss began to open his briefcase. He took out a slip of paper. "The fact is, I received a strange letter three days ago." The inspector took the letter, taking out the contents to see it with a thoughtful hum of, "A strange letter…,"

"T-This is a threat!" He exclaimed, reading the words on the paper. "Why didn't you come to the police with this?" He questioned indignantly.

"I'm sorry...," The president of the company muttered, "I thought it was just hate mail." Before the two's conversation could continue, an officer interrupted, "Inspector, I found this in the rubble." The officer handed the inspector the two objects. "This is a key, but what's this round thing?" Megure wondered, gazing at the items.

"Oh, that would be my company's emblem." The boss showed off the emblem on the rim of his case and I saw Conan stare at it thoughtfully. While Conan was lost in his thoughts, the inspector turned to me. I blinked, wondering why his expression was so intense. "You're also from the Kansai area, right? You speak with Osaka-ben." He noted and I felt a bead of sweat roll down my neck. Oi, oi, was my accent – inherited only because it was the first place I was at as Midori – really going to turn me into a suspect? I was just a – relatively – innocent bystander.

"U-Uh, yeah. I'm from Osaka." I nodded, coming up with a story on the spot. "May I have your name?" The inspector continued and I gave a nervous little grin, feeling incredibly awkward, not bothering to stop Kin from baring his teeth at all that came too close for his comfort. "Yes. I-It's–" My eyes flashed to Conan. Darn it, I couldn't use Koizumi in front of him, least he put the dots together! "–Watanabe Midori." I finally finished, remembering the alternative name Akako had come up with.

Internally, I cheered. Thank you, Akako-sama!

Megure nodded at the answer before going back to examining the bent Mantendo emblem. "It must have had an amazing force, though; this metal is bent out of shape." He commented, impressed. I watched as Conan had a revelation in his mind before he dashed out of the room. I smirked, looking over to the inspector. "May I go somewhere? I have an important meeting." The inspector gave me a dark glare, as if I was going to try to run away. "Don't worry, I promise I'll be back. Here, I'll even let you hold onto my cellphone. Besides, I have a friend here, so I'll be back, promise!" I begged.

He stared at me a while longer before sighing and nodding, "Okay, but be back, or I'll have your arrest warrant out tomorrow morning." He warned. Truthfully, I don't think he thought I did it since I was still only thirteen. What thirteen year old knows how to make bombs, any–well…

Putting that thought in my mind, I thanked him enthusiastically and promised to be back before dashing out of the room and out of the hotel, taking Kin from my shoulder to hold him properly as I put my hood up. It wasn't exactly needed anymore, since the light rain had since dissipated, but it was more to cover my face than anything. And if I remember the hotel correctly…

…Start.

Review Replies:

To: Iriss-sama – Yup, a new chapter~! 8D (Laughs) Yeah, I had fun writing that part. XDD I was practically thinking the same thing. XD And yup – Ran and Kogoro! Thank you~! Here's the next chapter! ^^ (Turns good luck into more tokens and puts them in slot machine) XD

To: Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan – Haha, I'm more of a dog person myself, too, but I saw Alice/Midori with a cat, for some reason. XDD I guess it just fits her personality a bit better. I'm glad you still want to pet him despite you not being a cat person~! XD (Grins as snowflakes fall and eats cyber cookie) Thank you, E-chan~! And Kagome, Kagome is a child's game you play by having a person sitting in the middle with their eyes closed and covered with their hands and the kids spin around the person with their hands linked, singing a song. They continue spinning until the song is over and then the person in the middle has to guess who is behind them. Based on Shinichi's personality, I'm pretty sure that he'd be good at it and it was also, somewhat, referring to the vocaloid song Kagome, Kagome which changes your point of view on the usually cheerful children's game to a scarier, darker, base. (That was a bad explanation, I hope it made sense. XDD)

To: roxifoxi – (Laughs) Yes, strange feelings about Kin-chan are very well-earned, for good reason~! XD I had a feeling it was you, but I wasn't positive. The writing style was the same, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. XD Codenames rule~! (High Fives) (Another High Five for Mythology Nerdy-ness) XD Athena is awesome! 8DDD She's one of my favorite goddesses. ^^ Haha, I guess it isn't a bad thing to want to check a cat's gender, out of pure curiosity, as long as your mind is out of the gutter. XD;; And who knows? You'll have to see~! 8D (Loves dodging questions)

-I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. For some reason, I feel like it came out weird… ^^;;;