Wow! I didn't think there'd be so many people that want to read this! Now I feel confident!

This chapter is a bit longer. I can't say how long the other chapters will be. It really depends on how I want to end each chapter. XD

Midori: Don't own, never did, never will.

Chapter 2

"Tadaima!" Shinichi shouted as he entered his home. He was happy. He made a new friend at school and he had saved said friend from a bunch of bullies. Nothing could make him frown right now.

BOOOOM!!!

Okay, so maybe a little something.

"Cough…Okaeri, Shinichi…cough, cough…" Said his father as Yuusaku came out of the smoke filled kitchen.

"Tou-san, did you put the egg in the microwave, again?" Shinichi inquired as he placed his backpack on the floor and walked over to his father. Yuusaku gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his head. "Um…yeah, well…"

"Even after Kaa-san left you a note on all the things you shouldn't do in the kitchen!" Shinichi said with half-mooned eyes. "A very, very long note, too." He added before looking past Yuusaku's legs into the kitchen. Indeed, the brand-new and white microwave is now crisp-black and broken. The smoke was filling up most of the ceiling, and Yuusaku's pen could be seen lying a few inches away from the "crime-scene".

"So…what about pizza for dinner, Shinichi?" Yuusaku asked his son. His son looked up at him, "Well, I guess that's one of the good things about you blowing up the kitchen." Then he bounded away with his backpack to his room while yelling, "Yay, PIZZA!!!"

Yuusaku smiled as he watched his son disappear down the hall, then he looked back into the kitchen and winced. Oh, Yukiko's gonna kill him…

An hour later, the ordered pizza is set neatly on the table along with a bottle of Pepsi Cola. Father and son sat down at the said table and Shinichi started their meal with a loud, "Itadakimasu!"

"Tou-san, I made a new friend at school today." Shinichi said as he stuffed half a piece of pizza into his mouth. Yuusaku raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? What's his name?"

"He's Takagi Wataru from Grade 6 Class A." Shinichi munched out before stuffing the rest of the piece of pizza into his mouth.

"Grade 6?" Yuusaku frowned. What is his son doing with someone five or six years his senior? "Did he give you anything?" Maybe the boy was using something to tempt Shinichi!

"No, just his name. The bell rang right after that. He waved good bye at me after school."

"So how did you meet?"

"There were some bullies bullying him. I saved him. The head-bully didn't even touch me." Shinichi said proudly. Then he chugged down half a glass of Pepsi. Yuusaku watched in amusement as his son tried to chug more Pepsi while still having a bite of pizza in his mouth. He then thought more about the new friend Shinichi just told him about. It didn't sound like this Wataru kid is dangerous. But you never know. Yuusaku is determined to meet this boy personally.

"Shinichi? Why don't I pick you up at school tomorrow?"

"Huh? Why?" Shinichi asked, his mouth full with pizza.

"I'm going to the bookstore and I don't want you to be home alone." Yuusaku quickly thought of the excuse. "You know, with Agasa-hakase, Kaa-san and the Mouri's in America, you're probably pretty lonely. So why don't you bring that Wataru-kun with you?"

Shinichi frowned a little at the mention of the good doctor, his mother, and his best friend's family. They are all on a two-week trip to the States right now, so that just leaves Shinichi and Yuusaku to fend for themselves for two weeks. Oh, the horror.

"Sure, I'll ask Wataru-senpai tomorrow." Shinichi replied. He refilled his mouth with more Pepsi and continued his little episode of pizza-devouring.

Yuusaku smiled. His plan had worked. Wataru-kun, here I come.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Wataru sneezed. Weird, it's not like he has a cold…

The future keiji sat in his room. He's trying to do his home work, but his mind can't help but think back to the kid that saved him.

Kudou Shinichi…

He's sure he heard that surname somewhere before, but he just can't remember.

Shinichi-kun was pretty cute. His hair was interesting enough as it is, but what really got Wataru were the eyes, the big, clear-blue eyes that looked like they could see through anything.

He sighed as he tried to work out the next math equation.

An hour later, he closed his math book and flopped onto his bed. Man, he hates math.

"Wataru! Dinner's ready!" His father called.

"Hai!" He replied as he bounded off the bed and went to the dining room. His father was an excellent cook (unlike a certain father that we know. Inside the Kudou mansion, Yuusaku sneezed).

The boy sat down at the table. He then noticed the absence of one of the family members. "Where's Okaa-san?"

"She left a few minutes ago for a business trip to Tottori." His father said as he set down the last plate. Wataru frowned. His mother is always away on some business trip. Sure, it means that she's doing pretty well in her company, but sometimes he wished his mother would be home more often.

"Itadakimasu." Wataru said and picked up his chopsticks. Wataru had always marveled at how good his father can cook. He already made up his mind to learn every technique from his father. As he stuffed some of the delicious food into his mouth, his father asked the question he always asked during dinner, "So, how was school?"

"It was okay." Wataru carefully avoided his father's eyes and stared at the plate in front of him.

"Come on, Wataru. Don't give me that. That time you came back with bruises all over your body, you said, 'It was okay.', too." Wataru blushed. It was true that even at times when it's so obvious that he's not okay, he says the opposite. He just didn't want his father to worry. But he felt that his father often mistook it as a way to avoid the question and hide things.

"No, really. Nothing happened." Well, something almost happened. But Otou-san doesn't need to know that. He added to himself. There was a long period of silence. The only sounds were the chopsticks occasionally hitting against the plates and bowls. His father then sighed, "Look, Wataru. It's fine if you don't want to tell me. I trust you to do the right thing, okay?"

"Sure." Wataru inwardly sighed with relief. He was glad that the subject was dropped.

Later, Wataru picked up the newspaper. Nothing's as good as some manga after dinner. As he flipped to the manga section, his eyes caught something that made him flip back.

MYSTERY WRITER STOPS MYSTERIOUS THIEF

No, not the headline. The picture under the headline. And the name.

There was a picture of the writer that looked suspiciously like Shinichi, and the name was printed beneath it in neat kanji.

Kudou Yuusaku

Wataru wasn't quite sure of what to think when it hit him that he had befriended a country-famous(1) writer's son.

To be continued…

Yes, it is necessary to push all the others out of the way. It is a very important thing in this plot. That's all I'm saying. XD

(1)- I'm not sure just how famous Yuusaku was ten years ago. But, in that file about Shinichi and Ran's childhood adventure, Yuusaku had pulled out the phone cord so he can "concentrate on the manuscript before the deadlines", as he himself said. So I'm guessing he was already pretty well-known then.

Reviews make me happy!

~ruth~