--------------Chapter 3: The Attempted Robbery--------------

Soon after some days of healing, bed rest, and a healthy diet, Ran was allowed to leave the hospital. She walked into her house. "Empty," she stated to herself. She sighed as she walked into the kitchen. She continued walking through her house, pulling the remaining "DO NOT CROSS" tape that was left on the wall. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "It's quiet..." she told herself, turning to look outside.

Up in his room, Conan stood. "Maybe I should've told Ran the truth. I feel sort of guilty. Seriously..." He just looked at his house, empty, and supposedly "haunted". He sighed, deciding to call Ran on the Kudou phone. "But, what to say? After what last happened, I don't think I'll be able to face her, much less call her. What was she, love-sick or something?" He looked down at the phone in his hand, almost trembling. "Gah, I'll just call Hattori," he thought, dialing his number, "Maybe there'll be a new case."

At the front door, there was a sudden knock. But before it could be answered, a cheery Kazuha stepped in, her hand full of balloons. "Welcome home, Ran-chan!" she called out into the house.

Ran smiled. "Kazuha!" she said happily. She looked at the balloons. " For me?" she asked, pointing at them.

"Mmhmm!" Kazuha nodded, handing them to Ran. She held her hands together by her hips, "I'm so glad to see you're able to walk around so quickly! Can you sit and bend down all right?"

Ran rubbed the back of her head, "Sort of..." She gave a smile and grabbed the balloons. "How do you feel though, Kazuha?" she asked, giving her a worried expression.

"Oh," Kazuha's smile faded. "To be honest..." she started, beginning to blush, looking over at the wall, "I've actually been thinking of Heiji a lot more since then..."

Ran blushed and gave a smile, "Oh really..." She walked over to her, nudging her against her waist, "How so? Hmmm?"

"Just forget it." Conan hung up without talking to Hattori. He thought about it again, and decided to call Ran instead.

"Well..." Kazuha continued, "Because I saw how bad it hurt him. I know that he would never do anything like that to me. I know that he will always be there to protect me, and-" a phone started to ring, "Ran, is that yours?" she asked, checking that it wasn't her own.

"Hm?" Ran took a look at her phone. "It's, Sh-Shinichi..." she said in an unexpected tone. She flipped the phone open and looked at Kazuha as she answered. "Hello?" She blinked curiously.

Conan put up the bow-tie voice changer. It was already set up to be in Shinichi's voice. "Ran... I want to tell you something."

"Uh, and what's that?" She rolled her eyes to Kazuha and shrugged, not knowing what he was going to say. Kazuha shamelessly put her head close to the phone, listening in.

Conan stood silent for a second, his nerves catching up with him. "Umm... I just wanted to say that... uhh..." He shuffled his feet, "Umm... I uhh.. I took a walk yesterday and thought of you?" he slipped out, not able to say what he felt like directly.

Ran was speechless as her expression became blank, "Oh, uh, wow. That's nice?" She looked at Kazuha and giggled quietly. "Is that all Shinichi?"

"Uhh... yes..." he said, his face burning like the sun. "...But you know why?" he asked, suddenly ready to say more.

Kazuha grabbed the phone. "Listen here, you! Ran's here with a wound and you're nowhere in sight!" she stated to him. She looked at Ran, giving her a wink. But Ran was just trying to grab the phone back.

Conan's eyes flew open, being taken aback. "Hey! Why are you listening into our private conversation?! Put Ran back on the line!"

Kazuha giggled, handing Ran the phone back. Ran cleared her throat, "Sorry Shinichi." She tried to push Kazuha's face away from the phone.

Just then, the front door opened and Heiji walked in. "Hey girls! Whatcha-" he spotted the phone and Kazuha's giggling face. Heiji turned playful. "All right, who are ya talkin' to?" he asked, leaning up to the phone.

Ran sighed as she tried getting away from the two, Kazuha wrapped her arms around Ran's waist and pulled her closer, she deepened her voice and spoke into the phone. "Hey baby, who ya talking to?"

Ran blushed. "K-Kazuha!"

Conan raised an eyebrow, "Hey, what's going on over there?"

At the sound of his voice, Heiji smiled. "Ah, so you're talking to Kudou, are you? Well, have fun!" He walked up to Kogoro's room, shutting the door behind him. He laughed a little to himself, spotting Conan on the bed with the phone and his bowtie.

Conan shot him a look, covered the phone's speaker, and quietly told him, "Keep your mouth SHUT..."

Standing there for a moment, before Ran could reply to Shinichi, Kazuha tackled her onto the floor. The phone fell next to the front door as Ran laid beneath Kazuha. Kazuha looked at Ran laughing. "Now, where's that phone...?" She looked around then back down at Ran. Kazuha quickly jumped up, remembering that Ran had just came out of the hospital. "I-I'm sorry Ran-chan!"

Ran held her side, closing her eyes, she looked up and gave a smile. "It's okay..." She got up, grabbing the phone. Kazuha circled around Ran to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere else.

"Ran? Ran? Are you there? Is everything okay? I heard a crash!" called Shinichi, though in all reality he heard the crash directly from downstairs, rather than as background noise through the phone. Heiji looked on, curiously.

At the moment, Ran was holding Kazuha's head to keep her from looking at her anymore. "Yeah, I'm fine." She gave a slight chuckle. "Um, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" she asked, raising a brow and looking at her phone.

Kazuha was trying as hard as she could to get closer to her. "Ran... Come on!" she whined, as a whispered.

Conan went on, "Well, the reason I thought about you was..." Heiji moved close up behind him, a menacing smile over his face. "I-It was..."

"Someone's awfully red..." whispered Heiji, in a sing-song voice. Conan blushed even further.

"It was because I saw some kid at the park, he fell off the swing and flat onto his butt!" He blinked. "I can't believe I said that!" he thought, closing his eyes, trying to ignore Heiji's muffled laughs.

Ran gave a fake chuckle as she smiled. "So that's it, huh?" She put her left hand on her hip, "So that was it, Shinichi?" She then heard a big THUMP, seeing that when she had put her hand on her hip, she let Kazuha's head drop. The girl fell flat on her face.

Conan's face sizzled, with Heiji behind him, covering his mouth to stifle the laughter. His voice squeaked minutely, "Uh, yeah..." He stared at the floor.

Ran began to laugh at Kazuha. "Oh, okay b-bye!" She looked down at Kazuha and giggled. "See, what happens when you want to be nosey? It's called karma, Ms. Toyoma." She helped her up.

"Bye?" asked Conan, after the phone hung up. He wheeled around to Heiji, still red as a tomato. "You know I hate you, right?" Heiji stopped laughing for a moment, simply to give a sweet smile. "Ugh," went Conan, as he hopped off the bed, put his phone away and his bowtie back in place.

"What? You mean you originally intended to say something ELSE?" inquired Heiji.

Conan merely raised an eyebrow. "It's something you wouldn't understand," he said, walking out the door and to the kitchen for some water.

Kazuha sat on the couch quietly as she held a bag of ice to her head. "Mm.." she mumbled. It was hard enough to have her head kept up, without her falling again. Ran walked into the bathroom and sighed, remembering the scene a couple of days ago. She felt bad for not telling anybody what happened to her, she just felt uncomfortable.

On Conan's way back, he passed by Kazuha on the couch. "Are you all right, Kazuha-neechan?"

Kazuha squinted her eyes as she tried to put her focus to Conan, she gave a care free smile. "Yeah, I'm fine kid."

"But you're holding an ice pack to your head." He went by the side of her couch where her feet were and hopped up next to her. "You don't still hurt from the other day, do you?"

She chuckled, "Only a little bit." She looked over at Conan and gave a smile, "So, why were you and Heiji upstairs for so long?"

"Ah, we were just talking, that's all," Conan insisted. He sat quietly for a moment, before wondering again where Kogoro could be. "Kazuha-neechan? Did the police say anything about Ran's dad?"

Kazuha shrugged. "The only person who will know anything about that is Ran." She smiled brightly, noticing Ran in the kitchen cooking. "Ran-chan...!" she almost said in a tune while walking towards her. She looked over her shoulder frantically, "What are you cooking?"

Ran looked back at Kazuha, "Just some stew.." She turned around, "I need to go to the grocery store, I ran out of leeks."

Kazuha hunched her shoulders. "Aww..."

"Can I go with you, Ran-neechan? I want to get ice cream!" Conan said, jumping up and down, thinking, "No WAY am I letting you go out to the store alone..."

Ran smiled, "Of course, Conan!" She walked past him, patting his head.

Kazuha looked down at him. "Hehe, slick.." she said, walking by him.

Conan went out to the door before Ran could and slipped his shoes on.

Back in the hallway, Heiji stepped out from the room. "Hey hey, is everyone leaving me here alone or something? Or do I simply not exist to you people?" He walked out to the rest of them.

Kazuha gave a chuckle. "Looks like we have some guys who are worried about us, huh, Ran-chan?" she said, giving a couple of nudges in the side. "Gah! Sorry Ran-chan! I forgot about your injury..."

Ran took a step aside from Kazuha, "It's ok.."

Conan looked up worriedly to Ran, unsure if she should even be walking much in her condition. As he opened the door, he instinctually reached up for Ran's hand. Only then did he realize just how used to holding it he had become. Behind him, Heiji chuckled, then looked to Kazuha. "That's true. You really SHOULD be more careful. Are you going with them, too?"

Kazuha rose a brow. "Why, of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She took a step closer to Ran, beginning to walk beside her. Ran looked down at Conan, "So, what kind of ice cream do you want to get, Conan?"

Conan looked up to Ran as they walked outside. "Uh... Chocolate!" he said with a smile. "With sprinkles and syrup!"

Heiji caught up to Kazuha and laughed a little. "I really gotta hand it to him. He's got this kid stuff down to a T! But I guess that'll just make it worse when the time comes to..." He glanced up at Ran, seeing her talk to the boy so cheerfully. "Perhaps being so convincing won't help him in the long run..."

Kazuha jumped up, grabbing Ran's arm. "Ran-chan, we should celebrate! We should go out to sushi later!" she said while holding up her pointer finger.

"Celebrate for what?" Ran replied, while Kazuha continued to tug onto her arm. "Besides, is it really a good idea to be going alone, Kazuha?"

Kazuha patted her head. "Oh, Ran, those men are long gone!" she insisted. Ran exhaled deeply.

Heiji's thoughts stopped for a second, hearing Kazuha mention the men. He closed his eyes and tried to push it aside. Conan looked back and noticed. "But Kazuha-neechan! We'll be going with you to eat, right? Me and Heiji-niichan can protect you!" He included the "me" part just to sound cute, though in all reality, he had his super-powered shoes and inflatable ball belt on, so he was ready for anything.

Kazuha looked down at Conan. "You guys are coming?" She rolled her eyes to meet with Heiji's.

Ran smiled, "Oh, Kazuha, it'll be fine if we take them with us." She looked down at Conan. "Besides, Conan will save me if anything happens. Right Mr. Detective?"

Conan didn't expect the, "Mister Detective" part, but nodded gleefully nonetheless. "I'll always be there for Ran-neechan!"

Arriving at the store, Heiji stepped ahead and held open the door. "After you!" he insisted to the girls, taking the extra moment to survey the others in the store for suspicious activity.

Kazuha closed the door, "Ran-chan, don't you think they're acting weird?"

Ran tilted her head, "Who?"

Kazuha raised her voice. "Heiji and the kid, of course!"

Ran smiled. "They're only worried about us, Kazuha."

Kazuha crossed her arms over her chest. "I guess so... Heiji, come on!" She grabbed ahold of his sweater, pulling him in with Ran and Conan. "No need to be so formal around us, Heiji." She let go of his shirt.

Ran looked around, "Hm, leeks... anything else?" Kazuha stopped.

"I have to use the restroom," she stated as if she were solider. She grabbed Ran's hand, dragging her to the stalls.

"W-Wait Kazuha! I don't have to go...!"

Conan and Heiji looked to each other with raised eyebrows. In a flat voice, Conan asked him, "What was THAT all about?.."

"I don't know. But they're awfully brave, wanting to run off on their own already. Don't you think so, Kudou?" Heiji looked back to the bathrooms.

"Hm. Well, they can surprise us with their bravery sometimes. What I also meant was that whole, 'after you' thing."

"Oh, heh, that? Well, uh-"

"AHH! CATCH THAT MAN!" A woman suddenly screamed. The boys turned around, seeing a man run from the cash registers towards the door. They chased after him, and before Conan could charge up his shoe, Heiji had jumped. He landed on the man, knocking him straight to the floor.

Kazuha and Ran had walked out of the stalls before the whole scene had started up. Ran widened her eyes, taking a step back. "H-How?" she thought to herself, as she ran back into the bathroom locking the door. "Why is he out of jail so soon?!"

Kazuha knocked on the door, "Ran-chan? Are you okay?" Ran ignored her as she continued to bang on the door. "Come on Ran.." Kazuha turned around, leaning against the door of the bathroom.

The lady that screamed ran up to Heiji. "Oh! Thank you SO much!!"

"What did he do?" asked Heiji, slowly getting off of the man, but holding his wrists behind him tight.

"It seems he tried to rob the store," interjected Conan, "Look in his jacket pockets. They're full of hastily-shoved money and a knife, and..." Conan looked in the other pocket, "...a housekey?!" Conan stared at it. It looked so familiar... But, could it be?...

Heiji looked down. "Yeah, you're right. Did somebody call the police?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, they're automatically dialed when we press the silent alarm."

Conan picked up the key with his handkerchief and examined it, "There's no doubt about it..."

Kazuha continued to bang on the door. "Ran, please come out." Kazuha turned around to take a glance at the robber. She sighed, turning back to the door, "Listen. I know it's him, but you can tell me anything, all right?" She took a step back, noticing Ran slowly opening the door with her head down. She looked up at the robber, then looked at Kazuha. She quickly jumped on her, hugging her tightly.

"Hattori," said Conan stilly, nudging him with his elbow.

"Hmm?" He turned.

Conan held the key loosely in front of him, turning to Heiji. "T-This is the key to Ran's house!"

Heiji's eyes opened wide. "No, it can't be!" Unknowingly, he loosened his grip on the man's wrists.

The robber took advantage and suddenly reached out, knocking Conan over and making him drop the key. Heiji jumped back down onto the man. "You're not getting away THAT easily!"

Conan turned and picked the key back up. Looking at the man, he stood up, "I think we'll keep this for evidence..."

Kazuha turned around, still with Ran in her arms curled up. "So, that was the guy, Ran-chan?" Ran came closer to her and nodded slightly.

She looked up at Kazuha. "Can we just go home?"

Kazuha nodded, "Of course." Kazuha felt sad for not asking what happened to Ran that one night they were attacked randomly by those men. Ran was caring more about Kazuha than herself.

Ran cleared her throat, wiping her eyes. She looked at Kazuha. "Actually, I'm fine. Just had a moment there..." she gave a chuckle.

Kazuha just looked at her, worried. "Um, ok."

Ran walked into the store and towards Conan. "Conan, are you okay?" she knelt down to him.

"Oh! Ran-neechan!" Conan turned to her, surprised. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, rubbing his arm a little, before turning back to the robber. As he did, he couldn't help but notice that Heiji was pushing down on him a lot more than he did before. There was obvious pain on the man's face. "Hattori..." he thought, watching.

"Please step away, everyone!" called an approaching policeman, as several gathered around Hattori and the robber. "Thank you for catching the criminal, young man," he said, causing Heiji to stand up while the police took over from there. Heiji's face was clearly menacing.

"Hey keiji-san!" called Conan to one of the policemen. "This fell out of that guy's pocket." He showed him the key.

The policeman took it, seeming unphased, "Ah, it's probably just his house key. Thank you for returning it, kid." Before Conan could insist anymore, the officer had walked back to the others.

Kazuha looked over at the key. "Ran, isn't that your house key?" she asked curiously.

Ran looked at it also. "Y-Yeah, yeah it is." Her eyes widened. She looked at the man as he was escorted to the police vehicle. "We better hurry home." She said, walking ahead of them.

Kazuha looked at her, puzzled and worried. "Poor Ran..." she thought to herself, as she followed her from behind.

Heiji watched the man be led away, furious as ever, thinking, "So that's the scumbag, huh? Now I know his face..."

"Oi."

Heiji looked down to Conan, who was walking in front of him. "It's a detective's job to find out who, what, how, when... Not to take revenge." He turned to face him, "In fact, that's often how criminals are made in the first place. You should know this by now. I think the police can handle it from here." He turned back and continued walking.

"No... They clearly can't, Kudou..." Heiji thought as everyone walked ahead of him, "He got away once, who says it can't happen again? Besides..." He started walking to catch up with them, "You wouldn't be acting so cool if this happened to your girl."

Ran stared down at her feet as she walked. Almost dragging her heels on the ground. Kazuha came closer to her. "Can you please tell me Ran?"

Ran rubbed the back of her head, "Kazuha, nothing happened." she stammered.

As she walked on ahead, Kazuha sighed, "When she has something on her mind, she really doesn't like to tell anyone what it is, huh..." she quietly told herself.

--------------End Chapter 3--------------