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Theditor: Ahaha…maybe this time I'll pull your arm XD I'll be careful not to pull it off though

Kameo1: Aw glad you like this story! Cross your fingers and pray for Shinichi XD

The Imagination World: Yay new reader! Glad that I'm pulling you in XD Thanks for reading!

Purpalz Miner: Yeah…I'm so bad at explaining…but I mean, all you need to know is that Hattori knows where he is based on the note XD Thanks for reading!

Lilith Jay: Ahh glad you like it~ Thanks for reading!

Yay it's an update! After 8 days! A miracle…

Oh and I have something I'm thinking about: you know how there's a saying that goes "there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow"? Well pretend that it's true, but which side is the end? How do you know? If you get to one side and find it's the start, then you'll have to go all the way to the other side! Wouldn't that be a pain?

Well, all randomness aside, here's the story!

XX

Darkness.

Complete, utter darkness consumed her, as if drowning her in its dense, thick shadows.

Ran had been descending into (what seemed like the lair of a demon's) darkness for quite some time, but she wasn't sure if it seemed so long because it was actually like that, or because of her nerves and her pounding heart.

"Hattori-kun?" she called, eyes struggling to catch onto the white of his hat. They'd went in pretty far, so that when she looked up, all she saw of the light spilling in from the hole was but a mere dot.

"Yeah?" a voice travelled upwards, causing Ran to feel relieved. They'd been silent for a long time, which made Ran uneasy—that Hattori had somehow left, and that she was the only one going down. It frightened her, imagining if this was a trap—that at the bottom, there was a centipede woman with a mouth so wide it cut across her face as if it was sliced with a chainsaw, or some kind of monster with two heads and the body of a purple spider, with green slime oozing out of its pores.

"How long until we get down?" she asked, although she knew the detective wouldn't know the answer. It was a stupid question, and Ran knew it, but she just wanted to know that someone was still with her, that she wasn't alone. And that all that had happened today wasn't just a dream.

"Eh, I think we're about all the way down." Hattori said, uncertainty evident in his voice. "I mean, we've been going for so long, we've gotta be almost all the way down!" Ran tried to believe in him, but she was doubtful—by how long the ladder was, it seemed possible it would stretch on forever.

Then, with a spark of fear zipping through Ran, she heard a thud. And along with that thud, there was the bewildered yelp of Hattori.

"H-Hattori-kun?" Ran asked tentatively, stopping where she was. Was it possible that the ladder ended midway? And that Hattori had fallen to his death? No no no—that can't be. Not now.

"We're down!" Hattori exclaimed, voice giddy, and Ran could almost imagine the happy dance he was going through right now. Ran smiled, and she let out a sigh of relief. So they made it—at least, they made it so far.

Ran stepped down more rungs, listening carefully and trying to hear the approaching earth—although it didn't make sense to her. But she wanted to feel it, sense it before she stepped onto it.

"And…You're down!" Hattori whistled, with a gentle thud of Ran's foot. She smiled, laughing. Hattori was holding a flashlight, though dirty and dim, and was shining it onto his face, from his chin so he looked plenty creepy. A lot more creepy than other people, since the grin on his face created shading under his eyes. "So now, we keep moving, nee-chan."

"Do you know the way?" Ran asked, Hattori whipping the flashlight around their surroundings.

"Yeah," he said, swinging the flashlight to the right. "Right here there's a passage." Sure enough, there was a rectangular doorway, composed of Earth and roots and pebbles.

"Another passage?" Ran sighed, "I've had enough of those…" Hattori chuckled, wiping sweat off his face.

"Ah, can't help it." He aimed the flashlight down the passage, lighting up the concrete laid on the ground. "But least there's actually some ground here. Won't be steppin' on worms." Ran shuddered at the thought, face reflecting her imaginations.

They started walking, Hattori leading, as they talked about some random things—the color of the concrete, the damp, moist earth, about Kazuha and Occhan—about how they'll be furious.

"Hey, you think they'll believe we ran off together? Because we like each other or somethin'?" Hattori asked, suddenly in 'oh god Kazuha will kill me' mode.

"Ah…We'll just clear that up!" Ran said, flicking off a speck of soil on her shirt. "I don't think they will though—"in midsentence, there was a whizz that interrupted Ran. A whizz that wasn't just a sound—it was also something very sharp. Something that very well could've buried itself into a watermelon—and it just cut Hattori's cheek.

"Wha-?!" Hattori exclaimed, clapping his hand onto his cheek. He felt something warm and wet, and knew it was blood.

"Hattori-kun!" Ran cried, alarmed at the injury he now has. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just a cut…" he cursed, "But next time it might be something worse." Ran went pale at that, biting her lower lip. In the glow of Hattori's flashlight, there appeared a pair of shoes, scuffed and dirty.

"Ah, got that right." A voice said, a slight arrogance glossed over the words. "I advise you to leave from where you came from. And not come back." he added.

"Who's there?" Hattori growled, holding a hand out to shield Ran.

"Me? You need not know that. Just leave, that's all." The voice said, shuffling their feet. But to Ran, it wasn't the voice of a 'bad guy'—he seemed a little arrogant, but he wasn't someone against them.

"Wait, um!" Ran stepped out from behind Hattori.

"Oi, nee-chan!" Hattori exclaimed, trying to pull her back. "That's dangerous! That guy might hurt ya!"

"I'm Mouri Ran! I'm just looking for someone in here! We don't mean anything bad!" she said, ignoring Hattori. "So can you please let us search for a little? We won't bother whatever you're doing here! We just want to look around!" The person let out a little sound—something like "whagd"—as if bewildered, and it made Ran and Hattori curious.

"M-M…." he stuttered, stammered, biting his own tongue. "Mouri Ran?!" he let out a little yelp, his feet retreating like he was stumbling backwards.

"E-Eh?" Ran stuttered back, "Do you know me?"

"W-why, this is most peculiar…." The person gulped, coughing continuously.

"What's the matter with ya?" Hattori sweat-dropped, pressing down on his hat.

"Ah…and that Osakan tantei!" the person exclaimed, in which after a large clap rang in the air.

"What's the matter with ya!" Hattori repeated, this time like a statement, and marched towards the person. The dim glow of the flashlight barely made out the person's face, but Hattori recognized his features and his jaw dropped open. Ran's eyes were wide open also, mouth shaped in an oversized O.

"K…." Hattori started.

"Shi…." Ran started.

What came out, combined, was "KUSHIDOCHI?!"

XXX

I know I'm playing the game Unfair Author Who Keeps Putting Things Off but I'm so tired right now! Yes yes 10:30 is late for me now don't judge! So they finally get down after a couple paragraphs too long and they start walking and BAM this guy comes with his dirty shoes and hurts Hattori! And he knows them too…and apparently his name is Kushidochi. What an awesome name.

OK I'm going to go sleep. Plan to update soon. Hope you liked it…even though they only 'met' for a couple of sentences…next time for sure! They'll meet next time for sure! Count on it!

Thanks for reading!