Conan was irritated, partly because he hated being interrupted and coerced, and partly because it was so hard to be irritated in this situation. Really, only Kid could ever be capable of interrupting him from thinking about Kid to demand that he think about Kid. Nevertheless, there he was, at the heist location standing by the jewel, and he was finding it hard to maintain his bad mood, try as he might.

His mind drifted back to the situation with the snipers. The drones, police officers, and Hattori were standing by at the ready outside, but it was unlikely that they would catch anyone tonight. After the first few arrests, the organization had apparently become more cautious. They probably wouldn't even bother with this heist for a gem that was too small for their tastes anyway. Perhaps it might even be more productive to look for clues inside the building tonight.

After listening to Nakamori-keibu and Jirokichi-ojisan boast enthusiastically about their new and exciting "fail-proof" traps, he noticed Hakuba bending over to examine some air vents and went to join him.

"Hakuba-niichan! I read about that case you solved last week, it was really good!" he greeted cheerfully. He and Hakuba had only met a few times, but they'd always gotten along well. After all, they were both detectives who were seen as abrasive but were mostly just blunt and cared about getting to the truth, so they understood each other well. And of course, they shared a healthy appreciation for all things Holmes.

"Ah, thank you, Conan-kun. And it's a pleasure to see you tonight. You have been much missed the last few heists. Did you know that Kid asked about you?"

"Mm, he sent me a direct invitation this time. But I think you can catch him without my help!" Conan smiled innocently. Ironically, as he grew to trust more in the people helping him attack Kid's organization, he also grew to distrust anyone working against Kid. Plus, he knew Hakuba had apparently done something recently to get on Kuroba's bad side, which didn't reflect well on Hakuba in his mind.

"Mmm," Hakuba answered him politely with an enigmatic smile. Then he tactfully changed topics to some recent cases that the Sleeping Kogoro had solved, allowing them a few moments of pleasant conversation to catch up with each other.

Conan barely suppressed a gasp when he suddenly felt that familiar light fluttery sensation in his chest that inevitably meant Kid was near. He spun around and hastily studied all the faces in the room, trying to determine which one was Kid.

"What was that, Conan-kun?" Hakuba asked.

"Huh? What was what?"

"I heard you whisper 'Kid' just now. Did you see him?"

Oops. That was... not meant to be out loud. Conan forced himself to stop eagerly searching the crowd to instead meet Hakuba's confused and suspicious gaze.

"Uh..." he shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. But before he could come up with a reasonable lie, Hakuba straightened and snapped his eyes over to the entryway at the sound of the door opening. Conan turned to look and felt a wave of horror overtake him on behalf of his stupidest and most reckless friend, who apparently saw nothing wrong with waltzing right up to the cops dedicated to arresting him, without wearing any disguise at all.

Hakuba turned a razor sharp gaze back onto Conan. "Conan-kun? Did you know he was about to arrive?"

"Of course not, Hakuba-niichan! Nobody can know something like that, right?"

"Do you know Kuroba?"

"Who?" Conan tilted his head, attempting his best innocent child look, and hoping the blushing, sweating, and fidgeting wouldn't give him away.

Aoko delivered a bento box to her dad then came up to meet Hakuba with a quick embrace. The messy-haired boy accompanying her rolled his eyes at the display.

"I see your dad forgot his dinner again," Hakuba said pleasantly to Aoko. "I'm grateful that his forgetfulness led to the chance for me to see you tonight, though I can't say I approve of your company."

"Aoko's happy to see you too! And I made Kaito come with me because I want him to see Kid," she answered happily.

"I highly doubt that will happen," Hakuba grumbled. Then he held out a hand to indicate Conan. "Ah, shall I introduce you? This is Edogawa Conan-kun, a friend of mine. Conan-kun, this is my girlfriend Aoko, and my… classmate, Kuroba."

"Nice to meet you," Conan nodded cordially.

Kuroba seemed to notice him then, and his eyes lit up in very convincing recognition. "Ohh, I know those glasses! You're that Kid Killer I keep seeing in the newspapers! Hey, you've talked to Kid a lot, haven't you? Can I get your autograph?"

Hakuba scoffed. Conan wished he could too.

"I don't sign autographs," he answered flatly, giving the thief a casual disinterested look. What was Kuroba playing at? Was he teasing Conan for not arresting him? Maybe flaunting his acting skills by getting away with showing himself so brazenly? Or was he seriously just using Aoko as an excuse to get past security lines? No, it surely couldn't be anything that simple! So then why was he here, and why was he sweeping into a deep showman's bow?!

Kuroba held a fist up to Conan's face for a second before flicking his wrist to reveal a white rose. White roses, typically used to signify purity and innocence, Conan's brain supplied helpfully, and he mentally scoffed. Innocence? Seriously? No, this was a reference to Kid's white suit. Arrogant showoff bastard.

Conan frowned at the rose a moment, then stated dryly, "It was in your sleeve."

"…ch. Everyone's a critic. You're supposed to just take the rose," Kuroba replied.

"What would I do with a rose?"

"It's a gift. You don't do anything with it, you just have it. People usually like getting roses, you know."

"I don't want it."

Kuroba just blinked at him incredulously, as if nobody had ever been anything but delighted to get one his roses before. Finally he muttered "…just take the rose, Tantei-kun," while gently shoving it forward so that the petals brushed against his nose and glasses. Conan sneezed and turned his head away, appalled that the cocky thief would dare to use the nickname while undisguised like this. Seriously, what did this moron think he was doing?

"Oh, leave the poor kid alone, Bakaito!" Aoko finally came to Conan's rescue, pushing Kuroba aside and leaning over to shake Conan's hand.

"I'm really happy to finally meet you, Conan-kun! I've heard lots about you from my dad. I'm sorry about my idiot friend, but you can just ignore him!"

"Aoko, how mean! I was just being friendly!" Kuroba pouted.

Conan ignored Kuroba, turning away from him completely to beam up at Aoko. He was genuinely glad to see her, since their first meeting had gone so well. She'd left a very positive impression on him as a good friend, and her thoughtful caring attitude reminded him very much of Ran. It was disappointing that, from Aoko's perspective, they'd never met at all, but Conan was nonetheless glad to see her again and willing to start up a conversation.

"It's nice to meet you too, Aoko-nee-chan! You're Nakamori-keibu's daughter, right? Are you here to catch Kid too?"

"No no, not at all!" Aoko said shyly, with a strange little side glance at Kuroba. "I'm sure I would just get in the way if I tried to help. Well, for now, that is. I think I might want to become a police officer someday."

Now that was a topic Conan knew a few things about. It easily provided them with enough in common to fuel a pleasant conversation about detective work, the different roles within the force, officers they both knew, and so on. Hakuba joined in as well, and the conversation lasted until the Brit pulled out an unnecessarily fancy pocket watch and announced that there were precisely two minutes and thirty-four seconds left until the heist.

"It was nice to meet you, Aoko-nee-chan! Let's talk more next time," Conan said to her by means of goodbye.

"Huh? Aren't you going to stay for the rest of the heist tonight, Conan-kun?" Aoko asked.

"I can't, I have something else to do."

"Ehhh?" Kuroba exclaimed, re-emerging from where he'd been sulking at the edge of the group during the entire conversation that he'd been left out of. "But you can't leave! You're the Kid Killer! You have to chase Kid! It's in your title! That's literally your one job!"

"Sorry!" Conan said, not feeling or even acting very sorry at all. He turned and hurried out of the showroom to follow the suspicious figure he'd seen lingering by the exit a moment ago, not sparing a single backward glance at the stupid criminal who really ought to be focusing on his impending heist right now anyway.

—

The heist commenced as scheduled, but Conan was barely aware of the cacophony of sounds in the distance as he passed the security lines and cautiously snuck through the halls toward the service door in the back. The person he'd noticed was dressed as an ordinary officer, including the riot helmet that covered most of his face. But there were a few minor details about his uniform that looked slightly wrong, and his position at the edge of the room stood out as irregular against the almost OCD-like organization of the rest of the officers. When he'd left the rest of the group to slip outside, that just confirmed Conan's suspicions.

Conan carefully ensured that the door closed silently after him, then he crept up behind a stack of garbage bins and watched the shadows play across the opposite wall. There were several people there, talking in hushed tones. He adjusted his watch just in case, but even with both the watch and soccer ball he knew he wasn't confident that he could safely take down all of them by himself. The only real downside of working on a team like this was all the promises they kept extracting from him to make fewer reckless decisions. Silently cursing their excessive caution, he quickly tapped out a message to Haibara, who continued to monitor and direct everything from afar. Then he strained to listen as he waited for backup.

"…pinched all their faces tonight, so either Kid found another way in, or he's legit one of the cops on his own task force," one of them was complaining.

"Then what about the accomplice who's been taking out our snipers?" an angry voice asked in reply.

"That idiot Nakamori couldn't do it, might be one of the detectives. There's that foreign brat, and…"

"And?"

"Well, that little one with the glasses, the Kid Killer, had a look about 'im like he knows too much for his own good. I'd keep an eye on that one, I'm tellin' ya."

"Don't be stupid, there's no way a little kid's in on it."

"I wouldn't be so sure," the third shadow spoke up, more calm than the others. "There are rumors that the child is related to Kudou Shinichi."

"Who cares? Kudou Shinichi is dead," the angry man huffed.

"Then where is his grave?" the calm one asked, answered only by an uncomfortable silence.

"You don't seriously believe that dumb theory about the missing Kudou bein' Kid, do ya?"

"Hmm, don't you?"

"Well, whoever it is that's been taking our guys out, I ain't stickin' around to meet 'em," the first guy concluded. The others agreed, and a car stopped nearby that they all seemingly got into. Conan ducked out from behind the bins and peeked around the corner just in time to see an ordinary taxi turn into the street to blend in with all the others. He ran back to retrieve his skateboard when he was stopped at the door by Hakuba's sudden appearance.

"Conan-kun? What are you doing out here? I'm sure Mouri-chan must've told you that it's dangerous to wander around by yourself like this."

"Tsk." And now it was too late to track down the taxi. Conan wondered uncharitably why the backup was taking so long to arrive. And now he had to get Hakuba off his tail too. "Don't worry, Hakuba-niichan! I just came out here to look for my detective badge, and I found it! See, here it is!"

"Hmm. And did you happen to see or hear anything strange while you were out here?"

"Strange? Like what?" Conan asked innocently, titling his head. Did Hakuba know about the organization? If so, would it be safe to work with him on it, or was he too focused on hunting Kid?

"You tell me."

They studied each other silently a few minutes, until a screech of tires announced Hattori's arrival as he swung his bike into the mouth of the alley. "Sorry I'm late, Kudou! Which way'd they go?" he asked while removing his helmet. Only after a moment of stunned silence from them did he finally notice Hakuba standing right there in plain sight, and hastily amended, "Ah, Conan, I meant Conan-kun, of course!"

Hakuba finally recovered himself and calmly turned back to face Conan. "Well, it would appear that we have yet to be properly introduced to each other. It is a pleasure to meet you, Kudou Shinichi."

"Whaaat?! No, I'm not— look at me, I'm just a tiny little kid! Heiji-niichan was talking to someone else… I mean, he was just trying to say, uh…" Conan floundered through all his usual lies, but the patient determination in the Brit's face, like he was merely waiting for Conan to accept a foregone conclusion, told him that he wouldn't be able to worm his way out of it this time. It was not at all unusual for Hattori to slip up like this, but it was (miraculously) unusual for it to happen in front of someone smart enough to not buy their flimsy excuses. So Conan finally dropped the child act, sighed deeply, and pinched the bridge of his nose under the fake glasses.

"Damn it Hattori."

"Yeah, I know, my bad, sorry sorry," he answered sheepishly.

"We've talked about this."

"I know."

"Every. Single. Time."

"Look, I said I was sorry, didn' I?"

"At any rate," Hakuba interjected elegantly, after a disdainful look at the walking security leak named Hattori. "I'm pleased to see that the rumors of your death proved to be false, though I admit to being curious about your current condition."

"Not here. I'll tell you about it back at my family's house if you want to know. Just promise me you'll do a better job of keeping a secret than someone." He glared at the aforementioned someone, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Naturally."

—

Shinichi's mother prepared them tea, then lingered to chat with Hakuba about some mutual acquaintances from abroad until she was finally shooed away by an impatient Conan who was already not looking forward to the scolding he was sure to get for missing his bedtime again.

"I'll just get to the point then," Conan said as soon as Yukiko finally closed the door after herself, leaving the three boys sitting in the library. "I followed some suspicious people one day, got ambushed and hit on the head, was force-fed some poison and left for dead, but it shrunk me instead. If they found out I survived, they'd kill me and everyone close to me, so please don't tell anyone about this because it's literally a matter of life and death." That last sentence was directed at Hattori with a bit of venom, who cleared his throat and averted his eyes.

Hakuba just sat for a moment, his elbows balanced on his knees and his fingers steepled in front of his face. "Well," he answered finally, "I would have had difficulty believing it if I weren't seeing it with my own eyes. But clearly it's true. I'm sorry that happened to you."

"Oh, well, uh," Conan said, startled. The poisoning was, in fact, a terrible tragedy in many ways. The ongoing loss of his 'real' life stung sometimes, and he often felt pangs of loneliness and isolation from the fact that almost nobody even knew about his situation, much less understood it. But this was the first time anyone had actually expressed sympathy like this. "Well, thanks, but I mean, I guess it was kinda my fault that it happened anyway… I keep running into situations recklessly and then getting caught up in things."

"That's an understatement," Hattori muttered.

"Is there an antidote for this poison?" Hakuba inquired.

"No, not yet. A scientist I know is trying to develop one."

"And meanwhile, you're investigating from the shadows. I assume you're the person behind the Sleeping Kogoro?"

"Yes, literally 'behind' him, with my voice changer."

"I see. I did wonder about that. Him solving cases while asleep seemed rather... Well, anyway. What information have you gathered on the culprits so far?"

"Not enough. They're part of a huge worldwide secret criminal organization, with many powerful connections, potentially even some members undercover within our government and police force, which means we have to be very careful about who we share this information with. Many of the members wear black, so we call them the Black Organization. The higher ranking ones have liquor-based code names. They're dangerous and ruthless and highly skilled. And… I guess that's about all we know."

"Hmm," the blond hummed, and resumed his thinking pose. "I wonder if it could be the same organization as the one after Kid."

Ah, so he did know about that organization. Interesting. "It's possible they might be connected somehow," he answered, "but it's not the same organization. The ones after Kid do have a similar dress style, but they use animal code names instead of alcohol, and their methods are a lot more public and sloppy. Most of their hits end up being recorded as 'suspicious' accidents. That makes them a lot easier to investigate at least."

Hakuba stared at him wide-eyed. "Wait what? How do you know all that? I've been investigating the people after Kid for nearly two years! It's why I came back to Japan, in fact. Yet so far all I have been able to achieve is to identify one single assassin! I even have a prime suspect for Kid's real identity, but as of yet, my efforts to befriend him have fallen short. I've never been able to convince him to tell me anything about them."

Conan had to bury his face in the crook of his arm to cover a violent snort of laughter.

"Is something funny?" Hakuba asked, clearly not in the mood for anything funny.

"Ah sorry sorry, it's nothing, it's just.. you've been trying to befriend him? But then what did you do to earn his wrath with all those pranks recently?"

Hakuba winced slightly. "Ah, that. It's an unfortunate misunderstanding. He often suspects me unfairly. I'm afraid he is not an easy person to get close to," he muttered, then smiled slightly and added, "Though I suppose I'm talking to the wrong person if I want to find empathy in that regard."

"Huh?"

"I mean that you are very close to him, Kudou-kun. I heard about the incident on the airship where he saved your life, and I assume you two worked together to get back on the airship. And he's been asking for you at all his heists lately. It would appear he genuinely cares for you."

"I don't know about that…" Conan squirmed and felt a heat rising in cheeks, which was strange. He was probably just bad at taking compliments, he thought to himself.

"Well, Kudou-san," Hakuba concluded, "I would be honored if you would allow me to collaborate with you on your investigations regarding the organization after Kid, and the one after you. I'm sure I don't have as much information as you, but I may know of a few relevant cases from overseas that I don't think you've heard of. I also have connections in the police forces here and abroad, and I want to do whatever I can to help."

"We need all the help we can get. Thank you, Hakuba!" Conan grinned, grateful for the collaboration and for the change in topic.

"Now, may I have a brief word with you in private?" Hakuba asked politely, after they had shaken hands.

"Um, alright," he answered carefully, hiding the uncertainty he felt. Both looked pointedly at Hattori, who angrily muttered something but did reluctantly get up to go wait for them outside the room.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Conan felt a wave of foreboding flood him as Hakuba began.

"Kudou-san, allow me to share a few deductions with you."

"Ok..."

"I can't help but note that you knew Kid has been pranking me recently. Whatever your source of information, this implies both that you know Kid's civilian identity and that you have been monitoring him. I presume you also noticed, then, how these pranks on me coincided with his ceasing his old pranks on the girls. Since this represents a drastic change in habits he's had since middle school, he must've had a very compelling reason, likely from an outside source. I assume you have deduced, as I have, that the cause was blackmail ordering him to cease harassing women. Since he suspects me, it stands to reason that the blackmailer must have at least some surface similarities to me."

Conan swallowed hard, eyes darting around the room anywhere but at Hakuba. If his face got any hotter than this, it could probably earn him several sick days off school. He forced himself not to sink any further into his seat.

Hakuba pushed on relentlessly. "Naturally, I've explained my innocence to him, but alas, he refuses to listen. So I have been conducting my own investigation into the matter. I've spent a lot of time wondering what sort of motives a person might have for blackmailing him in a such a way, especially since I'm convinced it was not sent by any of the women he knows. You have the necessary skills and opportunity, and the fact that you've been stalking him combined with your apparent ability to sense his presence leads me to conclude that you have motive as well. Therefore, I have deduced that you are the blackmailer and that your motive was jealousy."

"It was not out of jealousy!" Conan yelled in horror, then caught himself with a grimace when he noticed the triumphant smirk on the other's face. "I... I just thought he should treat Aoko better, that's all!" he muttered defensively, looking away and crossing his arms.

Hakuba hummed noncommittally, an infuriatingly knowing smile on his lips. "If you say so. In any case..." He pulled out a notebook and scribbled several lines on it, then tore out the page and handed it to Conan. "My dry cleaning bill," he explained.

"…what?"

"And the receipts for the many visits to the hair salon... the car cleaning services... the charges for the replacement textbooks…" He wrote out several more notes.

"Umm..."

"The least you can do is reimburse the physical damages he's caused me. Though you really ought to purchase several tickets to the upcoming Holmes convention if you're inclined to make a proper apology. I will text you the details for where to mail the check. I'll also be needing a USB drive with all the original copies of the photographs you used, of course. And please do be prompt about it. I'm quite tired of waking up with dyed hair, finding sand in all my socks, and having him break in to search my computer. Well then, a good evening to you." And with the faintest uptick of his lips and a beautifully polite nod, he rose and left, leaving a blushing and flustered Conan to hastily shove a handful of receipts into his pocket, feeling very much as if he were the one being blackmailed.

Notes:

Next Up: A short bit from Kaito's perspective as Aoko suggests some not very helpful ideas. Then we switch to Haibara's perspective for the next heist, which some unexpected(?) guests attend.