File Ninety-Four: The Ghost of the Baskervilles

Over the green squares of the fields and the low curve of a wood there rose in the distance a grey, melancholy hill, with a strange jagged summit, dim and vague in the distance, like some fantastic landscape in a dream...

Like a dream come true, indeed, decided Conan, unable to tear his gaze away from the moor on the other side of the window, mouth opening in awe as his eyes took every single detail of that place that he had always dreamed of visiting. This couldn't be real… It just couldn't be.

"So cool~!" It wasn't him the one that had voiced it, however, but the teenager that sat right next to him. "To think I'd see Dartmoor with my own eyes..."

"Is it okay, though?" Conan wondered out loud. "We won't get back home in time for school."

"Oh, that's new," said the little girl in the opposite way of the taxi they were riding. "You being worried about missing school."

"It's just one day, it's not a big deal." Shinichi shrugged. "Not after everything we went through for the past few days."

Conan seemed to think over his words, before agreeing with them, eyes lingering towards the front of the car where Agasa and the driver sat, separated by a glass screen. He seriously doubted they could hear anything they were saying.

"It's such a shame that Ran-san and Kogoro-san didn't want to come along," Ai commented casually.

"After all this, I can understand if they want a break of Holmes' stuff for a while..." Shinichi reasoned. His little brother could guess there was another reason for Ran's unwillingness to be with him, but let it slide. "Well, Diana-san agreed to pay for another day at the hotel, so they can enjoy London peacefully this time, in exchange for Detective Mouri to tell her friends how he solved the codes."

The little boy laughed dryly, somewhat glad that the merit had gone to him ─ having his face shown all over the world was more than enough. Afterwards, the trip went relatively quiet until they reached their destination.

Princetown was a small yet comfy town, or that he would have said, hadn't Ai pointed out the large building that she could see. It was Dartmoor Prison ─ one of the toughest prisons in Victorian times ─ in the distance before anyone could say anything. Not that it bothered him much, considering he was in the place where Arthur Conan Doyle once stayed to collect information for his book, The Hound of the Baskervilles.

It wouldn't be until the other day that they would be able to explore a little ─ by the time they had arrived, the sun was already settling and, while Conan would be more than thrilled to see the moor at night, feeling as if that demonic hound would jump out in any moment, his older brother hadn't allowed it.

"It's too dangerous," he had said, prompting the kid to pout. "The demonic hound might not be real, but the possibility of tripping somewhere and breaking your leg is."

Thus, he had no other choice but to comply, reluctantly stomping all the way to the hotel they were going to spend the night at.

He refused to believe this was happening ─ no, this wasn't real. This was a trick ─ yeah, a magic trick! One of those incredible magic tricks that always, without fail, had him and the rest of the audience gaping and scrubbing at their eyes to check that they weren't seeing things.

So he tried. He rubbed at his eyes, but nothing was changing. The same fancy theatre that had him beaming with excitement the first time he saw it was still burning ─ the flames were still dancing across his eyes, eating everything in sight.

The screams hadn't stopped ─ the cheers were not there. Just… that. Plain, panicked, screaming.

His father wasn't coming out either ─ making the glorious return he had promised, directing a smile at his beaming, amazed self that would always be found, no matter where he sat among the many spectators.

"I'm sorry, Kaito..." There wasn't a smile on his mother's face either ─ in its place, thick tears made its way down her face. She was hugging him, too, tightly enough to hurt. "I'm so, so sorry..."

Glancing back at the burning building, little Kaito tried again ─ he scrubbed at his eyes. But nothing had changed at all, so he did it again, and again, until he wasn't sure why he was doing it. Before he knew it, he was rubbing them once more, if only to get rid of the tears that wouldn't stop clouding his vision.

He wanted his daddy back, but the realization that, no, he wasn't going to walk up to them and smile at him made him sob harder.

"Like I said!" There was a voice that stood out from any other. "It wasn't an accident ─ it was a murder!"

Glancing a little to his right, Kaito saw where it was coming from. "Shinichi!" Yukiko hissed, crouching next to her screaming son. "Stop it-"

"But it's the truth, Mom!" Shinichi shouted back. "Before the show started, I heard a woman and a man talking!"

At his side, Yusaku, who had been talking with Megure, turned to glance at him, interested for some reason. "I heard them, I swear I did!" Shinichi continued to argue. "They were talking about 'loose ends' or something..."

Detective Mouri ─ or whatever he was called ─ arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure they weren't his assistants talking about stuff related to the show?"

"No way, I know what I heard!" He screamed louder. "It was a murder! A murder!"

"Kaito… Kaito, I'm talking to you!" Blinking, Kaito finally snapped back to reality and turned to look at Aoko who, noticing that he was finally reacting, frowned in concern "What's with you? You've been spacing out so much lately..."

It took him a moment to recover but, when he did, he scoffed. "I'm not spacing out ─ just blocking out some noise."

"What does that even mean?!"

"Don't know. You're free to guess."

Aoko glared at him for a few seconds before leaning back against her first-class seat. "Geez, I don't know why I even worry about you, Bakaito," she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest, head snapping away from his overall direction. "I can't believe I'm stuck with you the entire flight home."

"Hey, hey..." Kaito's eyebrow raised questionably. "If you don't enjoy sitting with me that much, why don't you change seats?"

"Like I have another option," she said, her tone pitching an octave higher than she probably intended, and stubbornly keeping her friend from seeing her face. "Akako-chan said she wanted to sit on her own this time around, and Hirai-kun suddenly decided to go visit his parents in London..."

The magician was aware that Meitantei's parents were, in fact, not in London, but in America ─ most likely, from what he had heard, they were almost as unpredictable as his own mother ─ yet wisely chose not to emit any comment. Just a few hours before they departed to the airport, he had briefly explained to them he wouldn't be joining them.

He had said that his relationship with his parents had never been the best. A heated argument had ended up with him storming out of his house and, before he knew it, he had been sitting on a plane heading to Japan. Seeing London for the first time after roughly two years had made him take a decision ─ he would push all that anger away and try to seek peace with the only family he had left.

Kaito would have applauded his incredible imagination and wonderful story-telling skills, but had been too busy wondering who he was going to visit, instead. Probably it has something to do with that chibi-detective, realized the thief, finally letting those thoughts come to rest.

"So, you'd have preferred to sit with Hirai over me?"

"Obviously." Kaito's poker face made wonders to hide the faint pang of jealousy that struck him at her brutally honest answer. "He's nicer than you. It's easier to talk with him, too."

Hey, hey… Kaito turned back to the window, unable to keep his eyebrow from twitching. "What about Hakuba?"

Aoko blinked in response.

"Where is he, anyway?" he said, glancing around in search of the blonde detective. "If he doesn't get here soon, the plane is going to take off without him..."

"Kaito… Hakuba-kun isn't coming with us."

"Eh?"

"Yeah, he said that there's some business he has to attend to in London before he can return..." Noticing how the boy had paled suddenly, she tilted her head in worry. "Hey, Kaito, is something wrong?"

"N-No… It's nothing."

Just as he was about to discreetly pull out his phone to warn that other detective, a loud voice in the intercom said that they were going to take off soon, asking every passenger to turn their phones off. With Aoko's gaze still on him, he had no other choice but to sigh and comply, hoping that Hakuba wasn't planning to do his usual thing.

May Lady Luck be on your side, Meitantei… You'll need it.

Though considering who Kudo Shinichi was, it was highly unlikely Lady Luck would grace him with her presence...

"A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen..."

This part was his favorite, without a sliver of doubt, reaffirmed the boy in his head, barely capable of keeping himself from twitching out of giddiness. He succeeded, however, and, keeping his lips tightly closed, moved his watch's light closer so that he could read better.

"With long bounds the huge black creature was leaping down the track-"

"That's enough for today."

There was no time for Conan to react before the blankets he had pulled over his head had been briskly taken away, exposing him completely. Realizing he had been caught, he smiled sheepishly at the teenager who, rather than trying to reason with him, merely sighed, exhausted.

Conan's grin vanished completely when his older brother plucked his book from his hands. "I'm taking this." Paying no attention to his whims, the teenager walked to the other side of the room they both were sharing and set the confiscated book on a desk. "You can have it back tomorrow morning."

"But it's too early…" Conan crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm not even tired yet."

"I know, but we're going to get up really early tomorrow and I don't want to carry you around just because you didn't get enough sleep." Walking back to his bed, the older detective gave the kid a pointed look that he saw even through the darkness of the room. "Would you want that?"

"... Fine," he huffed, plopping down back onto his bed.

Shinichi said nothing, just smiled a little, thoroughly amused, and climbed into his bed, watching as the boy leaned forward to place his wristwatch back on his nightstand, groaning all the way. Then, he lied back down, eyes fixed on the ceiling above him for several minutes.

"You're crazy," he suddenly said, causing Shinichi to stare in confusion. "Organizing a trip like this so quickly… Not to say, how expensive is this anyway?"

"Not expensive enough for Dad." Conan seemed to consider it for a moment, then nod in agreement. "And, definitely, I'm not as crazy as you." The boy groaned, knowing what was coming for him. "You're lucky Dad moved some strings so that your name won't appear on the news all around the world."

"That's the best I could think of to get Minerva-san's attention..."

"Well, I have to admit you did quite a terrific job, all things considered, Conan..." His lips curved into a teasing smile. "Or is it Holmes' Apprentice now?" Conan's eyes flew open at that. "This is weird… I could have sworn you said you didn't like that nickname..."

"Like I said!" Even if it was dark, Shinichi could still see the flustered blush covering his cheeks as he sat up abruptly. "I wanted to get Minerva-san's attention, just that."

"Ah, yeah?" The teenager didn't seem to be completely convinced. "I heard that Apollo-kun called you that, even before the match."

"I… needed to convince him to tell me about the case..." With a loud sigh, the child slowly leaned back down, then snorted. "I don't know how you do it so easily, though..."

"Do what?"

"Showing off." Shinichi glared at his response, yet his brother remained unaffected. "Had to convince him that my detective skills were good before I got him to speak and deduced he was Minerva Glass' younger brother in front of him..."

"Well, guess it paid off, didn't it?" Shinichi said. "The Professor said that you and Ai-chan made a rather good team, so much that he felt a little out of place there."

"Ah, is that so?"

"I'm a little envious, you know… You already have a partner and everything."

Conan went silent at that, thinking over those thoughts. Partner, huh? he tasted the word, even inside the privacy of his mind. Don't think she would like it, though… But he had to admit that it didn't sound half as bad as he would have guessed. Meanwhile, Shinichi watched him stare at the ceiling, absorbed in his own thoughts, and found himself smiling fondly.

"You will be an extraordinary detective one day, did you know that?"

The kid's eyes flickered towards his face, where they lingered for more than they should, until he spoke. "I know." There wasn't a bit of hesitation in his voice, realized Shinichi in surprise. "I'll become an even better detective than you and Dad."

"Oh, is that so?" he challenged. "I'd love to see that."

"Just you wait, and you will see it… How I become the greatest detective in the world."

In the dim light of the night, Shinichi could see his younger brother's eyes glimmer, undoubtedly excited for what was to come. Such a shocking sight that was, indeed, to see that boy, the same one who used to say that he wasn't a detective, who wasn't all that confident about his deduction abilities, so certain about his future success.

"I want to be the best detective to have ever lived!"

For a second there, Shinichi could see a younger Conan beaming back at him. That enthusiasm, which he hadn't witnessed in what seemed forever, warmed up his heart a little.

You have grown a lot… Yet, at the same time, you're still the same little runt, aren't you?

A soft snore momentarily interrupted his line of thinking, causing him to turn to the little bundle of blankets in the bed next to his. With a tender smile, Shinichi let his own eyes close.

Conan still had a long way to go, but there was no doubt in Shinichi's mind that he was going to achieve his dream someday.

I wish I could see it… With my own eyes.

"I'm going to die! I'm so going to die!"

"Calm down, Mitsuhiko-kun. We'll figure this out together..."

"But how?! She isn't anywhere!" As Mitsuhiko's anxiety rose exponentially, Ayumi couldn't help but step back out of fright. "Ah! How am I supposed to face Haibara-san when she comes back?!"

"Ai-chan is not that mean! I'm sure that if you tell her what happened-"

"She's going to kill him, that's going to happen."

"Genta-kun-!"

The panicked scream Mitsuhiko gave next stopped the little girl from scolding his friend any further and prompted her to jump slightly. After realizing that he had spoken too much, Genta tried to approach his friend to calm him down, but at that point, it was more or less than a lost cause.

What should we do? Ayumi lowered her gaze to the sidewalk as she continued moving forward.

Mitsuhiko's call had woken her up that morning, just like it had apparently happened to Genta later. She had barely opened an eye to answer the weird, sudden call, and then she had found herself listening to her friend ranting. From what she had been able to gather, the boy had left the window open last night because it was so unbelievably stuffy inside, thanks to the unforgiving summer heat roaming around Beika lately, completely forgetting that there was a cat staying with him.

The rest could be explained by itself ─ Irene-chan hadn't returned yet, thus worrying the boy sick about her getting lost, or worse.

She raised her head and only then she noticed they had, without fully realizing, passed by the detective agency Conan lived in now. Unconsciously, she stopped, and contemplated the empty building for long enough for Mitsuhiko to snap out of it, and Genta to look at her, oddly.

"If Conan-kun was here, we would've found her already..." Ayumi frowned, giving the phone in her hand a hard look. It all disappeared suddenly when an idea struck her mind, suddenly. "Hey, guys!" She grinned, big and wide. "Why don't we call Conan-kun? He might know where to look."

Mitsuhiko looked hopeful for a moment there. "No way!" But then, Genta interjected vehemently. "We can do this without him!"

"But, Genta-kun!" The boy insisted. "We need his help! He might have an idea of where to start to look for Irene-chan-"

"We can find a cat on our own!" Followed by this, the boy snatched the phone from a distracted Ayumi's hands and started to run. "Come on, guys! Let's show Conan we can solve this without him!"

And off he went, leaving both kids exchanging questioning looks, before sighing and running right after him. None of them noticed the door of Poirot opening, or the blonde man that stepped out, watching them go for a couple of seconds, eyes narrowing slightly.

A sound that he later recognized as meowing had him looking down at the flowerpots decorating the front of the little café and focused on the cat that stretched under the comfortable shade of the plants.

Cautiously, he reached closer with his hand, and the animal allowed instantly, purring contently when he scratched her behind the ears ─ if that wasn't a telltale of his nature of a domesticated cat rather than a stray, the pretty purple collar around her neck definitely was.

"Irene-chan, isn't it?" Amuro smirked upon seeing the name on her plate. "Guess it's my lucky day today."

Maybe rushing ahead hadn't been such a brilliant idea, after all, Conan reflected as he sighed heavily, lowering himself so that he could rest atop of a nearby rock. He closed his eyes against the gentle breeze rustling the trees that surrounded him which he would describe as a peaceful experience, up until the moment he opened them again, of course, to see the crooked branches of oak trees, tangled with each other to create an oddly beautiful, yet unbelievably eerie sight.

"Why are we at Wistman's Wood?" Conan complained, jumping from one stone to the other as they ventured themselves into the depths of the forest.

"Sorry, Conan, but Ai-kun wanted to come here..." the Professor said, almost apologetically.

"Besides, it isn't all that bad, is it?" Shinichi tried to reason with his little brother. "Did you know there's a legend about this place? Giant dogs with coats as black as night… Now, doesn't that ring a bell?"

Conan was barely impressed about that bout of information ─ obviously, he knew about that old legend already ─ but guessed his brother was right, so he agreed to take a look around. In a place like that, it wasn't a wonder that there were so many legends about it ─ everything appeared so magical, and proper for a horror story all the same.

Ai seemed to be completely ignoring them, letting her eyes wander across the forest. He watched her stop close to a stone, fingers brushing against the lichen-covered rocks, marvelled at the patterns that decorated them. "What's that doing there?" wondered Conan out loud, arms crossed behind his head as he approached her.

"Beats me," she answered, stepping back and turning to look around. "This place was a sacred groove to the Druids. It is said that this is where they held their pagan rituals, so I wouldn't be so surprised."

"So this is why you wanted to come here? Paganism?"

"Not at all. Just saw it on the web ─ it looks beautiful, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, creepy as well."

"Well, there's a reason that it's home for so many legends, which I'm sure you have heard about." Conan rolled his eyes at that. "The dog from hell… The many people wearing white that quite a few had claimed to see roaming around… The poor, sweet pup named Jumbo that haunts the woods..." She looked at him, and smirked. "Well, are you scared now?"

"That's stupid."

The girl merely shrugged, not surprised to see that her friend had barely battled an eye at her words, and watched as he shrugged, and simply walked right past her. "Can't we just hurry?" he called over his shoulder. "I really want to see the Foxtor Mires!"

"Why would you want to go there?" Ai crossed her arms in front of her chest. "There's barely anything in that place."

"Why, because that's where Sherlock Holmes' Gripen Mire is based on, of course!"

"Ah, is that all?"

"What do you mean with-?!"

"We'll go there after this, I promise," Shinichi interrupted with a sigh. "Let's just go a little further before we head back-"

"Alright, let's hurry then!"

"What are you doing?"

"Taking a shortcut, obviously!"

"Wait! You'll get lost!"

"Obviously not!"

Obviously yes ─ to nobody's surprise but his own, he had soon found himself all alone, without a clue of where he should go next. What was I even thinking? He dropped his head down. They must be worried right now. Especially his brother. At the thought of how he must be feeling right now, Conan couldn't help but cringe.

Should I wait for them to find me, or should I try getting out on my own? It wasn't like he could use his phone there; he had tried before, only to find out that, unsurprisingly, there was no service there.

Frustrated, he threw his head back and groaned. He would have cursed his luck, if this hadn't been something he had brought on himself… But then, his eyes flew open when he heard something ─ the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

"Oniichan, are you there?" he called, but to no avail. "Ai-san? Professor?"

Yet, nobody replied, a fact that made the little detective deflate, brushing it off as his mind playing tricks on him. That was, however, until he heard a fraction of a second later the same footsteps, but now hurrying away. Certainly, that caught his attention, prompting him to whip his head around.

He saw the flash of something white scurrying away from sight. "Who's that?!" he called, in English this time, and louder, hoping that whoever it was would be willing to help. "Hey!"

Next time, he saw it clearer, and his eyes flew open at the instant. There was a little girl, apparently younger than him, dressed in a white dress, hiding behind a tree a good distance away from him. The sight made him pause for a second before he smiled and took a step forward. "Hi," he greeted, a little insecure, but trying his absolute best to sound friendly. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

Slowly, the girl shyly peeked out of her hiding spot, her bright red eyes locking with Conan's gaze. "I'm kind of lost... So I was wondering-"

But then, the girl out of the blue ran off from the way she had come from, causing the boy to let out a startled yelp and try to stop her, somehow. He wasn't all that sure of what happened after that, but he felt himself losing his footing and, next thing he knew, an external force was shaking him harshly enough to physically hurt.

Speaking of which, there was a dull pain on the back of his head that definitely wasn't there before ─ upon feeling it for the first time, the boy groaned, hand flying straight to that sore spot while he hissed.

"Conan!" Conan's eyes opened to see his brother hovering over him. "Conan, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so..."

It wasn't until another couple of seconds that he finally realized he was leaning against a tree, and that all three were staring at him so intensely that he felt a little uncomfortable. "What happened to you?" Agasa was the first one to ask. "We were looking for you a second ago, then found you here."

That was actually quite a good question. "I… don't know. I was just trying to find my way through the woods when I saw a little girl right..." He pointed straight ahead, only to blink owlishly. "... there."

Shinichi followed his little brother's finger with his eyes, glancing at the rock he supposed he was referring to, before turning back to him. "Is something wrong?" he asked, worrying again.

Conan's forehead creased in confusion. "That's… the Druid's Stone, isn't it?" he asked, slowly, only for Shinichi to nod patiently. "That… wasn't there before."

The older detective stared at his brother for a second and frowned. "That means somebody carried you there after treating your wounds..." The boy's eyes flickered towards his arms, only then realized that there were bandages covering what he supposed to be scratches from his fall. "For what reason?"

"And who?" Conan frowned. "There's no way a little girl could carry me all on her own-"

"An ordinary little girl, that is." Only when she spoke did the boy realize that Ai had sneaked away and was crouching over something else beside him. "You might want to look at this."

Feeling curious, the boy turned his head to see what she meant, and was partly surprised to see a lone, black plastic soldier standing on a small stone that he would have missed completely, if it wasn't for what was engraved on it:

"In Loving Memory of

Hinata Koizumi"

"Koizumi?" Shinichi said from over his shoulder, then hummed a little. "Just like Akako… Could it be a coincidence?"

The strange little girl's vibrant red eyes that flashed in his mind made him frown ─ there was no doubt that the resemblance was striking, but it didn't make things any clearer for him.

"H-Hey..." Both children and teenager turned to look at the pale Professor, who couldn't stop staring at those words, absolutely horrified. "Couldn't this be the little girl Conan is talking about…?"

Conan raised his eyebrow. "Idiot, there's not such a thing as ghosts..."

"Probably," Ai said.

"Hey, you don't seriously mean-"

"I'm not confirming it. Just laying down the possibility for you."

"You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

"Well, I wonder..."

"What?"

"The Ghost of the Baskervilles… Doesn't it have a nice ring to it?"

"That doesn't make any sense. For starters, 'Baskerville' is-"

"You don't get a joke when you hear one, don't you?"

Shinichi tried to say something to make them stop, but his voice was rendered completely unable to reach through. Instead, he resigned himself to just sigh, watching as Conan stood up just like nothing had happened to him at all, and started to walk beside the small scientist, who seemed to be enjoying this a little more than she should, probably.

He did tear his eyes away from a moment, craning his head to glance over his shoulder.

"Shinichi?" called Agasa, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

His eyes made a quick last scan across his surroundings before he shrugged. "Nothing," he said, turning back to continue his way. "Don't worry about it."

Though, he could swear he had seen something distinctively white somewhere in those woods.

Had he kept looking, he would have probably seen a small, red-eyed girl timidly peeking out from behind the tree, curiously watching as the group walked, laughing to themselves, completely oblivious of her presence. Once they were gone, she allowed herself to smile, and spun back around.

"Thank you so much!" she said in English, beaming at the blonde woman that stood right beside him. "I'm sorry to have bothered you when you were just coming to visit..."

"It's fine ─ the boy only had a few scratches then and there." The woman smiled, crouching in front of the kid and holding a finger up at her. "Just don't go out to play on your own again, okay?"

"Okay~!"

At the bright grin she had in return, the woman couldn't help but chuckle a little, turning back around to approach the place where the boy had been just a few minutes ago, and her smile turned a little duller. Hesitantly, the little girl stepped away from her hiding spot and came closer.

"Will you come to visit again sometime, Miss Arty?"

She took a moment to gently brush her fingers against the name carved and to gently close her eyes, taking into the cold feel of the stone, before opening them again.

"Yes, I will."

"Ah, there she is!" Ayumi cried suddenly. "Irene-chan!"

"Eh?!" Mitsuhiko's head whipped around. "Where?!"

She didn't have to clarify, because the boy saw the cat in question first ─ meowing happily to a blonde man right across the street who, smiling kindly, crouched down next to her, settling a bowl of what he assumed to be milk on the floor.

Without thinking twice, he took off running towards them. "Irene-chan!"

"Mitsuhiko, wait up!"

"AH! Mitsuhiko-kun, watch out!"

Alarmed by the horrified scream, the blonde man's head jerked up, just in time to see a freckled little boy, frozen by what seemed to be fear in the middle of the street, while he just stared, wide-eyed, at the car that was coming straight to him.

"MITSUHIKO!" yelled the bigger boy on the other side, while the little girl screamed, covering her eyes, not wishing to witness the tragedy that was going to occur.

The car tried to stop, but given the speed it had been travelling at, he just couldn't. Seeing this, Mitsuhiko closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

Which never came ─ instead, he felt arms enveloping him and feet leaving the ground. Then, there was the sound of skidding against the pavement, and nothing else. At the silence that ensued, the boy remained still, not wanting to open his eyes fearing what he would see next ─ but strangely enough, he couldn't feel any pain instead of the dull ache in his back, product of such a sudden fall.

The car started up again, and it sounded like it speeded out of sight. Mitsuhiko heard someone huffing from close, and mumbling something like 'he got away,' under his breath, in a disapproving manner.

"Mitsuhiko-kun!"

"Mitsuhiko, are you alright?"

"He's just okay." Whoever this person was, he sounded like he was a nice one. "Mitsuhiko-kun, is it? It's okay to open your eyes." A gentle laugh followed. "You're okay now."

Hesitantly, the boy forced his eyes open, only to be greeted by the sight of his two friends gazing down worriedly at him, and the blonde man from before smiling at him, reassuringly. "Ah!" He instantly shot up and faced him. "You're the one who saved me?"

"Yeah, you could say so-"

Mitsuhiko scrambled back on his feet. "Thank you very much!" he exclaimed, as he bowed in front of him. "You saved my life! How can I repay you?"

"No, there's no need." The man shook his hands in front of him. "I'm just glad you're alright-"

"Ah, look, Mitsuhiko!" cried Genta before the man could finish. "That's Haibara's cat, right?"

Both the child and the man looked over to where he was pointing, noticing the little cat that, curious about the commotion, had approached them and was now standing next to them, her tail swaying ever so slightly. Mitsuhiko beamed, even looking at the verge of tears as he fussed over the lost animal.

"Oh, so you know her owner?" questioned the man, sounding surprised.

"Yeah!" Ayumi nodded. "Mitsuhiko-kun was supposed to take care of her but..."

"But lost her," completed Genta, prompting the boy in question to flinch. "Didn't I tell you, Mitsuhiko? We found her without needing Conan's help."

"We didn't find her," replied Mitsuhiko. "This person did."

The person in question just hummed in thought for a moment. "Conan?" finally, he said. "Like the boy who lives in the agency right above Poirot?"

"Yeah, that's Conan-kun!" Ayumi replied, smiling. "Do you know him?"

Genta, on the other hand, gave him a wary look. "Who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Amuro Tooru," he said with a radiant smile. "I'm Mouri Kogoro's Apprentice."

The three children stared at him for a moment, "EH?" then let out at the same time. Amuro simply laughed at their apparent shock and invited them to the café he worked at if they wanted to chat some more. At the promise of treating them with some sandwiches, they all accepted in a heartbeat, and rushed inside, leaving Amuro to trail behind them.

"Ah, Mitsuhiko-kun?" Only the freckled boy stopped, turning around when he heard his name. "Looks like you dropped this."

It wasn't until he saw the phone Amuro was holding up for him that he gasped, and immediately went to gather it. "It must have fallen out of my pocket before..." he mumbled to himself, turning it around to inspect every single corner of it. "Looks like it isn't broken… Phew, I was so lucky!"

"Mitsuhiko! What are you doing?"

"Hurry up!"

At his friends' call, the boy turned back around, finally entering the café with the cat following close. Once out of sight, Amuro's gentle smile became somewhat darker, and he allowed himself to snort.

I'd say I'm the lucky one, in fact.

So, 6 PM already? thought Shinichi, amazed at the time displayed on the screen of his phone. Time does fly, doesn't it? Hard to tell with the sky this bright out..

Not that he was particularly worried about it ─ instead of Dartmoor's ever green scenery, Shinichi could already see the city's busy lifestyle even from the other side of the window. He had promised that he would bring Conan and Ai ─ and Agasa, by addition ─ on time for their flight at 7 PM. "Don't worry, I won't forget it," he had said over the phone. "Since I'm taking the same flight, too."

She had stuttered a response after that before hanging up, leaving the detective to wonder if he had done the right thing back at Big Ben ─ he hoped he hadn't made things more awkward.

What was I even doing? he thought, passing a hand through his hair. I just blurted out all that without thinking…

Even if she replied positively, what am I going to do next?

… Maybe, if she rejected me, it would be easier… For both of us.

He shook his head rapidly, going back to his phone and forcing those thoughts out of his head. There's no point worrying about it… He thought, typing back at the girl in question, who had just texted him to ask where they were. All I can do is wait.

For how long, though?

His thoughts came to a sudden stop when he noticed there was a new message from none other than Conan this time. Just as he was wondering what he wanted, considering he was right there with him, his eyes opened when he realized he had sent several photos that they had taken throughout their trip.

"Mom asked me to take some for her," he had written in the end. "You send her those."

"Hey, hey..." he sighed, turning back around to ask his little brother what was with that.

But halted suddenly, staring in surprise for a few seconds, until he chuckled at the scene that greeted his eyes. Such an unusual one it was that the teenager couldn't stop himself from raising his phone to snap a quick last photo.

"Here goes another one," he wrote back, attaching the photograph he had recently taken. "Mom is definitely going to love this."

Conan's phone buzzed as soon as he sent the text, but the boy didn't pick it up. As much as Shinichi wished he could see what expression his brother would make upon seeing it, he wasn't going to tell him. Not when he was slumped like this against the little girl's left side.

Without a room of doubt, the boy had definitely not meant to fall asleep on her ─ he probably had just flopped over after nodding off and Ai, who had already dozed off somewhere through their long car ride, had evidently not noticed. It made him smile, finding this uncommon scene insanely adorable somehow.

It was such a tiring day, wasn't it? he thought, placing a hand on top of the boy's head. Especially with what you did at Wistman's Wood...

Even if it had been scary when he realized he had lost sight of his little brother, and that he wasn't replying when he called his name, it had been beyond terrifying when he found him there, passed out beneath a tree, then waking up and claiming that he had slipped and hit his head. Luckily, it hadn't been so bad ─ the scratches were still there, and he was probably going to have a bump somewhere in his head, but that had been mostly it. In a place like that, he could have had it much, much worse.

Well, we still had a lot of fun afterwards.

Shrugging, he kept his mouth tightly shut and went back to his phone, scrolling through the photos he had been sent to kill some time until they got to the airport. The first one, which Agasa had taken for them, had him chuckling ─ Ai, Conan and Shinichi himself, were standing atop of the Fox Tor.

"Woah!" exclaimed Conan, turning around from the camera to look around. "So cool!"

"Yeah, but it would be cooler if you didn't fall down," said Shinichi, firmly guiding his little brother away from the edge.

"I'm not going to fall!"

"That's what you say, but… Ai-chan, back off!"

But the girl merely glanced at him before turning back ahead. "It's such a charming sight, isn't it?" she said, letting her eyes fall on the horizon, where the many mountains converged on a stunning landscape ahead.

"Oh?" Conan's eyebrows raised. "Thought you didn't want to come here."

"I mean crossing the mire which, in fact, wasn't all that enjoyable as you thought it would." Ai cast a look at her feet, frowning at the mud that now covered her shoes. "At all."

"Please, Oniichan carried you on his shoulders all the way because you didn't want to get dirty. You barely even walked."

"Funny. I'd have thought Professor Agasa had to do the same with you because you kept on tripping."

"I was… just too excited to watch where I was going."

"Of course."

"You don't look convinced..."

"Evidently."

"Now, now, cut it off, both of you," Shinichi said, trying to stop them before it escalated any further. "We should get going now, or we won't get to the airport on time."

Nodding her head, the girl immediately complied, turning around to leave, yet the boy didn't move from his spot. Shinichi grew a little nervous, unsure how he was going to watch over both children if they were so apart, but then noticed that Agasa had just climbed up with them and was helping the little girl down. Sighing in relief, he focused back on his younger brother, who now sat there, legs dangling on the edge of the stone.

"Weren't you listening?" Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "We're leaving, Conan."

"Can't it wait?" he asked. "Just a little longer, please..."

The teenager gave him a confused look before giving in. "Okay, got it," he conceded, sitting right beside him. "Just for a few minutes."

Seeing that, Conan only grinned, but did nothing else but to gaze right straight ahead. The older Kudo observed him, curious about his behaviour, but had yet to say anything about it ─ just continued to sit there, finding that he didn't entirely mind the silence that had settled in.

"You know, Oniichan..." Conan's voice came out a little softer than usual, as if he, too, didn't want to break the quietness around them but couldn't help himself. "I wish this moment lasted forever."

"Huh?"

Conan's gaze dropped, and his smile took a more timid turn. "You being here, with me, in England..." he mumbled, blushing a bit. "... It's like a dream come true. Especially after, you know, that."

Shinichi didn't need him to clear things any further ─ it was obvious he was referring to their conflict with that terrible organization that had him hiding for the better part of the last couple of years. "I know what you mean," replied Shinichi. "Thinking about it, we haven't done something like this in a long time, have we?"

He had to blame those crows for that. Ever since they had first come into contact with them, and Conan's subsequent moving to America, the brothers had done nothing but drift even more apart. Not that Shinichi had done much to fix it, even when the child had moved back to his home ─ he had been so focused on his work that he had barely paid attention to him. Even being so close, he figured that the little boy must have felt incredibly alone.

It was a little ironic, thought Shinichi, that now that they had only just begun to grow closer now that they were so physically apart.

If he only had the time… The time needed to go back to where they once were at the beginning...

"After we destroy the Organization..." Conan's grin was almost blinding. "Let's try something like this again!"

Suddenly, Shinichi's throat had gone parched, but the kid was blissfully too focused on his phone to realize his brother's internal conflict. There was no way he could answer that without lying, and he had sworn to himself to never do it again ─ so, silence would be his best ally this time around.

He was startled, however, when the boy suddenly raised his phone in front of them.

Shinichi didn't fight the tender smile that escaped him as he glimpsed at that last photo ─ it was the selfie the boy had snapped before Shinichi could prepare himself. He remembered Conan had laughed, amused at the surprised expression that Shinichi had made, which would be plastered in that photograph forever for the child's amusement. Any other day, the older brother would have told him to delete him, but this time, he hadn't.

The smile Conan had in that photograph was too strangely pure for him to risk it.

Something shifting ever so slowly had him glancing towards the children and trying to hold back a chuckle. Ai's eyes had fluttered open, confusingly scanning her surroundings, until she stopped and turned to glance at her left side. Her reaction had been slow, but priceless at the same time ─ upon noticing the sleeping boy there, her eyes had flown open and her body frozen for a full second. "Conan-kun..." Shinichi's surprise had been enormous when he saw her cheeks going a little red as she tried, in vain, to push him away. "Conan-kun, wake up… You're heavy-"

She halted, noting the teenager that observed her with a grin on his face. "Not a word," she said, blushing even harder despite her glare. He raised his hands in defense, an action that only made her huff in return. "I wouldn't mind a little help."

"Why? He looks comfortable."

"Shinichi-san."

At her drastically darker tone, Shinichi had no other choice but to place a hand around Conan's shoulders, gently moving him so that he would continue sleeping on his shoulder instead. "Better?" he asked, to which the small scientist only replied with an eye-roll, settling her gaze back on the window.

"We'll get there in a few minutes," Shinichi tried to initiate a conversation. "Think you can stay awake until then?" Ai turned her head slightly, raising an eyebrow at him. "Alright, you can, obviously… I get it."

She emitted no response in return and went back to stare at the cars passing by once more. Shinichi watched her for a couple of seconds, before sighing and doing the same. Silence ensued once more, even if Conan was the only one sleeping in that car now.

But then she broke it. "Say, Shinichi-san," she spoke, sounding hesitant for some reason. "You know Conan-kun better than anyone else, don't you?"

"That's hard to tell, actually..." He laughed awkwardly. "It's Conan who we're talking about."

"I see," she said.

He waited for her to continue, yet she didn't, something that Shinichi found a little odd. "But I guess I can try," he offered. "What is it?"

At first, he thought she wasn't going to speak, but then she slowly faced him, stared at him for a second or so, then lowered her gaze to observe Conan so closely that, had he been aware, Shinichi was certain it would make him more than a bit unsettled.

"I kept asking him, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer..."

"About what?"

Her gaze lowered to her feet and sighed. "Why did he invite me here?" Shinichi blinked, not quite expecting that kind of question. "It's not like I don't appreciate it ─ I had a wonderful time here in the UK… But, still, he didn't explain the reason to me."

… Oh. The teenager's surprise slowly dimmed. So that's how it is.

Other than that, he made no sign of replying, prompting Ai to snort. So not even you can figure him out, huh? she concluded when his gaze was torn apart from hers and set on his brother. Unexpectedly, however, the detective suddenly took him into his arms and gingerly moved so that he was sitting on Shinichi's left instead. Blinking in confusion, she watched as Conan made himself comfortable on top of his lap and raised her gaze to meet Shinichi's, who was now right next to her.

She couldn't help but glare as soon as Shinichi's amused laugh echoed in her ears ─ was her confusion really so funny to him? Not that it mattered what he thought, because she couldn't help it but let it show again in her features when he, with an impressive amount of care, placed a hand on her shoulder, slowly guiding her so that she could rest on his shoulder.

Ai stared back incredulously, but he only offered a kind smile in return.

"You've been overworking again, haven't you?" She didn't know how to respond. "That's no good ─ you're a just child, you shouldn't be pushing yourself so much."

Gradually, her shock drained and her gaze fell on a random spot somewhere else. "I don't have another choice, do I?" But she didn't attempt to move from her place. "The deadline is getting dangerously closer."

"Ah, is that so?" he said. "But you still have nearly a year left. Surely, you can-"

"You don't get it, do you?!" Suddenly, she lashed out, head whipping around to face him. "At this rate, you're going to die, Shinichi-san."

"I know."

Despite the angered gaze he received, Shinichi's didn't waver, not even for the slightest moment. Sure enough, it took Ai by surprise, causing her to stare again, until she huffed irritably.

"If only I knew the exact composition of the drug, I'd be able to create the perfect antidote. And I'm so close..." Her eyes narrowed, despite what she was saying. "There is just this component missing, and I can't figure out what it is."

"Figure out?"

"My parents used a mysterious substance in a previous prototype which I, just for the sake of experimenting, tried it out. It seemed to be a success, so I just used it… But I never bothered to analyze it to find out what it was made of..." she huffed. "If only I had done it, I might be able to replicate it, but..."

"Isn't there another way around it?" Shinichi suggested, unhelpfully.

"Without using it, the results are unpredictable. You could die on the spot, grow another limb, or, who knows, even shrink to the age of an elementary student because of apoptosis activation..." She smirked at him. "How does it sound, becoming Edogawa Conan-kun's twin and going through elementary school with us?"

Shinichi winced at the thought. "Not so good."

Content that she had made her point across, she let her head rest against Shinichi's arm again and exhaled. The boy, far from saying anything about it, squeezed her shoulder tightly, and simply turned to look through the window again ─ they would get there any second now.

"Thank you, Ai-chan," he said, confusing the girl for a second. "And sorry for making you worry."

She scoffed. "I wasn't worried."

"Really? Well, it was evident that you haven't been yourself lately, though." He gazed down at the boy on his lap. "Even to this kid right here."

"Huh?"

"You were wondering why he brought you along." Shinichi smiled. "If I were to guess, I'd say all he wanted was for you to take a break and enjoy yourself, even if for a few days."

The answer she had definitely not expected had her staring at the little detective in question for a while until realization gradually dawned on her. Finally, a small smile graced her face, even if she had yet to notice. "That idiot," she whispered, but her voice lacked anger of any sort.

Though normally he would sort of agree with that sentence, this time he didn't voice any opinion. Ai's eyes slid shut and her face pressed even further against his arm ─ her smile had faltered now, making Shinichi wonder what she could be thinking about.

"Just hang on a little longer, Shinichi-san," she said, so softly that he could've easily missed it. "I… I don't want you to die."

Shinichi paused, "I don't want, either," then stated ─ honest for the first time in who knows how.

I want to stay with everyone for a little longer.

I really, really want to.

Little did either of them notice the pair of blue eyes that narrowed slightly before they closed shut again, feeling as if he had intruded on a conversation he shouldn't have been part of.

And it would have remained like that, hadn't he felt the car finally coming to a stop soon thereafter, or his brother sighing, muttering something like 'what to do' ─ presumably, meaning that he did not know how he was going to get off the car with two children sleeping on him. So, he gave him a break, simply sitting up and opening the door.

Shinichi looked surprised for a moment, then nodded in thanks. While the Professor paid the taxi driver ─ using Yusaku's card, obviously ─ the older boy proceeded to step out as well, still carrying the little girl in his arms. This earned him a surprised look that only began to dissipate when he winked, holding a finger in front of his lips.

True to his wishes, neither the kid nor the professor said a word, simply watching the taxi driving off for a second, before silently joining the teenager inside the airport. They remained like that, standing quietly as they awaited for Ran and Kogoro to meet them, like they had previously agreed.

Discreetly, the kid looked from the corner of the eye at the child that his brother was still holding ─ he couldn't stop the relieved sigh that came right after that.

"So, Shinichi," the professor suddenly said, gathering both brothers' attention. "You said you're flying with us, didn't you?"

He nodded in response. "I'm taking the seat next to you, if you don't mind, Professor."

"I don't mind, but..." Agasa blinked. "I thought you'd like to travel with Ran-kun instead."

"I-I'd prefer not to." With his free hand, the detective scratched his cheek ─ an action that Conan recognized as a nervous tic.

"Eh? But you have flown with her before, haven't you?" Conan inquired, eyeing him curiously. "Like the time you visited Mom, Dad and I in America."

"Yeah… I barely had any sleep back then."

Conan's eyelids dropped slightly, and a chuckle escaped him. "Ah, I see."

"What's… with that expression?"

"Oh, nothing."

"That's definitely not 'nothing'-"

"Anyway, is it okay?" Shinichi stared, not understanding what he meant. "Appearing in front of Ran-neechan looking like that."

"Looking like… AH!"

The teenager's eyes widened in horror when his eyes took sight of his arm, or rather, the skin that was definitely darker than his, meaning he had completely forgotten he was still disguised. "Professor!" The older man winced, a little scared at his panicky appearance. "Hold onto Ai-chan for me!"

"S-Sure… But shouldn't Ran-kun know-?"

"Hurry-!"

"Ah, Conan-kun!" Shinichi's breath hitched. "Professor!"

Slowly, the teenager turned until his terrified gaze met with none other but Ran's curious one, and promptly froze. "Oh, Hirai-kun," she said, but he did not try to reply to her. Just stood there, forcing his brain to work, even though it had, just, stopped working. She didn't seem to, strangely enough, mind it at all ─ just smiled at him, before turning back to the little boy.

"Shinichi-niichan is in the toilet," in a surprising turn of events, he lied, grinning at the girl in front of him. "We met Arthur-niichan on our way, so we hung out for a while ─ he was just about to leave, though." Turning around, he gave Shinichi a pointed look. "Right, Arthur-niichan?"

"Yeah!" he blurted out, smiling nervously at the girl. "I was just leaving, so..."

"I see," she faced the other two. "Dad already went out to smoke before the trip ─ we can wait here for Shinichi meanwhile."

"Okay." Conan nodded. "I'll call him right away..."

Catching the glance the boy sent his way, Shinichi got the hint and proceeded to face the Professor, hoping that he could hold on to Ai for the meantime. He didn't expect, however, Ran's hands gently brushing against his skin, single-handedly scooping the girl from his arms and into hers. "I see you have been taking good care of Ai-chan," she said, a little too close than strictly necessary. "Thank you for that, Hirai-kun."

What happened next left Conan rubbing his eyes and wondering if he wasn't just seeing things. When he realized that, no, he wasn't, his hand rose to his mouth to hold back a gasp, and glanced briefly at Agasa, or rather, his mouth that hung open in pure shock. He didn't look any better than Conan himself did.

How could he? ─ it was not an everyday thing to see Ran leaning slightly forward, lips pressing gently against the boy's cheek who, far from reacting, just stood there, completely still. Bamboozled by what had just occurred, his wide gaze flickered to her face as she stepped back, taking notice of the embarrassed rosy color that painted her every expression.

Only then did her actions really settle in ─ he felt his face heat up and his mouth open, unable to vocalize a single word.

"I-I-I… I really should get going… Uh, bye."

By the time Conan had turned to see him off, the teenager had already scrambled away from sight, blending in with the people surrounding them in a heartbeat. Still unable to tell what to think of it, the boy turned back to the girl and eyed her for long enough for him to notice the tender smile decorating her face ─ at that moment, realization suddenly struck him, prompting his eyes to widen.

"Conan-kun?" He jumped a little when she faced him abruptly. "Weren't you going to call Shinichi?"

"Ah, right."

Followed by that, he brought his phone out of his pocket. He better hurry getting changed, he thought, unlocking the device instantly. Though if my theory is correct-

Noticing something, he blinked owlishly. Oh, I have a text from him, he realized, tapping on it to satiate his curiosity. Huh? A photo-? HUH?

"Conan?" Agasa called, a little worried. "Is something wrong?"

By reflex, the boy locked his phone again and hid it behind his back, head shaking furiously from side to side, hoping that they wouldn't notice his face flushing and darkening under their clueless gaze. "W-We have to go!" he blurted out, darting away without notice. "We're going to be late for our flight!"

"Conan-kun!" Ran called, startled by his actions, and instantly ran after him. "What about Shin-?"

"Who cares?!"

The professor and the high schooler exchanged confused glances, before their gazes fell on the little boy that wouldn't stop running ─ even from there, they could see his ears glowing, yet they couldn't figure, for the life of them, the reason behind it. In Ran's arms, the little girl continued sleeping, oblivious to it all.

Groaning, yet never stopping running, the child went back to his phone, typing furiously.

"Send that to her and I promise I will murder you."

His response came quicker than he had expected.

"Alright, alright, I won't..."

Conan sighed.

"I'll send it to Ai-chan instead."

And spluttered.

Shinichi had to admit it ─ messing with his little brother was so much fun. That one, seemingly innocent text he had sent him seconds ago had resulted in about a hundred sent back to him, spamming his inbox and promising the unthinkable if he ever dared to do such a thing which, rather than intimidating, Shinichi found a little cute.

He was enjoying this too much to properly reply, so he just let him continue.

I need to get changed, he thought, looking at the mirror. Hirai Arthur stared back at him, impassively, hand raising until his fingers brushed his cheek ─ the same spot her lips had touched felt like it was on fire, but wasn't absolutely certain if it was a pleasurable kind of burn.

Hirai Arthur, he guessed, would be on cloud nine, and beyond… Yet, as Kudo Shinichi, he wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to feel about it.

His phone buzzed again, but this time it was with a call ─ Shinichi sighed heavily. Doesn't know when to give up, that kid. When he glanced at the caller, however, he found his eyebrows raising in confusion.

Kuroba? He couldn't understand what would possess the guy to call him, especially when it should be around two in the morning in Japan right now.

"Kudo!" he heard the magician shout once he picked up. "Kudo, you didn't get on that plane yet, did you?!"

"Uh, no?"

"Be careful! That bastard Hakuba-!"

His head raised up sharply, eyes widening in horror at what he saw in the mirror ─ right behind Hirai Arthur's head was another person standing with his hands inside his pockets and a rather pleased smirk plastered all over his face. Slowly, Shinichi let his phone slide away from his cheek, not minding as Kuroba's voice faded into nothing. With a click, he cut it off all together and turned around, eyeing the blonde detective warily.

"Hakuba."

"Hirai-kun." He didn't even have the decency to look surprised to meet him there. "Would you check your phone for me, please?"

Hesitantly, Shinichi moved his gaze back to his screen, eyes flickering from time to time to make sure Hakuba wasn't doing anything, which he didn't ─ if anything, all he did was smile, in that certain way that made Shinichi's hair stand to an end. Despite his gut telling him otherwise, he still gathered enough courage to check the message he had received from, unsurprisingly, Hakuba.

There was just a single picture attached to it and absolutely no words ─ not that they were needed for his blood to drain from his face. He tried to pretend to be puzzled about it, but it proved to be particularly hard…

Especially when he could see his face ─ his actual face ─ on the screen, staring directly into the eyes of a certain girl whose wrist wasn't going to let go of.

"Kudo Shinichi, eighteen. Date of birth: May 4th. Blood type: B-. Height: 174 cm. Weight: 58 kg-"

"Alright. I think I got the point." It was getting a little too disturbing for his tastes. "The famous high school detective, right?" He pretended to calmly inspect the photo, even though he was beyond panicking inside. "Looks like Big Ben… Was he here the entire time?"

"... 'Zero is where everything starts. Nothing would ever be born if we didn't depart from there'... It would seem that he has a way with words." Shinichi didn't know how to answer ─ Hakuba was enjoying it. "I'm glad I brought my lovely housekeeper with me and asked her to monitor him ─ she didn't disappoint."

Of course, it had to be Hakuba's housekeeper. Internally, Shinichi couldn't help but grunt at the thought of her following him around ─ and the things she must have seen.

"So?" Shinichi tried to act nonchalantly. "Why are you sending me this?"

"I've been wondering if you knew something about him," he said. "I've been trying to contact him for a while now, to ask him a few questions, but it seems he had been missing for nearly two years."

"Well, sorry. I can't help you."

"Is that so?" He shrugged. "That's rather unfortunate… I suppose I will have to try with more people." Following that, he flashed Shinichi a cocky smirk. "Surely, someone on the Internet will know about it, don't you think, Hirai-kun?"

Now there were thick drops of sweat rolling down Shinichi's temple. Hakuba clearly noticed it, since his smirk widened and leaned against the wall.

"We can talk about this later, if you'd prefer. Aren't you going to miss your flight?" Shinichi's glare only added to his delight. "What's stopping you? Why don't you go?"

This guy...

"What is wrong? It would seem like..." His smirk was replaced by a determined frown. "... Hirai Arthur-kun doesn't have a passport."

Closing his eyes, Shinichi let out a long, tired sigh.

"What do you want?"

"The truth ─ told by our own lips." Hakuba frowned deeply. "Who are you?"

For the longest time, Shinichi just stared back at the teenage boy who, in turn, easily held his gaze, not wanting to let this go for anything in the world.

So, Shinichi turned back around, towards the sink, and started to wash the makeup away from his face and arms. "A detective," he said, removing his contacts and proceeding to reach for his hair. "Just like you."

Then, he pulled from his wig and spun back around. "I'm Kudo Shinichi."

And said nothing else. Hakuba merely observed him for what seemed to be hours, before his lips curved into a satisfactory smirk. "Evidently."

But it wasn't his relaxed demeanor that truly surprised Shinichi, it was the fact that he just turned around and began approaching the exit. "Hakuba?" He paused, however, when his fellow detective called his name. "Aren't you going to… you know, ask anything?"

"We have around twelve hours to do so, don't we?" At Shinichi's confused gaze, he snorted and added, "I assume you're taking the window seat."

And, before Shinichi could articulate another word, he just walked out and disappeared from sight. Only a few seconds later did his words really reach his brain.

With a frustrated groan, Kudo Shinichi proceeded to slam his face against the sink.

A/N:

CherryGirl 21-6:

Well, I don't mind hearing about your idea! I'm not promising anything, though...

Yeah, I've heard about Haibara's Day before and, actually, I was thinking of using it, lol! Though, I thought it was on August 18th instead. I read somewhere that 8.18 sounds like "Haibara'' in Japanese… I'm not sure how that works out. Sorry it has taken so long, I swear I still haven't forgotten about it. I just wanted some events to happen before it, but I kind of miscalculated there...

And I see you noticed I've been changing things a little in the first few chapters. I read them again recently and there were things I didn't like, so I rewrote a few parts. I don't think it's possible to do this with every chapter, but I might change a thing then and there if I feel they need it. Nothing that would change the plot, obviously, but yeah.

heichan201102: Hmm… Who knows? xD

F.C. Meyer: I wonder… xD