BANG!

An empty beer mug met the wooden table, creating a loud sound that immediately vanished in the midst of the hustle bustle of the many customers in the shokudo. Altogether with the sound was a long groan of despair coming from a certain great police detective, known as Kudo Shinichi.

It was supposed to be a serene Friday evening for him, one of the rare calm occasions he had without going through some overtime hours in the office, nor falling bodies were there to hinder his off-time. Yet, there was just this one big urge for him to have a drink tonight, a very huge compulsion to let his frustration out of his damned head.

It was an impulsive reckless thing that he had never done no matter how hard his life was, except for when he foolishly tried to gulp down the whole bottle of baijiu long time ago. It was the dumbest way to escape from his messy reality, he knew, for it only lasted for a fling and it won't solve anything at all. Nonetheless, he just felt like he needed it.

So, things within him started to go out of control after he emptied his tenth glass, and there gone his composure too. Though he wasn't disturbing the other customers, his unsophisticated action just now was startling the only companion in his table, namely Hattori Heiji.

The two of them had just finished their written report for a case that they solved together right before their clock out time. Since the evening was still young, and since it was such an infrequent opportunity for them to meet eyes to eyes, Heiji suggested them to have a man-talk over a simple dinner and some drinks. Shinichi agreed.

They discussed the usual things at first, mostly cases of course. Then it kept evolving from there to another topic as the evening turned to night. They even lost count to how many times had they topped up their beer. Until Heiji realized that Shinichi was the one who had drunk the most among the two of them.

The detective of the East let out another long groan as he rested his heavy head on his arm on the wooden table. He was definitely so wasted that it worried Heiji to watch his friend like this. One, it was because he never saw him drink this much before. Two, it was because he looked so wretched and hopeless, unlike his usual optimistic bright self.

"Oi, Kudo. Are you okay?" He asked, slightly bending himself forward so Shinichi could hear him. To his relief, this friend of his turned his head to leer back at him– a sign that at least, he hadn't completely lost his consciousness here.

"Am I okay?" Shinichi mumbled out loud, repeating the question to himself. His voice was beginning to slur, his mind was starting to wander around unfocused. But then, he suddenly straightened his shoulders up, and slammed his palms on the table a bit harder than necessary. His drowsy eyes were glaring straight at the dark-skinned detective. He looked drunkenly upset. "How could I be okay, Hattori? It's been two months since I last saw her!"

Just with that, Heiji fully understood what seemed to cause his foul mood. Albeit, he remained silent, not sure as to what he should reply him with. He himself was having a hard time proposing Kazuha, so how could he help a guy with a marriage problem here? He couldn't relate to it at all.

Then, like his friend's drunken state wasn't perplexing him enough, he heard Shinichi sigh once again as he returned to his gloomy mood. Heiji almost thought he had gone mad the moment he saw Shinichi's annoyed glare turned so soft in a split second. He was gazing down at the abstract lines the wood grain created on the table. Sorrow was the only word that fitted to describe his expression right now.

"But when I finally met her again, her hand was the only thing I could caress." Shinichi said with a voice that was low enough for Heiji to hear and to see the disappointment he felt. "How pathetic, isn't it?"

It was like he was drinking a liter of sweetness only to get dehydrated all the more– he felt droughty. It was like he was eating a ton of candies only to get starved– nothing was enough to assuage his craving. The thought that spending half a day with his wife was enough to satiate a bit of his longing, turned out it only worsen his yearning for her.

He was so helpless.

"H-hold on, Kudo–"

Heiji who finally regained himself was now fretting over the situation. Listening to his friend's sexual problem in thorough details was never in the agenda of tonight's catch up session. He better stop Shinichi before he was saying things that might make things awkward between them.

"Geez, why do I have to hold myself so hard?" But the Tokyoite detective ignored him. Rather, he rolled his eyes to Heiji, pouted his mouth in protest, and he continued to blabber things off of his chest. "I need her so badly, you know."

"Woah, if it isn't Kudo-kun and Hattori-kun!" A very familiar female voice cut their discussion abruptly, to Heiji's relief. "Having a man-to-man discussion, huh?"

However, after he recognized who it belonged to, he didn't know if he had to be that grateful for her interruption. It was the self-claimed Deduction Queen he was talking about– the busybody queen if he might say. Things certainly won't stay quiet once she heard of Shinichi's secret marriage to a certain eighteen-years-old strawberry blonde.

Moreover, she was bringing that still-flat-chested female detective with her– Sera Masumi. He forgot that he had received her notification few days ago that she was in town to run some errands for her mom, and that they should meet up some other day. But never did he think that they would coincidentally bump into each other in here out of all places. Not to say, the timing wasn't so right either.

He was going to reply her short and quick to avoid some prolonged question if it wasn't for Shinichi who stepped in first.

"Sonoko and Sera." Shinichi greeted them plainly. "What are you doing here?"

Heiji wanted to curse him right at that instant. It was best not to answer things when he was under the influence of alcohol because in between his floating consciousness, a person's tongue tended to get loose. Yet, here he was, starting a conversation with them.

If Sonoko was a subject of concern in this case, then Masumi was another thing. After all, she was biologically the daughter of the big sister of his friend's wife's late mom– in other words, she was that little nee-chan's closest blood cousin whom, with all due respect to her request, Shinichi kept their marriage a secret from.

Aware of who Masumi's family members were, Heiji couldn't imagine how they were going to react about it. Snipe his best friend, maybe? Even so, considered how drunk the said best friend had gotten, perhaps it was the least thing he was minding right now. Surely, starting a conversation with these women right now was a move that he would regret the moment he sobered up.

"Same like you." Sonoko giggled as she dramatically answered the question. "We're here to have a girls' night out!"

Well, Masumi had been living in England for the last four years. Since she was back in town for a while, she probably invited Sonoko on a girls' Friday night to catch things up with her. While she could've chosen a fancier restaurant, this eccentric rich heir of the Suzuki group suggested this place instead.

"Anyway, are you by chance, talking about some romance problems here?" Sonoko began to pry. She was sure her ears caught something interesting when she was approaching them. "Since when did you get yourself a girlfriend, Kudo-kun?"

"Huh? A girlfriend?" Shinichi responded cluelessly. He couldn't think straight in his drunken state– well, no one could eventually. For that, he chuckled to Sonoko's seemingly funny question and replied. "No, she's not my girlfriend. She's my–"

"Cat!" Heiji cut him off hastily, leaving the other three stupefied. Cold sweats were falling off of his forehead as he tried to calm himself to make his lies believable to the two women. "Right! She is the female stray cat he told me about, the one that he found around his neighbourhood some time ago. We're discussing about that, aren't we, Kudo?"

It was never his duty to always help this detective friend of his whenever his secret was about to be revealed. He just didn't want him dead just yet. At least not now when he was the only person whom he enjoyed to discuss things with.

"Haa?" Still in his obliviousness, Shinichi exasperatedly replied. He was totally lost to what Heiji was really talking about here. But, it wasn't like he truly realized what he had been saying since a while ago. His straight mind had long gone the moment the alcohol in his blood took in.

"I know you have taken a fond of the stray cat, but just because she likes coming to your yard doesn't mean she has to be there everyday, duh." Heiji reprimanded. He was trying so hard to look natural with the things he said while his inside was actually freaking out. Shit, he would absolutely make sure Shinichi pay him off nice and square once this thing was over.

"Heh, is that all?" Sonoko rolled her eyes and cracked a laugh. Just by looking at her face, Heiji knew that she was disappointed for the fact that the 'she' Shinichi was mentioning wasn't someone she was expecting, and that she bought his lies. In which, it relieved Heiji so much, though he could only feel it for a short while.

"But she sounds like one hell of an intriguing free soul cat, huh?" Masumi commented, a playful smirk that showed her uneven tooth was plastered on her lips. "I'd like to meet her one of these days if possible."

So much to Heiji's fear, it was too hard to fool her eventually. Unlike Sonoko whose mind was too simple to read, he just couldn't seem to get hints for how far Masumi had believed his bullshit. If somewhere in the world she had watched that live interview he and Shinichi were in few weeks ago, without doubt, she would've known who they were talking about here.

Now that the cat subject had shifted to a somewhat cryptic gist, Heiji became muted all of a sudden. He didn't dare to give any answer to that statement; it was a sensitive thing that might vex his drunken friend here. Then, to his and Masumi's astonishment, Shinichi replied them straightforwardly. A glimpse of misery was clearly transpired in his eyes in spite of the soft small smile he had on his lips.

"Indeed she is." He said. He recalled the one night when Ai wore the cat ears, and the way she mewled under him afterwards just like a real tamed stray kitten. "And those blue orbs of hers– they never fails to mystify me."

Her eyes were always overly gravitating his soul like strong magnets that pulled him closer and closer toward her despite his will to resist. Her stares were always penetrating him so deep into his heart like knives that stopped him from breathing.

Damn, this endless frustration he was feeling right now– it looked like he was starting to sober up.

So, calling the waiter to get another glass of beer, Shinichi startled his companion yet again for the night. As he ignored Heiji's attempt to stop him, he had decided not to go home before he passed out.

Sonoko and Masumi, while trying to look indifferent over the situation, decided to retreat to their own table now. They would disturb the other customers if they kept standing in the passageway anyway. In which, Heiji was very much thankful for that.

Even so, he still had to suffer afterwards, to be forced to take the responsibility to drive his unconscious best friend back to his home safely.

.

.

.

It was 11.48pm.

The sky was dark, and the street was empty.

The barking of a hound dog was heard from a block away, and the winter wind was gently brushing the twigs on the trees.

Everything around the neighbourhood was creating the sound of the night, giving everyone such a tranquil white noise to sleep. It wasn't an atypical view to see most of the houses no longer had their lights on during this hour– a sign that the Sandman had already taken his shift for the day.

Heiji groaned, lamenting over to what his best friend's moronic decision had brought to him as he stood so gallantly in front of the house gate of the Kudo Residence. Beside him was the said moron, who barely managed to stand on his feet despite the help he got by leaning on him.

Like in any other households, Heiji couldn't find any single hint of someone awake in the said big house of the Tudor architecture. While Shinichi couldn't seem to get his own house key from wherever place he kept it, so what was he supposed to do to get him inside the house?

He couldn't just ignorantly ring the bell and wake Yukiko and Chiharu up, could he? Nor could he dive his hands into each part of Shinichi's clothing to find the key.

Definitely, the last one wasn't a good idea at all.

But, if there was someone who might still be awake, who would let this idiot in despite being so mad for knocking the door at this late hour, perhaps it would be none other than her. Wouldn't it?

"And that's why you brought him here." Ai's sharp tongue and her condemning look were the two first things that greeted Heiji and the passed out Shinichi upon entering the genkan of the Professor's house.

"W-well, sort of?" Heiji stuttered, his lips tried to crack a smile.

His guilty conscience was slowly eating his confidence up. He started to feel bad for disturbing her rest although he knew she hadn't called for the night yet, just like he had predicted. The bright and messy living room were the proofs; piles of scattered papers and books on the floor as well as an opened laptop on the coffee table were the evidences that she had been doing her study until they came. However, crashing Shinichi to her house was the best option he could think of at this moment. And since she lived alone, he could minimize the damage by not interrupting another persons' sleeps aside from hers.

The only thing that he didn't expect was that how scary this little nee-chan was, more than he could ever think. If looks could kill, perhaps this would be how it felt like– it was a complete torture for his mental health. Guess, knives and guns were better tools to murder.

So, after a moment of enduring her piercing death glare, Heiji was glad she agreed to let them in. She cleaned up some of her paper piles from the floor, making some room for him to lay Shinichi on the sofa. At last, he could breathe a relief; all his muscles were overworked from supporting his friend's weight.

He was going to bid his good night and say his thanks to the strawberry blonde when he noticed she was staring at Shinichi's sleeping face so intensely. Despite her attempt to suppress it, she couldn't just hide the fact that she was too overly worried and, maybe, wondering as to why he drank so irresponsibly like this. It was all showing on her face.

"It's also my first time seeing him this wasted." Heiji said, earning her attention. "Even though this is nothing compares to how he once did years ago."

Ai understood in an instant, that the Osakan detective was talking about those years when she coldly decided to get away from Shinichi's life. He didn't mean to incriminate her past action, she knew, though she remained speechless. Something inside her was cracking as her conscience and her heart collided. It hurt her to imagine how miserable her detective had been if the thing she was currently seeing was still nothing compared to it.

She wasn't going anywhere this time– yes. Still and all, it was solely upon her request that Shinichi had to keep their marriage a secret. It was also upon her plea that he had to agree on this short span separation.

How selfish could she get, huh?

Realizing he had slipped his tongue to a rather touchy subject, Heiji felt worse than he already had. The mood in the room was depleting to its lowest as the strawberry blonde continued to go deeper with her contemplating thoughts.

"Anyway, he'd surely be alright now that you're here." Heiji said in an assuring manner, pulling her out from the depth of her guilt. "All he ever needs is his partner, after all."

Playing the role of a matchmaker was never his thing. It was supposed to be him who needed it the most, considering how slow he was to ask his girlfriend to tie the knot with him. However, it annoyed him so much to always be the one who was receiving the bad ends whenever the Tokyoite detective wasn't in his best state– exactly like tonight.

As surprised as Ai was, to hear such a soothing saying coming from the harum-scarum guy, she knew she couldn't agree more with him. It was the last thing she would ever foresee, and for his words to be as effective as to absolve her compunction was another thing too.

At least, she had chosen the right thing now, hadn't she?

.

.

.

His ears caught some sizzling noise as his mind started to surface from his deep sleep. His nose too, began to perceive an overly familiar smell that reminded him of the delicious pancakes his wife often cooked for their weekend breakfasts. He could feel his stomach rumbling when he visioned layers of fluffy pancakes topped with maple syrup and berries.

Ah, what a nice dream he had– it was what he thought.

He chuckled just then, slightly mocking at how ridiculous he was for suddenly dreaming about her cooking. Except that a sudden discerning information kicked in to his brain, forcefully awakened him to fully realize that he wasn't in anyone's dream right now. Because, how could he hear and smell when he was in a deep sleep?

It only meant that everything he was sensing was real. Her pancakes were real.

But how?

Shinichi abruptly rose from his sleep with a jolt, causing his head to spin the moment he sat up. The morning sunlight could only make it worse; it was too bright for his eyes to perceived just yet. Holding his temples with one hand, he groaned in pain. It wasn't the time for him to indulge himself in his headache though. He needed to know where he was.

He remembered he went drinking with Heiji last night, even though he indeed couldn't recall even half of the things they were talking about. Based on the level of the headache he was feeling right now, he assumed he had binged his drink yesterday. Could have Heiji left him there because he passed out? He could be such a prankster sometimes.

He tried to open his eyes again, slowly this time. The pain in his head had slightly subsided. That was then he noticed he had been sleeping on a couch. Although he was no longer wearing his coat and scarf, his yesterday's shirt and pants were still intact in his frame. It gave him a clue that nothing weird happened while he was drunk, and that he hadn't gone home since then. To his surprise, he also noticed a hint of her natural sweet scent lingered on his shirt. It smelled the strongest around his right chest area, as if he had been sleeping while hugging her all night long in his right arm.

Again, he was asking himself: how?

He was still caught up in his own bewilderment when he heard the most melodic voice greeted him a good morning. It was saying his name in the sweetest possible way that made him lose his mind.

"A-Ai?" He blushed as he saw her smile from across the room. There she was, standing behind the kitchen island, looking so fresh with a bowl of strawberries in her hands.

Just when was the last time he awoke to see her face first thing in the morning?

Aside from that, now he knew he was staying overnight at the Professor's house. For that, he took a note to himself to give Heiji his thanks later on– and sorry for doubting him.

"Here, for your hangover." She said, handing him a mug of warm plain water.

"T-thanks." Shinichi took it without much comment, yet his flabbergasted look couldn't get more obvious than Ai could notice.

"You know, you are such a troublesome guy when you're drunk." Ai sneered as she seated herself on the edge of the sofa just beside his feet, her arms were crossed so neatly under her bust.

She continued to complain to him about how much struggle she had to get him out of his coat. His heavy weight wasn't helping at all when he couldn't even do something as simple as lift up an arm on his own. He didn't budge no matter what Ai did to him– who knew what she might did to him in his defenseless state. If she was still working as a real scientist here, she would certainly make him her experiment subject right at that instance.

That thought only was making Shinichi shudder.

"S-sorry…" He meekly apologized.

There was one thing she didn't tell him, however. And that was about that time she was tucking a blanket on him. It was an act of kindness that had gone extremely wrong, only because he unconsciously pulled her into his arms. It was too sudden, too fortuitous, which pretty much stunned her. He was literally trapping her, not allowing her to escape from his clasp. The more she wiggled, the more he tightened his hug around her. That left her with no other choice than to let him hold her all night long.

He didn't need to know that part though.

A moment of stillness befell them afterwards. He kept sipping the warm water from the mug little by little, whereas Ai was waiting for him to finish it down to the very bottom of the ceramic container. He had to stay hydrated to ease out his hangover after all. Little did she know that his headache had actually long soothed the moment he saw her sunny smile welcome his morning.

Nonetheless, Shinichi kept that fact for himself. He didn't want to miss his chance to get her tend him with so much care, like right now.

Some minutes passed without them saying a thing. The presence they currently shared was enough for them to enjoy the ticking sound of the clock in silence. Carelessly stealing glances over each other, naively teasing one another with the sparks they had every time their eyes met.

It was Ai who broke the eye contact first, as much as to Shinichi's disappointment. A blush was seen on her cheeks as she took the emptied mug from his hands.

"We better eat our breakfast now." She said before she stood up from the couch. "What toppings do you want to go with your pancakes?"

She was going to stride her way to the kitchen, whilst he wanted her to stay close. So, purely driven by his reflexes, he grasped her wrist and pulled her against him. She was losing her balance due to that, and she fell on top of his chest eventually. She was flustered, too confused for it happened too fast for her brain to really sort things out.

She managed to push herself up slightly with her unconfined hand, although he stunned her with his palm that went to caress her cheek.

"You." Shinichi replied. His serious dark blue eyes were looking so hurt and unsettled, magically holding her to stay unmoving and unspeaking. He took this chance to shorten their gap before she could start protesting. His warm breath against her lips was all she could sensed as he seductively whispered things to her. "What if I said I want you for my pancake, Ai?"

With that said, he erased all the remaining distance between them and stole a kiss from her not-so-virgin lips. It tasted so alluring like the last time he remembered, so sweet like a candy that was soon to melt as he slid his tongue inside her. She tried to stop him, yet his lips claimed hers numerously before she could even properly spell his name. He was literally draining her strength– her resolution– and again, it left her without a second choice but to fall deeper into his dominion.

And as much as Shinichi wanted their kiss to remain chaste, he knew full well he would never be able to hold his desire any longer. It was totally impossible for him when the girl he kissed was Ai. Not to say, two months and a half were his longest accomplishment to stay sane without fulfilling his physical craving for her.

His mind was sending him electrifying signals all through each part of his body every time he heard her whimper. It urged him to do more and more to the point that he wasn't going to stop until he heard her moan his name out like she always did whenever they were on the bed. Her complying reaction only assured him to do so all the more.

He sneaked his hand around her waist while the other was slipping to her nape. Having her wrist freed, she too was clinging to his neck, responding to his scavenging touch. His fingers were playing with the rim of her sweater before he slightly pushed it upward. It sent her jolted when she felt his palm venture over her loin.

"W-wait, Shinichi…"

She instantly pulled her face an inch away from his, forcefully breaking their kiss. Her cheeks were so flushing red, her breath was heavy.

She was aware mentally and physically what they were doing here. His every single move on her skin was never new to her. Her body recorded all the details too well that it responded to him instinctively in a way that satisfied him the most. Yet, the tingling sensation she discerned this time was too much for her to handle. It was too strong like a water in a dam that streamed out all at once the moment the wall was lifted up.

Shinichi contently smiled back at her. He was more than pleased to see her almost break at his hand. And the fact that she didn't resist to his advances until few seconds ago confirmed him that she too, wanted this as much as he did.

Convinced that this was the right time to tell her, he brought the two of them to sit upright. He released his hold on her waist and nape, as well as her circling arms around his neck. Instead, he gently took her hands in his.

"Let's get married, Ai." Shinichi uttered. "Let's get married for real this time."

Ai almost choked on her own saliva upon listening to his unforeseen words. His unfaltering gaze was showing her his sincerity and his resolve. It was telling her that he really meant with his proposal just now. Yet, she was confused.

Weren't they already married?

Watching her perplexed expression, Shinichi cleared his throat to recompose himself before he proceeded with his explanation. His thumb was lingering on her bare left ring finger, as if the circling motion he made was able to calm his thumping heart.

"Not because of Chiharu nor out of any other conveniences, but because I truly want to spend the rest of my life with you." He said with cheeks that were starting to burn. "Let there be no conditions this time around, but an eternal vow to tie us up."

Now, Ai understood really well where his speech was going, though she was patiently waiting for him to clearly say it to her. Anticipation and happiness were aroused within her that she failed to control her heartbeat. And the more he was getting to the main part, the more her heart's thudding sound was getting louder.

"So Ai, will you–"

Finally, he came to the last part.

"Ai-chan– Mamma–!" Yukiko, together with Chiharu, suddenly barged into the house. The two of them were looking so worried like they were going to burst into a cry any second now. "Shin-chan hasn't come home since yesterday! Do you–"

The grandma-granddaughter duo were cut short upon realizing that the guy they were looking for was sitting so perfectly fine on the sofa right in front of them. Furthermore, he was currently holding hands with the only girl whom they perceived as his wife, who was also known as Yukiko's daughter-in-law slash Chiharu's adoptive mom. The disarrayed look on the detective and the strawberry blonde confirmed Yukiko and Chiharu that they had come in the wrong time. They blushed so hard at the sudden awkwardness in the room.

"Oh, well, we just found him." Yukiko sheepishly laughed. "You can continue your things then."

She and the little girl slammed the door and returned to their house just as abrupt as a whirlwind, leaving the lovebirds so much stupefied. They vanished even before Shinichi and Ai could react to their sudden intrusion.

The detective let out a very long dejected sigh once he realized where their perfect moment had gone to. He knew his proposal was totally ruined by now, partly due to his mom and his adoptive daughter– the other part was because his phone's battery was drained and he forgot to inform them he was coming home late.

Damn, just a bit more and he finally said the important words.

He was going to dive deeper into his agony when he heard Ai stifled a laugh. She ended up giggling it out so hard at his face, looking so delighted despite their spoiled moment. Her smile was so infectious that he too began to laugh together with her.

Truly, things had never been perfect between them. But those imperfections could never be more perfect than anything they could ever hope for.

.

.

.

"Believe it or not, I actually have this prepared beforehand." Shinichi told her once they were done eating their cold breakfast. He was leaning against the kitchen counter while Ai was arranging the dishes to their respective racks.

He was groping the inside of his pant pockets, searching for something velvet-like and small-sized. Unlike before, he had learnt his way to bring this thing everywhere he went– who knew it came to be unexpectedly handy this soon. To his dismay, he couldn't find it anywhere. His inside started to panic when he didn't find it in his coat pockets either.

Crap, did he lose it somewhere?

Ai who saw it all, could only press her lips so hard into a thin line. She was trying to hold her laughter as to not offend her husband's effort to rebuild their moment. She began chuckling a second later, unable to suppress her amusement toward Shinichi's bafflement. It puzzled him all the more to see her so entertained all of a sudden.

Oh well, if worse came to worst, it was still worth the carefree happiness she was showing him right now.

"Are you searching for this?" She finally said after she had enough fun looking at his pitiful face. A navy velvet box was sitting nicely on her palm, unopened.

"Wha–? How–?" His face turned so bright red once he realized that Ai had it with her all along. A mix of surprise, relief, and embarrassment were all showing from his head to toe.

"Looks like it fell out from your pocket when I struggled with your coat last night." She chuckled. "Rest assured, I haven't looked into it yet."

Although she had already knew what it was without peeking into it. Any girls would do know it after they heard those proposing lines, wouldn't they? And of course, Shinichi knew that she knew.

"So, what are you going to do with it now, Tantei-san?" She goaded.

"I–" His voice was stuck in the middle of his dry throat.

There was a bit of hesitation in his mind to think that this probably be the right moment to continue the thing from where it was left off. Though his indecisiveness was completely washed off when he took a glance at her unusual buoyant mood.

His mouth formed a curve that showed his most loving smile at her. As he took the box from her hand and opened it, he was resolute– unswerving– that nothing could beat things that came out genuinely from the heart. Therefore, bending down to one knee, he cleared his throat for one last time.

No one between them actually cared enough of how couples in general had this thing going. Indeed, they were standing in their own kitchen instead of sitting in a fancy restaurant. There were no roses nor night views of the city lights, but only two mugs of warm milk in place of wine. Even so, this might be the most unforgettable romantic moment he had ever presented to his wife.

"Will you marry me, Ai?"

Author's Note: I'm so sorry I couldn't update this fic as regular as I used to. Life has been so busy after the new year (sobs). Rest assured, I'll update it as soon as I can. All I can say is thank you for your support through all this (hug). I wouldn't be able to write 40 chapters (gosh!) if it weren't for you all.

Hope you like this chapter too. Don't forget to drop in your comment and suggestion as usual. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: All characters of Detective Conan are belong to Aoyama Gosho. I don't own any single of them.