File Thirty-Nine: The Name is Arthur

Arthur.

He was called Arthur.

This freaking dog was called Arthur.

"Then," Ayumi smiled, patting the shiba inu on the head. "If he partners up with Conan-kun-"

"Please," Conan groaned before the girl could even finish talking. "Please don't finish that sentence, Ayumi-chan."

Even if the girl didn't seem to mind, just offering him a brief apology before her attention returned to the dog, the other two boys definitely did. Raising an eyebrow, the little detective glared back at them, as if he was daring them to say something about it.

He was annoyed, but he figured this time this should be expected. Having been named after the same author a dog had also been was more than a bit degrading. Or so he believed.

The sound of the front gate brought him off their thoughts. Agasa smiled at the son of his friend ─ the owner of the dog, Kanou Teruya ─ as he made his way in, Haibara silently trailing behind.

The girl was awfully quiet, and it shouldn't be that surprising. The events from a few days still lingered in Conan's mind, and he couldn't help but think that the same was the case with her.

Her expression changed, however, when the dog suddenly seemed to become hostile and began to bark at them, showing the pair his teeth. She backed away, hiding behind Agasa, until his owner calmed him down. He seemed to be confused about his suddenly dangerous behavior, so Conan helpfully explained that Agasa and Haibara had most likely petted a male, bigger dog ─ a doberman, the professor confirmed.

Arthur had most likely caught the scent of that doberman and saw them as an enemy.

"Ah, that was the reason," Ayumi said.

"You're really stupid," Genta told the dog.

"I guess he and Conan-kun may have a little bit of the same thoughtless personality," Mitsuhiko pointed out.

"Hey!" the boy complained, loudly. "From this entire group, I'm definitely not the one that-"

"Tell that to the gun scar on your stomach," Genta crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Or the wound on your arm from when you ran inside the bus the other day," Mitsuhiko did the same.

"Or the-" Ayumi was about to join as well.

"Alright, alright. I am thoughtless. Happy?"

"Very," the three said at the same time.

Conan glared at that, opening his mouth to say something else when he noticed Haibara smirking at his side. "A dangerous person who is not his friend," she spoke. "In my case, he may not have been mistaken."

"Haibara-san..." Conan trailed off.

"Just kidding."

The boy frowned a bit, well aware that she definitely hadn't said such a thing as a joke, but decided not to press her any further, hoping that this would be the last dark comment she would do for that day.

At least, until they met Doyle.

Doyle... Conan's eyebrow twitched. ... Doyle is a papillon dog.

"Tell me there isn't a poodle called Conan or something," the child muttered under his breath.

"No, but the shepherd my father used to have was named Conan. He died two years ago, however, due to an illness."

Okay, that didn't really make him feel any better. At all.

As the adults conversed ─ namely Agasa, Kanou and another two people called Tsunashima Yoshio and Tosabayashi Aki ─ Doyle was set on Haibara's arms. Conan's glance strayed away from the men and to the enigmatic girl, whose eyes stared at the dog she was holding, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Say," Ayumi smiled. "Why don't you choose something too, Haibara-san?"

The reason they were there, after all, was that Kanou was giving his belongings away before moving to England.

"You don't get an opportunity like this every day," Mitsuhiko added.

"There are many cool things here!" Genta agreed.

Haibara just stared at them for a few seconds before focusing back on the dog. "I guess," she said, softly. "In that case, I think I'll take this dog."

It was obvious she wasn't serious, but there was a small smile on her face that caused Conan to believe, for an instant, that she was feeling a bit better.

"If I'm killed like Marie was, and when the dew on the guillotine vanishes, he will drown himself in the Seine river like Marie's dog, Thisbe did, following me in death," she smiled brightly, cuddling with the animal. "Right?"

The dog was suddenly whisked away from her hands. "Definitely not," said Conan, keeping Doyle away from her, a blank look on his eyes. "I fear what this dog's life could become if you get your hands on him."

"Can't you get a joke from once?" she replied, with a sigh.

Conan said nothing, just narrowed his eyes as he watched his friends whispering to each other, and the adults changed the topic of their conversation. Only when the attention was away from them, the child moved closer to her.

"That was not a joke," he whispered at her.

"You're not thinking Doyle is actually going to drown himself in a river belonging to an entirely different continent, right?"

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," he pressed further. "The Professor told me you haven't left your house ever since the bus incident."

Haibara simply looked away, but Conan knew what she was thinking about at the moment. She is scared, he couldn't help but notice. Even if Inspector Takagi assured me the other day that there weren't any unidentifiable people, she still firmly believes there was one of them in there.

"You know, even if there was one of them there, your identity is still safe."

It had been ten days ever since after all. Conan was pretty sure she ─ and everyone else─ would be dead by now if they had figured out who she was.

Seeing no reaction from the girl, Conan let out a long, defeated sigh, deciding that it might be best if he just let go. He still hoped against hope, however, that this girl would see the reason behind his words.

When Kuroba Kaito was called to the principal's office, he wasn't actually that surprised. As a matter of fact, nobody in his entire classroom was. So, folding his arms behind his head, he strolled through the halls, wondering with a big grin on his face which prank he should pull today.

He didn't get the chance though. The words of the principal had shocked him a bit too much for pulling some tricks.

"This time, it's not me who wants to talk with you," with a defeated expression on his face, he glanced towards the door. "You can come in, Hattori-kun."

Forgetting his poker face for a moment, Kaito blinked, completely confused to see the teenager walk inside the room, smiling at them and waving his hand. "It's you again!" he gasped. "That famous detective... Uh, what was the name again?"

"Hattori Heiji," the detective replied, annoyance lacing his voice.

"Ah, that, that," the magician smiled. "So, what is all of this about?" before turning to the principal. "I have science in few minutes and I can't miss it."

... Miss the teacher's face when he falls into the trap I have set, that was.

"I'm here for a simple reason. Tell me all about it and I will leave," Hattori's eyes suddenly hardened. "About how you killed Kato Momoka-han!"

Now his poker face was completely gone, no traces of it left. "... Eh?!"

"Now, now, Hattori-kun," the principal stood up from his seat. "The only reason I let you in is because who you are, but you can't just accuse Kuroba-kun just like that! I know him, he wouldn't be able to-"

"Oh, believe me, that's all they always say," Heiji told the man. "Those who personally know the culprit. They will always argue, swear that the culprit has nothing to do with the crime," an arrogant smirk crossed Hattori's face. "At least, until they confess, cornered by the undeniable evidence presented in front of them."

"But I didn't do anything!" Kaito argued, completely outraged. "I don't even know who this woman is."

"Alright, then. If you didn't do it, you have nothing to fear, right?" he said, swiftly pushing the principal away to sit on his place. "Let's have a little talk, shall we?"

At the sight of Kaito raising an eyebrow at him, the principal sighed, tiredly.

"Just agree with his terms, Kuroba-kun," the principal said. "Be honest and everything will be alright."

Kaito just nodded at him, pretending to be annoyed. Lady Luck, please, he pleaded in his mind, however, as the principal passed by him, leaving the room, and the two teenagers alone. Don't let this detective ask any questions I can't answer.

"So, what do you want to ask?" questioned Kaito, nonchalantly, leaning against his seat with a bored expression on his face. "If you're asking about my alibi or something, I'm not sure I can't help you. You see, I don't really keep track of my time and life so-"

"I don't need any of that," Heiji interrupted him. "I just need you to answer a single question. Just one. And then you can leave."

"But, I'm telling you I didn't kill this Momoko-"

"Momoka," he corrected quickly. "And I know. I know for a fact you don't have a connection with her."

Kaito blinked once. Twice. "... What?"

"I just wanted to talk," he continued. "Now answer this."

"Hey..."

"Who was that friend that was visiting you at the hospital at the other time we met?"

Silence ensued after that question, yet Heiji's gaze did not stray away from the boy in front of him, who seemed to take his time to let the words sink in. When they did, for some reason Heiji couldn't hope to understand, his eyes widened slightly and his face paled considerably. The next instant, he was back to normal, sighing as if annoyed.

Too bad Heiji still noticed the shift.

"What are you going to do if I refuse to say anything?" Kaito replied, closing his eyes with a sigh.

Internally, Hattori flinched. He had a point there.

"I will... reveal your darkest secret to everyone in this school."

Even though he had no idea of what this secret could be, but to be fair, everyone had one secret or two that they did not want people to know about.

It seemed like Kaito's secret was a big one, because of the violent wince that shook his body not even moments after Hattori said that. He recovered right away, an amused smile passing by his lips.

"Ah, is that so?" he teased. "Then, tell me, what is it?"

Hattori smirked. "Do you truly want me to say it out loud?"

"The name is Hirai Arthur," the gazes of both teenagers snapped towards the source of the third voice.

Standing there, arms crossed over his chest, stood another boy of their age. Strawberry blonde hair, chocolate eyes and an arrogant smirk on his face as he simply stared back at the detective from Osaka.

"Hakuba!" Kaito exclaimed, surprised and a tad annoyed, it seemed. "What are you doing here?"

"The principal informed me that you, somehow, managed to make yourself a murder suspect. He sent me here to help you out in case you messed up," the blonde said, calmly, before turning to Heiji, pointedly ignoring the way Kaito, far from feeling thankful, seemed to huff at his explanation. "But it seems like the topic of this conversation has drifted from the original one, hasn't it?"

Heiji frowned a bit at that.

"If you're done here, I recommend you to leave," Hakuba then added. "Unless you want me to tell the principal you were lying about it. It wouldn't be nice if your school was informed that you missed your morning class so you could bully a student from another institute, am I wrong?"

"I was just about to leave," Hattori grinned, as he stood up. "Thanks for giving me the answer I was looking for, though."

Kaito just blinked, owlishly, as he watched the detective of the West heading towards the door, waving at them before leaving for good. Then, he turned to Hakuba, who didn't even look at him, and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, what was that about?" he asked, clearly irritated.

"I can't let anyone catch you before I do," Hakuba explained, before chuckling slightly. "Well, had you been a bit more observant, you would have realized that he was just bluffing and had no idea what your secret was, though."

Kaito groaned at that. "What are you even talking about?"

"He's a detective. If he kept pressing you, he might have figured out who you are," he answered, heading to the door as well. "So I figured it might be best to give him Hirai-kun's name instead. Whatever his secret is, he is much more capable of keeping it away from Hattori-kun than you."

"Like I told you, I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you really still believe I'm KID?"

The detective smirked at him, then simply left.

For the longest moment, Kaito stared at the door, silence filling the room, as he let the past events sink on his mind. Then, he sighed, heavily, feeling more exhausted than he had ever felt.

Seriously, what did just happen?

Conan already knew that, in some way or another, he was cursed. Or at least, he had a terrible luck, so that people would just drop dead, be kidnapped or something along those lines wherever he went.

What he didn't expect this time around, though, was the victim to be Doyle, kidnapped and hidden somewhere around the house.

Luckily for the dog, the owner and everyone involved, that case had been relatively easy to solve. Apparently it had been Tsunashima. He had wanted to steal the dog's ridiculously rich collar so he could sell it somewhere, in order to buy a new house for his several dogs.

Moved by his story, Kanou had decided to just give the collar to him. Tsunashima had cried tears of happiness at that.

Despite everything, there was a clue that had been left untouched ─ Hazuki Shino's shoes left at the front door ─ causing everyone to wonder. Conan had explained that the culprit had been none other than Arthur, so the dog got yelled by the owner. At least, until he was explained that his intention was to stop Shino, and therefore her dog Christie, from leaving, since he believed that humans needed shoes to leave the house.

They had forgotten all about it when Shino declared she was going to move to London with him, not realizing that they had left the poor dog shaking, thinking that he was still in trouble.

"Silly," apparently, Haibara hadn't forgotten about Arthur. "Rest assured, nobody's angry with you."

Conan looked away from the happy couple to the girl beside him, who had just kneeled down next to the dog, her expression instantly softening at the sight of the animal. Then, a smile made its appearance on her face without her noticing.

"Finally!" their three friends seemed to notice the same thing, as well.

Haibara blinked.

"We were really worried about you!" Ayumi quickly explained.

"You have been really depressed lately," with a nod, Genta agreed.

"So we all thought of ways to lift your spirits!" Mitsuhiko said, with a big grin.

Now it was turn for Conan to blink. "You did?" he asked, completely took by surprise. He had honestly thought they hadn't noticed a thing, but then again, of course they had. They were really observant when they wanted to. "So I wasn't included, huh?"

"That's because you're always arguing with Haibara-san!" Ayumi said with a smile.

"... Am I?"

"Yeah, you are!" Genta yelled.

The boy simply shrugged at that, not caring enough about that fact to actually grace his friends with another response. It wasn't like they minded either, it seemed, because the next second they were all laughing, praising Arthur for such a good job.

At his side, stood Haibara. Her smile hadn't yet vanished from her face, it even grew bigger than before as she watched her friends playing.

"So, it's animals, huh?"

Ai honestly didn't understood what the boy was talking about, so she settled with directing a questioning gaze back at him.

"I was just wondering," he replied her unspoken question, his hands sliding back on his pockets.

"Wondering what?"

"You know," he slightly tilted his head to his side, his gaze not breaking apart from his friends. "Ayumi-chan loves the colour pink, yet hates snakes. She has taken a liking to shojo manga lately... Mitsuhiko is a nerd ─ loves every single thing that has to do with science and technology ─ and dreams to study computer science when he grows older. Dislikes carrots with a passion, though... Genta, well, loves to eat. However, he is learning how to handle his father's liquor store so he can work there in the future. Hates math."

Haibara did not comment on that, just staring at the boy while patiently waiting him to explain his point. With a smile, however, Conan crossed his arms behind his head.

"I love mysteries, but I take you already knew that, right?" he chuckled. "I also like soccer a lot, and, ever since Mitsuhiko and the others introduced me to it, I really enjoy watching Kamen Yaiba. If there's something I don't like in this world, however, it might be-"

"Raisins," she completed without batting an eye. "You hate raisins for some reasons I can't hope to understand. I saw you flinching the day I mentioned the word to Mouri-san."

"Wow, you're good."

"Well, is that it?" Haibara looked at him from the corner of her eye. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"What about you?" she definitely didn't expect that. "Now I know you like animals, but that's it," finally, his eyes met hers and she could see something passing by them. Was it concern? Pity? She couldn't tell. "What are the things you like? What are the things you hate? Is there something you want to do in the future?"

For the longest time, the girl simply stared back at the boy, whose eyes seemed to see much more than what it looked like. Then, after what it felt like an eternity, her lips curved.

Conan didn't get to see any of that, however, because she quickly turned around.

"Well, if it's about hate," she said to him, amusement tinting her voice. "I hate nosy detectives."

"... Should I send my brother a text and tell him to be careful?"

"Yes, send him a text. But tell him he is going to become an only child instead."

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," despite what he had said, the way his lips twitched upward told another story.

"Of course you don't. Isn't denial your strong point?"

The conversation seemed to shift from the main topic right after that, but none minded that one bit. Mostly because they both knew that the message had been clear, and had been understood.

Even after that, however, Haibara did not stop wondering.

She honestly didn't have any answer for his question.

Both children were brought out of their conversation when a phone seemed to start ringing. The girl just watched as the boy pulled his phone from his pocket, glanced at the screen before an exhausted sigh escaped from his lips. Stepping aside, he picked up.

"What is it, Hattori?"

"Yo, kid," Heiji's cheerful voice came from the other side of the receiver. "How are you doing?"

"Did you find something?" Conan asked right away.

"Hey, you could at least be a bit nicer, you rude little jerk," Hattori complained. "I'm in my way back home from Ekoda so, if you don't improve that attitude of yours, I won't speak a word of it to you."

Groaning a bit, Conan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said in a barely audible whisper.

"Hey," the teenager's tone changed at that. "Are you okay? You sound tired."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, his hand sliding inside his pocket again. "Just solved the tenth case this week."

"Again?"

"This one was fairly easy, though. At first I was scared to think I've walked right into a dog murder case, but it turned out to be that he was just hidden in the house."

Hattori paused, silently listening as the kid sighed again, showing and overall exhaustion no children should. He wondered if, at this point, this little boy had solved more cases than him, and couldn't help but worry.

If this continued like this, this kid would die from stress alone, he shuddered.

"So, what did you find?" finally, Conan asked.

"Ah, well, a lot actually," Heiji replied. "Say, why don't you, Ran-chan and the old man come to Osaka and-?"

"You didn't find that much, did you?" his eyebrow raised. "Or, at least not that much to require a face to face conversation."

Heiji flinched, then groaned. Of course he couldn't lie to this kid in particular, he should have really expected it. Now, what do I do? he thought about it hard. It wasn't like he could give that easily on him...

Then, it occured it to him.

"Say, kid. Don't you want to meet some stars?"

Conan blinked. "I'm not following."

"My parents were invited to a restaurant's opening party, but they both got colds and can't go. So I was thinking of inviting you guys," Hattori explained, a grin etched on his face. "Three of the most famous American athletes we'll be here in Japan."

"Pass."

"What's wrong with you?" the teenager complained, feeling a bit annoyed now. "This is a unique opportunity."

"Is that you want someone dead in that party? Because that's what is going to happen."

"Come on, don't be that grim. Everything will be alright," he pointedly ignored the grumbled 'I doubt it' and continued. "Look, you can't miss out on this. Those three athletes will be there."

"Ah, yeah?" Conan replied, a bored, uninterested, tone sipping on his voice. "Who are those athletes?"

"Pro-boxer Ricardo Barega, Major Leaguer Mike Node and lastly Pro-soccer player Ray Curtis-"

"I'm going."

"I see... That's too bad..." Hattori sighed, running a hand on his hair, feeling defeated after running out of options, until the little child's words really dawned on him. He paused, blinked. "... What did you just say?"

"I'm going," he repeated, before adding. "Don't take it the wrong way. I just want to talk to you about Watanabe-sensei's case in person. That's all."

A few seconds passed by, in silence, as Heiji just sat there in his train, quiet. He even had to take another look at his phone before a grin grew in his face. "Oh, I see..."

"You don't sound convinced."

He didn't notice Haibara giggling, having watched him through the entire conversation. She didn't have any idea of what they had been talking about, but the lovely pinch on red on the young detective's cheeks was more than enough for her to know that he was being teased.

Then, he smiled childishly.

Seeing Conan acting like a child amused Haibara to no end. Well that's natural, considering we are children.

Shrugging a bit, she walked towards the rest of her friends, wondering if, one day, she, too, would smile like the child she was supposed to be.

"... And last up is the goalkeeper known as the 'Iron Wall of Europe', Ray Curtis-san!"

When the very famous athlete walked in the stage, Conan barely noticed his smile growing on his own accord, feeling giddy with excitement. Awesome, that was the only thought currently going through his mind at that moment. It's him!

As the blonde man joined the other two, and took the microphone from the presenter ─ revealing in the process that he could speak Japanese perfectly well ─ Heiji couldn't help but steal a glance to the kid at his side, or more specifically the wide grin that threatened to split his face in half, and kneeled down next to him.

"See?" he whispered in his ear. "I told you this would be great."

"Yeah," the child barely whispered, far too mesmerized with his idol to pay attention to anything else.

Not that Heiji minded too much, however. Standing back up, he watched the child for a few moments by the corner of his eye. The way his eyes were twinkling and his mouth opened, in awe, prompted the older detective to chuckle slightly.

It was unusual to see this overly serious and mature little boy so happy, acting so... childishly.

And that's how it should be, Hattori's smile dropped. Children should be just that, children.

But this one seems to have forgotten how to be one.

Closing his eyes, he sighed a bit, breaking his gaze away from the smiling child towards the scenario.

Even if it's just for today... Just this once...

Allow yourself to be a child, Conan.

Just as he was saying that, another voice broke in and a news reporter, Edward McKay, spoke up and started to try put them down. Heiji initially wondered who was this person supposed to be, until Kogoro explained that he was an American reporter specialized in exposing famous athletes' scandals. He wasn't that surprised, that kind of reporters were everywhere.

He was surprised, however, when the announcer asked the audience to submit questions, only to Ran to raise her hand on the air, badly starling Kazuha, who was standing right beside her. Instead of a question, the girl asked Ray if she could get an autograph, and got a signed one of the four uniforms with his number, the number eight, on it. Blushing slightly, she asked if he could write the name 'Shinichi' on it.

"Oh, isn't he lucky? That guy..." Conan muttered.

"Hey," Heiji said, with a teasing grin. "Are you jealous?"

Conan didn't answer right away, crossing his arms behind his head. "Not really," he answered. "Shinichi-niichan has been a fan of him before I was even born," in fact, it had actually been him who had passed down his fanaticism towards Ray to Conan. "So I guess it's fair. He didn't get the chance to see him in person like I did."

"Wow, you are rather understanding when it comes to it."

When the girl returned, Ray's shirt clutched against her chest, she handed something to the little boy. Conan blinked, stunned, at the sight of the ticket that was suddenly in front of his nose. "This is a ticket to the exhibition match in Nagai that Ray-san will be playing it," she smiled at him. "He just gave it to me. Do you want it?"

Ran was amused when the child took the ticket between his hands, aweing at it with a broad grin on his face. Giggling at the unusual sight of Conan acting this open, she turned back to Heiji, who was surprised at how generous Curtis was.

She explained that they had asked a favour in exchange. They had given her a walkie-talkie, as she was supposed to communicate to the three athletes and help them form the letter 'K' with the lights of the hotel rooms.

The letter 'K' was done perfectly.

Yet, as little Conan's luck would have it, everyone heard a gunshot.

Edward McKay was found dead in a room at the second floor, gripping his belt with his left hand, and holding up his thumb, middle and pointing finger on his right.

Considering their positions right after the murder ─ since they had poked their heads out when the shooting sound happened ─ it could have been any of them.

"Then," Kogoro wondered. "Just who is the murderer?"

"Maybe a guest from the restaurant did it?" Conan spoke up, causing Kogoro, Heiji and Inspector Otaki to turn to him. "When it happened, Hattori-san and I rushed up here. If the killer was one of those that came up with us, he could have escaped then."

The inspector and the older detective seemed to think over his words, seriously, while Hattori just watched the child talking with the adults, the usual overly sweet smile present on his face.

And he frowned.

Because the hotel hadn't opened yet, the elevators were still not operational, Heiji observed, as he slowly made his way to the first floor. That meant that, whoever had done it, they might have used the stairs to get to the murder scene.

Lights switches seem to be installed and working, he noted, opening the door to the room and focused on the switch. To make it go an off, you need to push the switch each time.

Upon turning the light on, he detective examined the room. His gaze fell on the curtain, not failing to remember that Ran had told Mike to open the curtains before the shot had been made, and moved closer. Pulling the cloth to the side, he watched the darkened city outside the window. If you tied a loop in a rope and...

"That's impossible," Heiji turned around at the sound of the young voice, and wasn't surprised to find Conan, leaning in the doorway, hands inside his pockets and an almost bored look on his eyes. "I have already looked through Mike-san's room. There was nothing to suggest anything was tied to it or that it was tampered with."

Heiji quietly watched the child moving inside the room.

"Among those three, the most suspicious would be the one closest to the crime scene. But it couldn't have been Ray-san, considering it takes at least ten seconds to make it to the second floor and that his left knee is injured. Mike-san injured his arm in a previous game, and Ricardo-san is too big and slow," then, he smiled at him. "That's why I'm telling you. None of those three could have done it."

And for a long moment, the room was silent. The child only blinked, confusedly, when Hattori's eyes seemed to narrow, staring at him in a way that actually made him feel uncomfortable. Before he could ask was was wrong, he watched him kneel down next to him.

"Say, why don't you go check on Kazuha and the others for me?" he commented, a smile on his face. "Ran-chan must be worried about you."

"Eh?" Conan raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you? This is certainly not the first time I sneak out of her watch, and you never seem to be concerned about it."

"Ah, is that so?" he let out a nervous laugh. "That doesn't mean is not true however. You should go. I will take care of this."

When the hand landed on the top of his head, Conan couldn't help but stare back at the older boy, feeling utterly lost. In the past, Hattori would always let him come along when he was solving mysteries, and was usually okay with the both of them working together. Why would he, completely out of the blue, want him out of the case?

Just as Heiji's hand started ruffling his hair, Conan inhaled sharply. "Hattori," he finally spoke, eyes widening as realization dawned to him. "You don't think that...?"

"Huh? Ah, no. I still haven't got a clue."

"You do," Conan shook his head. "But you are wrong," then he stood up, walking around the room, looking at every little thing with a smirk on his face. "Making it to the door and knocking would take another five seconds," absentmindedly he opened the closet door. "It just can't be done."

When he turned to face Heiji, however, he noticed he was looking somewhere else. He followed his gaze and realized that, inside the closet he had just opened, was a mop. What is this thing doing here? he wondered, taking the object between his hands. Do they keep these in hotel rooms?

His eyes then fell on the switch beside the door.

The sound of something falling into the floor startled Hattori, causing him to turn towards the child. The mop had slipped from his finger going slack due to the shock of what had just crossed his mind, eyes fixed on the small light switch from before.

"Conan," the child's head snapped towards Hattori when he spoke. "I can solve this case alone, so why don't you-?"

"You're not thinking that, do you?" Heiji silently stared back at the young boy, who seemed to smile, even if his eyebrows were still clenched together. "He couldn't have done it. No way."

"Listen, kid, I-"

"No, you listen to me!" Heiji winced at his loud outburst. "It just can't be done! And I will prove it to you!"

With that, the child took off running out the room.

It wouldn't be long until he realized the undeniable truth, however.

"Actually, someone is waiting for you in the hotel room you're staying in," Hattori had said to the famous soccer player. "This request is actually... For your biggest fan."

When Ray arrived at the accorded place, however, he hadn't expected to see his hotel room wide open, a mop supporting a cabinet door. Oh my gosh.

Just as he was about to ask out loud who could have done such a thing, a soccer ball descended down the stairs, bouncing twice before knocking down the broom. As a result, the door feel and turned up the light.

"That's how you did it, didn't you, Ray-san?" Looking up, he saw a little boy standing on top of the stairs, whose lips then curved into a rueful smile. "After practicing a few times, even a kid like me can do it. And you were midfielder Ray Curtis, known for his powerful free kicks."

Ray's eyes adopted a darker look, just watching the child slowly walking down the stairs, one at a time. As he did so, he explained the trick he had done to make everyone believe he hadn't killed anyone. There was a sad, resigned look on his eyes as he did so, however.

The needle he had used to deflate the soccer ball he had used, the way he had avoided getting gunpowder on his clothes, even Edward's dying message that clearly meant 'eight'... Every little thing he mentioned caused the goalkeeper grow more and more restless.

No matter how much Ray tried to argue, that kid still correctly deflected every single one of the excuses he gave out to defend himself.

"It's ironic," Conan crouched besides the ball he had just kicked. "I wanted to prove you innocent, so I started to investigate. But the more along I got, more came up pointing at you."

"Little boy," Ray let out a laugh. "How unfortunate that all you said isn't enough to convict me..."

"Shoes," was all the child said, as he stood up, holding the bag between his hands. "You were wearing them when you did it, right?" he gave him a look, frowning at him. "You wouldn't have been able to kick otherwise."

Pale as a sheet of paper, Ray simply let his arms hang at his sides, finally coming into the realization that there might no other way out of it. Silently still, he watched the child letting an exhausted sigh.

"Just give up," Conan said to him, his voice barely above a whisper. "Just give up, Ray-san... Please."

Ray sighed as well. "Oh, I'm sorry. That's something I can't do," he let out a sickening smirk. "If I were to get arrested, my fans, my family, they'd be disappointed."

"Disappointed, huh?"

Before he knew it, a ball was shot right at him. Even if he was shocked, he quickly slid into the stance of a professional goalkeeper, in order to catch it. His knee failed him, however, and he found himself smacked by the ball across the face.

"What would they all think?" the child walked closer to the man, who had just fallen into his rear at the impact of the ball. "What would all your fans think if they saw you, Ray Curtis, the Iron Wall failing to block a ball kicked by a mere elementary grade student?"

Sharp blue eyes, tainted by disappointment, looked straight at Ray.

"What's wrong with you?" he whispered, then shouted. "Answer me, Ray!"

Ray stared at him for a few seconds, before a resigned chuckle escaped from his lips. Then, with a heavy voice, he decided to tell the boy everything. As the child expected, Curtis used drugs, but had only began to take them after Edward had soiled his name, pushing his wife into suicide because of the pressure.

"That's why..." Curtis pressed a hand against his face. "That's why I..."

Conan's gaze hardened.

"Stop. Stop it, Ray," he said, English rolling down his tongue. "Even if you are facing a bitter aspect of life, drugs and murder are foul, without any excuse."

The soccer player looked up at him, taken aback for the wise words coming out of such a young mouth.

"You deserve a red card, for a loser," Conan's eyes closed.

Ray's lips turned upwards. "True, I was a cheater. A bad player, and I lost the game," he confessed. "I must be ejected," he finally stood up. "For both my late wife... And for a fan like you."

With that, Ray Curtis disappeared down the stairs. Conan would find out later than the man had admitted to the crime, allowing himself to be judged accordingly.

Yet, Conan knew, everything came with a price. He knew he would never see his idol in the field ever again.

Predictably so, Conan ended up not going to that match in Nagai he had been looking forward to so badly.

He just exhaled, forlornly, letting his shoulders drop as he just stared blankly at the space in front of him, leaning his face against his head as he just sat there, in the stairs of Heiji's house.

Suddenly, something hit his head, momentarily snapping him out of his sulking state. He stared, confusedly, back at Heiji, who caught the ball, that had just bounced on him, between his hands.

"What are you doing over there?" he said to the child. "You deserve to be hit."

"You always deserve to be hit," Conan raised an eyebrow. "But you don't see me kicking you with a soccer ball ever waking second of your life, do you?"

Heiji rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed, before sitting him beside Conan. "Hey," the kid didn't seem to appreciate it. "Who invited you?"

"As a matter of fact, this is my house, so technically it was me who invited you."

Besides the way the child seemed to shake his head at that, he didn't respond to the tease. The only thing he did was to pull his knees closer to his chest and wrap his arms around his legs. Like so, they sat in a silence that, instead of uncomfortable, Conan found rather nice.

Not that he would say it out loud, of course.

"Say, Hattori," finally, came the timid voice of the boy, who didn't even look at him. "Why did you decide to look into my brother's case, even if you were so sure that he...?"

Hattori pondered over it for a moment.

"Because I met Kudo in person, and... I don't know, I don't think he could've done it."

"Idiot. That doesn't prove anything."

"Of course not, that's why I'm looking for a proof!" Hattori answered, before a smile crossed his face. "Well, there is also one little thing that, even if not enough for everyone, is more than enough proof for me."

"Huh?" Conan blinked, stupidly. "What proof?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yeah," Hattori nodded. "I can see it, in your eyes," he looked at the child. "You believe in him, don't you?"

"Of course I do," the kid argued, looking at him for a second, before focusing his gaze back to the grass. "But does that really matter?" he forced a smile on his face. "To be frank, I'm a bit scared now. What if I try to look for something to prove Shinichi-niichan innocent and I end up finding something that proves him guilty instead? If that happened, I..." he frowned. "I..."

I don't think I would able to take it, even if he didn't say it, Heiji understood perfectly. So, for a moment of so, he just played with the soccer ball, passing from one hand to the other, thinking deeply about the dilemma going through that bright, yet young mind.

"You know, Conan, what happened to Ray Curtis has no point of comparison with this case," he began. "The reason you couldn't accept that Ray was the culprit was because you were a big fan of him, which is understandable, but that was it. Your relationship with Kudo is obviously deeper and stronger than that, isn't it?"

Conan simply stared back at the detective for a few moments, before looking up the sky.

"... I guess," he shrugged. "It's not like have been that close, though."

Hattori chuckled. "You two share a strong bond, even if none of you realize it," he commented. "I'm certain of it."

The child did not understand, making it evident by the confusion pinching his face, which in turn seemed to amuse the Osakan detective, laughing loudly.

If he didn't have any pride, Conan would have pouted right then and there.

"Whatever," Conan finally huffed. "Will you finally tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"You know," he rolled his eyes. "What did you find out when you went to Ekoda?"

"Ah, that," Heiji laughed, awkwardly. "It wasn't that much actually."

"Hey, hey."

"I have that weird random stuff you asked me about, and I have written it down. Ah, and I got that weird guy's name. You know, the one that seemed to be threatening Tanaka-sensei at that time."

"Oh, really?" Conan's interest picked up at that.

"Yeah," he answered with a cocky grin.

The child didn't expect the name he pronounced after that:

"The name is Arthur. Hirai Arthur."

A/N:

ajjr12: I will think about it ;)

Dy: Thank you for pointing that out! Also, thanks for your suggestion :) I will think about it.

Asahina Chihaya: Mary Sera is going to appear at some point, and I think I have more of less though how it's going to happen. And I'm probably going to do at least one Kaito KID movie since I believe writing about Conan's reaction to his disguises would be interesting XD