As before, author's notes and disclaimers at the end.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------

"The sound of fireworks, the smell of black powder...the light of a
brilliant mind dazzles the night where criminals prowl.

"Seeing clear to the only truth, I have the body of a child, but the mind of
an adult. The boy detective called Meitantei Conan!"

* * * * * * * * *

Officers responding to reports of a disturbance in the main shopping street
of Beika-cho that night found no signs of any perpetrators, and no direct
witnesses--those who had heard the muffled shouts and yells in the street
had been too panicked to actually look.

Inspector Megure had not responded directly to the disturbance call, but had
informed the investigating officers to notify him of anything unusual at the
scene--anything out of place.

He knew it was a remote chance, but his intuition and instinct were nagging
at him. Something was amiss...there was a hidden mystery under his nose, and
damned if he wasn't going to find it.

He may not be in the same league as Kudo Shinichi when it came to detective
work, but he didn't make the rank of chief inspector by being an idiot.

An officer walked into his office, carrying a pair of sealed cardboard
boxes. "Megure-keibu," he said, "here's the evidence collected at the
disturbance call."

Megure blinked. "What the--? What on earth is all that?"

The officer set the boxes down on a chair. "All I know is I was told to
bring it to you, and that it hasn't gone through the usual battery of tests
yet--the boys on the scene just said you'd want to see this." He paused.
"Oh, and here are the photographs of the scene." He handed the inspector a
thick envelope, bowed, and left.

Megure frowned as he opened the envelope and took out the pictures. There
certainly had been a disturbance, he mused grimly. Evidence of a struggle, a
handgun and a knife lying on the street...blood? Not enough to be a gunshot
wound, though...and--

He blinked.

A soccer ball--embedded in a brick wall?!

* * * * * * * * *

The night seemed to go on forever. At half three, Kogoro finally passed out
from too much drink, and Sonoko, having been slightly refreshed by her
impromptu drug-induced nap, finally wound down and decided to catch a few
hours' sleep before heading home in the morning.

That left Ran and Conan awake--and Ran was clearly in the mood to talk. "But
not here," she said softly. "Let's go down to the office."

Conan nodded, and the two of them padded silently down the steps to the
detective office on the second floor of the building. After locking the door
behind her, Ran stood at the broad windows, looking out at the night sky,
arms crossed. In the dim reflection, Conan could see the beginning of tears
in her eyes--and stormclouds in her expression.

"Ran," he began.

She whirled around, and her face was furious. "You absolute *bastard*," she
hissed. "You knew I suspected--you knew all along, and yet you kept doing
things..."

The young detective bowed his head. "Gomen ne, Ran."

"An apology isn't going to cut it, Shinichi," Ran snapped. "You've put me
through too much pain...too much worry. You could've been dead a dozen times
over by now--I had to give you BLOOD, remember? When you were SHOT?"

"If I'd really been a kid...if I were really Conan, and not Shinichi...I'd
still have been shot, and you'd still have--"

"That's beside the point!" Ran yelled. She took a deep breath, and turned
her back on him. "I don't want to hear excuses, or bullshit about the
kurozukume, or lives in danger, or any of that. Do you hear me? You hurt me.
You hurt me by making me worry, and you hurt me worse by lying to me. By not
trusting me."

"I trust you with my life," Conan replied softly.

"Liar," Ran said bitterly, tears streaming down her face. "If you really
trusted me with your life, you'd have TOLD ME."

"I trusted YOU with MY life," Conan replied. "I didn't trust ME with YOURS."

Ran turned and looked at him, blinking. "Huh?"

"Ran, if...if something happened to you, because of me...because of my
stupid..." Conan sighed, rubbing his eyes. "If anything happened to you, and
it was my fault...and I wasn't able to save you..." He swallowed thickly.

Ran sighed. "Shinichi..."

"You--to me--are the most important thing in the world, Ran," Conan said,
walking towards her. "I've been dying inside, these last months, knowing how
much I was hurting you, and not being able to...knowing what'd happen if..."
He scowled, looking down at the floor, trying to compose himself. He then
looked up at her, locking his sharp blue eyes on her face. "I couldn't live
with myself if something happened to you because of me."

"But...something DID happen to me," Ran countered. "I spent months hurting
inside."

"I did too."

"And you could've ended it all, with just a few words..."

"And if you'd gotten hurt on the *outside*? Because of me?"

"At least I'd have known the truth."

They stood, staring at each other.

Conan sighed. "I guess it doesn't do much good to keep going back and forth
like this," he said.

"I guess not."

More silence.

"Ran...I know it doesn't help, but I really am sorry. I never meant to hurt
you--if I'd known, that night, what living this lie would mean...if I'd
known how long it'd go on...I'd have told you right away. I'd have ignored
Agasa-hakase and told you. Even if it meant putting you in danger with me.
I..."

Ran shook her head. "No. You wouldn't. You know it, and I know it. You'd
never let anyone in if it meant putting them in danger. I *know* you,
Shinichi. You never meant for me to know what had happened to you, even
after you found a cure."

Conan hung his head. "You're probably right. But...so many times, I really
DID want to tell you. It hurt, watching you..."

"So we've both been hurting, all these months," Ran said, kneeling to face
him on his level. "At least that puts us on equal ground. Now, we both need
to heal."

The young man in a child's body nodded. "I..." He paused. "There's something
I've wanted desperately to say to you, for so long. But...I don't want to
say it now. Not like this. Not with this voice, from this body. I want to
say it as me." He looked up at her, eyes shimmering in the dim light from
the windows. "Please wait for me, Ran. Please wait...until I can be Shinichi
again, and tell you..."

"I've waited months, Shinichi. I can wait a little longer. And...right now,
I don't think I want to hear those words...not yet. I need time too."

Conan nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I'll wait...until we're both
ready. Until we both heal."

* * * * * * * * *

Gin was shaken awake roughly by Vodka. "Oi, get off," he grumbled.

"Aniki, wake up. Mezcal's here."

"Mezcal...?" Gin blurted in confusion, sitting up...and wincing in pain.
"Agh, SHIT!"

A dry chuckle. "Please...try to limit your movements, Gin," a rich, lilting
male voice said. The shrunken killer looked up to see an olive-skinned man
with dark brown eyes and curly black hair standing over him, an amused smirk
on his face. "Aggravating your injuries before I attend them will only make
the pain worse." The glitter in his eyes said that he wouldn't be sorry to
see Gin suffer.

"Mezcal," the assassin spat. "She just HAD to call you, of all people,
didn't she?"

Mezcal laughed richly. "My dear Gin, I am presently the only qualified
surgeon available to attend you. You are most fortunate I was not away
on...business."

"Your little 'medicine' racket in Tijuana?" Gin sneered. "I'm surprised they
let you keep that going, considering--"

"Considering he deals in more than illegal narcotics there, but also
information crucial to the Organisation," Vermouth interrupted smoothly. She
strode over to stand beside Mezcal. "So, Mezcal...what's the verdict?"

"Guilty of terminal stupidity and carelessness," Mezcal said, smiling. At
Gin's narrowed eyes, he amended, "Ah, it is only a joke. You need to develop
a sense of humour, no?" Shaking his head, he held up a sheaf of X-ray
copies. "We took the liberty of examining your leg while you were asleep. It
is fortunate the medication also kept you sedated...it would not have been
pleasant for you, even with the morphine."

"How bad is it?" Gin grunted, clenching his teeth.

"I am afraid that your right leg is...rather extensively damaged," Mezcal
replied. "Possibly beyond repair. I see no need to amputate, but..." He
shook his head. "The force of the blow completely shattered the tibia, and
snapped the fibula in half. The fibula can be repaired with surgery and
immobilisation--it was a clean break, and seems to have remained in that
condition despite the...change. The damage to the tibia, however..." He
shook his head. "It is completely shattered, and the injury was aggravated
drastically by your transformation. Ordinarily, this would be a case in
which we would insert a plate and a number of screws to correct the damage.
However, between the rather...nasty results of your metamorphosis, and the
fact that inserting that much hardware into your leg which would have to be
removed as you, ah, 'grow', and then re-inserted..." He smiled. "I have
recommended the application of an external support brace for the leg. You
will, of course, require a crutch, once you are able to walk again."

Gin scowled. "One of those cripple contraptions, like the old polio victims
wore?"

"Oh, nothing so primitive as that," the doctor said in oily tones. "You see,
for you to remain, ah, useful to the organisation, you will need something
far more durable."

"Useful?" Gin asked.


Vermouth smiled. "Ordinarily, I'd have just killed you for your
incompetence...but I believe I can use your situation to my advantage. You
are of no use as an assassin now, obviously. However, as a spy..."

"A spy?"

"Yes. Kudo, as well as Sherry, are...diminished, as you yourself are. It
stands to reason they're keeping their cover by hiding in plain sight. You,
in your current state, will be able to do the same."

Gin thought about that for a minute--then his eyes widened. "You can't be
serious."

"I believe I am," the blonde said with a smile.

Gin hissed. "Alright, so I'll have to wear a stupid leg brace."

"Ah...it is slightly more complicated than that," the Latin doctor said.

"How much more complicated?" Gin asked.

"A brace ordinarily assists the joints of the leg, preventing an unwelcome
collapse due to paralysis or limited range of movement," the doctor
explained. "Your problem is rather more severe than weak or immobile joints.
Keep in mind that the bones in your leg can no longer support any weight. In
fact, there is nothing holding the leg...in a leg shape, as it were. The
tibia is shattered completely through." Mezcal showed Gin the X-ray; the
young assassin paled. "A knee-ankle-foot orthosis, of the type once used for
polio victims, would be of no practical use to you in this condition; it
would at the very least reaffirm the proper shape of your leg, but it would
not facilitate any regrowth of the bone--I am not ruling out the
possibility, however small, that the bone might heal partially. It will
never heal fully, but..." He shrugged. "The human body is a strange
machine."

"So you're saying I'm basically lamed," Gin replied.

"In a sense...however," Mezcal continued, "I have devised a procedure which
will allow you to remain upwardly mobile...if rather limited in that
mobility." He paused for a moment. "We will, of course, put a cast on the
leg once I operate on it to insure the fibula is aligned properly and the
bone fragments are not in danger of piercing any major blood vessels. After
a period of bed rest, you will be fitted for a special brace, which will
involve a combination of upright supports, cross straps, and an
intramuscular frame of titanium rods."

"Intramuscular?" Gin asked, not liking the sound of that.

"I am afraid," Mezcal said, his eyes glimmering with barely-concealed mirth,
"There will be much, *much* drilling."

Gin glared at the doctor and Vermouth. "Give me a gun, so I can fucking
shoot myself."

Vermouth laughed.

* * * * * * * * *

Despite the extremely long night, Ran and Conan both woke up fairly early
the following morning. As it was a Sunday, they didn't have anything in
particular planned, but there was one thing Conan wanted to take care of
straight away. He picked up the phone and his calling card and punched in a
number he knew off by heart. Ran watched him curiously, wondering what new
surprise this small boy who wasn't a child at all would bring into her life.

"Oi, Hattori, it's Kudo," Conan spoke into the phone after a moment. "Sorry
to call so early, but we had an interesting night last night." Ran noticed
the smirk and the twinkle in the young boy's eyes, and realised, not for the
first time, that she really WAS looking at Shinichi--how had she ever missed
it before? She must be the most blind, foolish person in the world...

"Na, Hattori...how'd you like to help me out with the missing-persons case
from hell?"

* * * * * * * * *

Megure frowned as he examined the plastic-wrapped, carefully tagged objects
taken from the disturbance scene.

The largest two pieces were somewhat disconcerting: a soccer ball, one side
covered with brick and mortar dust, and a motorcycle helmet with a wide
crack on the back side and a few drops of dried blood on the crown. There
was also what looked remarkably like a scuff mark from a shoe around the
location of the crack.

The other evidence included a gun with a silencer, a dagger, and a cigarette
butt. For a moment, he wondered why the investigators bothered collecting
this last piece--but after all, he had instructed them to be thorough, and
cigarette butts certainly had their uses in forensic investigations.

But the soccer ball--and where it had been found--and the cracked,
blood-stained helmet bothered him the most. The helmet had, according to the
report, been stolen off the back of a nearby motorscooter (the owner had
been contacted), and the damage pattern obviously did not indicate use for
its intended purpose. But...

...the only thing he could think of, based on appearances, was that the
helmet had been kicked at somebody.

But that didn't make sense, right?

Nor did someone who could kick a soccer ball with enough force to put a dent
in brick...

Frowning, he picked up the phone and jabbed at a button. "Megure," he
barked. "Tell the forensics boys to come get this crap from my office."

When a lab tech arrived a moment later, Megure stood, scowling. "Run this
stuff immediately. I want the soccer ball given priority."

The technician blinked. "But...the gun and the knife, sir..."

"The soccer ball is PRIORITY," Megure repeated. "I want the fingerprint
match results *yesterday*."

"H-hai!"

As the harried technician left with the boxes of evidence, Megure examined
the photographs of the crime scene again, frowning. *Enough force to put a
soccer ball through brick...and kick a motorcycle helmet hard enough to
crack it...* He drummed his fingers on his desk. *...Kudo?*

* * * * * * * * *

"Whaddya mean, you don't know *WHO'S* missing?" Hattori Heiji snapped into
the phone. He was still pissed at Kudo for the baseball incident, and now
the obnoxious brat was playing games with him at eight in the morning...?

//That's why it's going to take the two of us combined to solve this one,//
Kudo's voice answered calmly. //You see...we're not sure who our targets
are...but we DO know what we're looking for. Sort of.//

"....that's really not very helpful, Kudo," Heiji said.

The younger boy chuckled. "We're going to be looking for victims of
APTX-4869. We suspect there are at least three others like me, not including
Haibara. So we're looking for people who vanished mysteriously--and little
kids who appeared out of nowhere."

Heiji's eyes widened. "Kudo, what the hell's goin' on over there?"

//Like I said...we had an interesting night.//

* * * * * * * * *

Kogoro finally woke up a short while after Conan's call to Heiji; he spent
several minutes in the lavatory before emerging to look for breakfast.
Luckily for him, despite their relatively early start (considering how late
into the night they were awake), Ran and Conan had not gotten round to
breakfast yet; Ran quickly prepared breakfast for all three of them.

As they ate, the detective kept shooting nasty glances at the small boy
across from him. Conan did his best to ignore this, but finally, he could
take no more. "Oi," he grunted.

Kogoro snorted. "You're lucky I'm not going to throw you out, Kudo," he
said. "You're not exactly my favorite person right now." He frowned.
"But...things have gone a lot better for me and Ran since you showed up like
this. And you did save Ran's life last night--even if it was your fault she
was in trouble in the first place. And...Ran'd probably throw ME out if I
threw YOU out." He paused to sip his tea. "So, I'm going to let you
stay--the expense account your parents set up is still good, so I'll just
start taking rent out of it now that I know the truth. Two things, though."


"Hai?"

"One. No funny business with Ran." The girl in question choked on her miso
soup.

"OTOUSAN!" Ran shouted, face flaming. "Shinichi wouldn't...besides, it's not
like he CAN, like that--" At the expression on the boy's face, she became
even redder. "Gomen ne, Shinichi..."

"It's okay," Conan sighed. "I've gotten used to it. BELIEVE me, I've HAD
to." Nodding to Kogoro, he added, "Agreed. Like she said, I would never do
that anyway." *Not that I don't WANT to, it's more that she'd pulverise
me...* "Condition number two?"

"Condition number two," and here his scowl became nastier, "No more
'Sleeping Kogoro'. Understood? It's a miracle I haven't developed some kind
of terminal illness from all the drugs you've been shooting me up with."

"The stuff in my darts is more or less Valium, at a lower dosage than you'd
take to go to sleep at night," Conan said. "It just kicks in a hell of a lot
faster."

"That's beside the point!" Kogoro growled. "I won't be...*used* like that,
do you hear me?"

"Haaai," Conan said. He sipped his tea. "I have a couple of conditions of my
own, though."

Kogoro raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked dangerously.

Conan nodded, and glared sharply at him. "One. No more hitting me on the
head or throwing me around like a rag doll. I put up with it because I
didn't have any choice before. If you try any of that crap now, I'll kick
the nearest solid object into your groin so hard you'll never think about a
pretty girl ever again."

Kogoro winced. "I...suppose that's fair."

"Two. No shooing me out of an investigation or ignoring anything I try to
say during a case. You know who and what I am now. I'm a detective. I catch
clues you and Megure-keibu miss a lot of times."

"Only because you're so much closer to the ground," Kogoro grumbled.

"Otousan!" Ran chided.

But Conan actually grinned. "Yeah, that's right. I *am*. It's one of the
little advantages I've found this body has." He paused for a bit of rice.
"And I *will* be actively involved in the investigations from now on. I
agree that doing the dummy thing isn't an option now--I'm amazed it worked
for as long as it DID. And I've tried using a conscious person as a dummy;
it doesn't always work very well. So instead, we'll just have to work out a
way to work *together*."

Kogoro snorted. "As if I need YOUR help."


The other two just stared at him for several seconds.

"Che...alright, we'll work out something. Maybe we can say you're my new
apprentice or something, so we can 'confer' and make it look like I'm
teaching you."

"That works," Conan said. Inwardly, he thought, *Him, teach ME? As if.*

"So, any more 'conditions'?" Kogoro asked sarcastically.

Conan shook his head. "Nope...except, of course, that both of you need to
remember to call me Conan. As far as anyone outside is concerned, I'm NOT
Kudo Shinichi."

Kogoro snorted. "Oi, you already blew your identity to the guys you were
hiding from, didn't you? So is there even any point to pretending you're not
Kudo anymore?"

Conan nodded. "Yeah. There's people who aren't involved in this at all, who
don't need to be--if the police found out, for one, they'd want to get
involved in *my* case, and *I'M* gonna be the one to bring those kurozukume
bastards down. And..." He sighed. "Then there's the 'Shounen Tanteidan'.
Edogawa Conan is their friend. I can't disappoint them by letting them know
he doesn't really exist." He shook his head. "Life'll be much easier all
around if I keep pretending to be Conan until Haibara works out a cure. Then
I can get my life back, and Conan can..." He shrugged. "Go back to America,
and never be seen again."

Ran frowned. "Shi--err, Conan-kun...how many people know your secret again?
With everything going on last night, I really lost track of some things."

Conan paused to think. "Okay, there's you two, Sonoko, Agasa-hakase, my
parents, Haibara, Hattori, and of course Gin and Vodka. And that means their
bosses know--the whole organisation knows." He frowned. "And...I might be
wrong, but I think two other people either know, or suspect me."

"Who?" Kogoro asked.

"Jodie Saintemillion, and the Kaitou Kid."

Kogoro spluttered. "KAITOU KID?! The hell?!"

Conan shrugged, putting his hands behind his head. "I've had a few run-ins
with him--enough that he's probably investigated me enough to figure it out.
For a thief, he's no slouch in the brains department. Even keeps *me* on my
toes."

"You almost sound like you admire him," Ran said.

Conan glanced up at the ceiling. "I respect his intelligence and cunning,"
he replied. "And from what I know of him, he seems strangely honorable and
decent. But he's still a thief, which means it's only a matter of time
before he slips up, and ends up in jail." He smirked. "I wouldn't mind being
the one to put him there, but catburglars are small-fry, even famous ones
like him. I'm more interested in solving murder cases and the like."

Kogoro shot him a sideways glance. "Oi. That's a little sick, you know?"

Conan shrugged, closing his eyes lazily. "Meh, betsu ni."

* * * * * * * * *

"You sure you're alright, dear? That was an awfully worrisome sneeze."

"I'm fine, 'kaasan. Must be somebody gossiping about me. What's for
breakfast?"

"I thought we'd have omelettes today. And Kaito? Do stop pulling coins out
of your nose when you blow it. That's disgusting."

"Sorry, 'kaasan."

* * * * * * * * *

A little after ten, the door chime rang. Ran greeted the caller at the
intercom, and breathed a sigh of relief when the voice that chimed through
the small speaker was that of Yoshida Ayumi. //We were hopin' Conan-kun
could play today,// Ayumi said.

Ran frowned. "Just a minute, Ayumi-chan," she replied. She glanced over at
the small detective, who was idly scanning the newspaper on the sofa.
Switching off the intercom, she called, "Shinichi? Ayumi-tachi are
downstairs..."

Conan sighed. "Dammit. I'm tired from being up all night, and I don't really
have time for them today, but..." Shrugging, he stood up, putting the paper
down. "It'll look suspicious if I don't keep up the act, so..."

Ran nodded, and switched the intercom back on. "He'll be down in a minute,
Ayumi-chan." Clicking it off again, she knelt down next to Conan as he
approached the door. "Be careful, Shinichi," she whispered, enfolding him in
a tight hug.

"I will, Ran." He smirked. "They're not going to do anything in broad
daylight with lots of witnesses. I'm more worried about YOU, really."

Ran shrugged. "Like you said, it'd be a little too noticeable if they acted
in broad daylight."

Conan nodded, exchanging his slippers for his sneakers. "I won't stay out
too long," he promised. "I need to sleep sometime...and I need to pull my
weight on this wild goose chase, or Hattori'll have my ass."

Ran giggled. "To think, a few days ago, I'd have scolded you for talking
like that."

The small boy chuckled, putting on his best 'Gee-I'm-cute' act. "Mata ne,
Ran-neechan!" He was out the door and gone before Ran could formulate a
response.

* * * * * * * * *

As the four kids shuffled out onto the sidewalk, squinting in the bright
morning sun, Conan looked at the others. "So, what's on the agenda for
today?"

"We have a case!" Genta declared proudly.

Conan blinked at him. "A case? Not another missing cat?"

"Nope! A missing PERSON!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed enthusiastically.

"A missing person?" *Who'd ask three little kids to look for a missing
person?* Conan wondered to himself.

"Un," Ayumi declared. "We're gonna solve the case of the missing
Shinichi-niichan!"

Conan spluttered, coming to a dead halt. "WH-WHAT?!"

"We're gonna find Shinichi-niichan," Mitsuhiko replied. "Cuz the police
can't find him."

"But Conan-kun's real smart...just like niichan!" Ayumi exclaimed. "I bet
you can find him in no time!"

Conan sweatdropped. "Ah...heh..." *Oh, wonderful. Now they've got me trying
to find myself.*

* * * * * * * * *

Toyama Kazuha couldn't help but notice that her long-time friend and
personal aggravation was a bit preoccupied, sitting at the desk next to the
phone, chin cupped in one hand, nervously drumming the fingers of the other.

"Heiji? Is somethin' wrong?"

Heiji glanced up, and shook his head, laughing. "No, no...just thinkin'."

"Y'sure? You're awful spaced out there..."

Heiji swore under his breath. "Just got a call from Kudo," he shrugged.
"Nothin' to worry about."

"Eeeh? Kudo-kun?" Kazuha raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't a social call, I
reckon."

The teen snorted. "Not hardly. He needs my help with a case."

"Kudo Shinichi...needs help with a case."

"Yeah."

"Must be SOME case."

Heiji chuckled. "That's an understatement."

Kazuha frowned. "Any way I can help?"

"No!" Heiji bit off sharply. He then winced, and amended, "I mean...thanks,
but this is really Kudo's thing...kinda personal, y'know? I don't wanna get
you or anyone else mixed up in it if I can help it."

Kazuha sat down, frowning. "Is Kudo-kun in some kinda trouble? Is--" she
paused, blanching slightly. "Is Ran-chan--?"

"Neechan's fine, as far as I know," Heiji replied. "This has to do with..."

"With?" Kazuha prompted.

Heiji was silent for a very long moment. "Actually, y'know? Maybe there IS a
way you can help--but I hafta tell you, we gotta do this under the radar.
Nobody--an' I mean NOBODY--can know what's going on."

Kazuha's eyebrows went to her hairline. "What, are you a spy now instead of
a detective?"

Heiji chuckled. "Sometimes." He then became serious. "Kudo'll kill me for
this, but...I don't think we're gonna pull this off without every resource
we can get our hands on."

Kazuha smirked. "A 'resource' now, am I?"

Heiji swatted at her playfully. "Ahou. What I mean is--"

"I know what you mean, ahou. So...what're we doin'?"

Heiji took a deep breath, knowing that his next words would break Kudo's
confidence--but if what he suspected was right, it probably no longer
mattered. "We're lookin' for two things: unsolved missing-persons cases, an'
related incidents of young children suddenly showin' up outta thin air..."

* * * * * * * * *

Early in the afternoon, Professor Agasa looked in on Ai, who had sequestered
herself in the basement and had asked not to be disturbed. He figured she
would be hungry, having skipped breakfast, and brought her a large sandwich
and a glass of juice. "How's it going?" he asked as he placed the food next
to her.

Ai was typing furiously at her computer, her eyes darting rapidly from the
figures on screen to the microscope next to her. A number of test tubes were
bubbling and frothing over a row of burners on the counter beside her. "I'm
breaking down the original formula to see why my first antitoxin didn't work
properly, and testing another sample's reaction to the antitoxin to figure
out how to improve the duration," she responded. "The results so far are not
especially useful, but I didn't expect this to be an easy task." She glanced
at the sandwich beside her. "Tuna salad?"

"Aa...hai."


Shrugging, Ai picked up the sandwich, took a bite, and set it down.
"Thanks," she replied.

"Ayumi-tachi came looking for you earlier. I told them you were away for the
weekend, and might not be back at school tomorrow."

"Thank you," Ai said again, her eyes never leaving her work as her small
fingers flew over the keyboard at speeds most adults would be jealous of.

Agasa watched her for a long moment, then sighed and trudged up the steps
into the main house.

* * * * * * * * *

"So just how did you guys expect to find Shinichi-niichan again?" Conan
asked the three children. It was now late evening; soon, it would be time
for them to part company and head for home, and they were seated in the
park, snacking on onigiri bought at a nearby convenience store.

"Um..."

"Ano..."

"Eto..."

Conan sighed. "Look, you guys have your hearts in the right place, but this
just really isn't a job for us. Did you stop to think maybe he doesn't
*want* to be found?"


The three wannabe detectives blinked. "But why wouldn't he wanna be found?"
Genta asked.

"I got lost once, it's scary," Ayumi said.

"Doesn't he care that people are worried about him?" Mitsuhiko put in.

*They don't even KNOW the real me well enough to worry about me...*
"Look...he's a detective, right?"

"Yeah..."

"And he knows how to take care of himself, right?"

"Well...yeah..."

Conan nodded. "Now, I know that Shinichi-niichan calls Ran-neechan every
couple of weeks. So he's okay. He always says he's on this big case and he
can't come home, but he calls to let her know he's okay. So he's only
missing because he doesn't want to be found."

The others stared at him for a long moment.

"Why didn't you tell us that sooner?" Genta bellowed. "We wasted a whole day
we could've spent watchin' Masked Yaiba!"

Ayumi's eyes brimmed with tears. "He's really okay, Conan-kun?"

Conan nodded, smiling confidently. "Un. Trust me on this."

Ayumi flung herself at Conan, hugging him tightly, causing him to sweat.
"Arigatou, Conan-kun!"

"Ah...hai..."

* * * * * * * * *

Monday saw the return of the usual routine. Ran and Conan got ready for
school and said their goodbyes as they parted ways on the walk, but it was
hard for them to keep their true emotions in check and show the world the
face of big sister and little brother that had, only two days before, been
so natural.

Throughout the day, Conan was distracted by Haibara's empty seat and by the
worry that Sonoko would blab his secret all over Teitan High. Meanwhile, Ran
was equally distracted, wondering how Shinichi was doing, hoping he wasn't
too bored out of his mind...but hadn't he been doing this for months
already?

"Ne, Ran," Sonoko whispered during a break between classes, "how's Shi--"

"SHHH!" Ran hissed. "Not here, Sonoko!"

"Right, right," the rich girl replied, dropping the subject. "But later,
ne?"

"Un."

Kogoro spent the day in his office as usual, waiting for cases--but none
came; with the revelations of the last thirty-six hours, he was beginning to
wonder if his fame as a detective had been flicked off like a switch the
moment he found out the truth about Kudo.

But that was absurd, wasn't it?

Still, he had little to do over the course of the day except read the
newspaper, watch a horse race, and go through most of a case of beer.

And as for the kurozukume?

"AAAAAAAGH!"

"In a bit of pain?"

"YOU GODDAMN SON OF A--"

"Such language, Gin. Please, do relax."

"KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING--AAAAAAAGH!!"

"I do believe you should refrain from such struggles and obscenities. I
would not wish to...get nervous and make an error."


"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!"

* * * * * * * * *

Megure sat in the break room, a cup of coffee on the table next to a stack
of manila folders. He had one folder open in his hands and was deeply
engrossed in its contents.

As he'd expected, the prints found on the soccer ball belonged to Kudo.
However, after receiving this report, he'd gone down to the forensics lab
and asked the technician to run the prints again, and stayed and observed
the process.

As before, the technician had matched the prints to the database record for
Kudo Shinichi. However, as he was about to clear the search, Megure stopped
him. "Continue running matches...no. Tell the computer to pull up the print
records for Edogawa Conan."

"Edogawa Conan?"

"Do it, and let's do a visual comparison."

The technician shrugged and did as told. The two men crowded around the
screen, examining the fingerprint patterns on the left (Evidence Set #43297)
with the patterns on the right (Edogawa Conan).

The lab tech, a seasoned veteran who had worked for the Beika-cho police for
seventeen years, frowned suddenly. "I can see seventeen matching points of
comparison without even trying hard," he said. "In fact, the match is much
clearer than the Kudo Shinichi match--the prints are the appropriate size."

Megure nodded. "That's about what I expected."

The tech frowned. "Megure-keibu...do you want me to put the computer into
full analysis on these prints? It takes a little time to do a complete
match, down to the last ridge, and I do have a lot of other work piling
up--"

"It's fine, Takeda. I've got what I need. Thank you."

So now, Megure had a real puzzle on his hands. The case files for the past
several months showed that Kudo Shinichi had been identified as present at a
lot of crime scenes he personally knew the teen detective had been nowhere
near. Simultaneously, Edogawa Conan was, according to the forensics reports,
completely absent from the scene--which, again, Megure knew to be incorrect.

He scowled. *Some of the newer labrats need to be reprimanded for laziness.
This should've been caught months ago.*

Edogawa Conan had appeared at the same time Kudo Shinichi disappeared. And
now, Megure had tangible evidence which suggested the two were, in fact, the
same person.

The only thing left to figure out was *how*. Unfortunately, that particular
answer didn't seem to be anywhere in his files.

Megure sighed, sipping his coffee, and began poring over the documents
again, looking for anything he had missed.

* * * * * * * * *

"How was school, Ran-neechan?" Conan chirped as he met up with the tall girl
outside the gates.

Ran blinked down at him, and seemed to be unable to answer for a moment.
Then he flashed her a wink and a cheeky grin, and she giggled. "It was fine,
Conan-kun. You?"

"Mm, okay. So, are we gonna pick up groceries for dinner?"

"Sure. What do you feel like having tonight?"

Conan made a great show of pondering this. "Hmm...how about tempura shrimp?"

"Heh, otousan would love that. Okay, we'll do it."

And they headed off for the shopping street, unaware of two sets of eyes
watching them: one belonging to a blonde American woman standing in a
classroom window two floors above ground...

...and the other, also belonging to a blonde American woman, disappearing
behind a black-tinted window in the back seat of a black Porsche.

* * * * * * * * *

Satou and Takagi found Megure in the break room, a stale cup of coffee
forgotten on the table as he rifled intently through a number of manila
folders.

"Megure-keibu?" Satou asked, setting her own coffee down across from his and
seating herself at the table. "Is something wrong?"

"Everyone's noticed you've been a little preoccupied today," Takagi
commented, sitting beside his partner.

Megure grunted noncommittally, mustache twitching, as he reflexively reached
for his coffee, took a sip, and nearly spat it out on the papers he was
reading. "What the hell's wrong with the coffee today?" he rumbled.

Satou smiled. "You've let it sit for a few hours, maybe?"

The heavyset inspector blinked. "A few...hours?" He glanced at the clock,
and swore. "THREE HOURS?! How did I let THREE HOURS pass? I've got things to
do--!"

* * * * * * * * *

"Tadaima!" Ran called as she and Conan arrived on the second floor landing.
They were halfway to the door to the detective office when it burst open,
and Kogoro stuck his head out.

"Oi, runt," he rumbled gruffly, "Message for you. Call Hattori." He shut the
door just as quickly, and they heard him stump back to his desk.

Conan and Ran blinked at each other, then shrugged. Ran dug out her keys as
they trudged up the next flight of stairs, and unlocked the apartment door.
Kicking his shoes off as soon as he was inside the apartment, Conan
immediately headed for the phone and repeated his procedure from the day
before.

//Mosh'-mosh',// Hattori Heiji's voice rang out on the other end.

"Oi, Hattori, it's me," Conan said, settling onto a chair. Ran casually took
his backpack and set it in his room, and went to deposit her own things in
her room before shuffling into the kitchen to start dinner.

//Hey, Kudo! I think I found somethin'.// Hattori sounded positively
excited.

"Hmm?"

//Kaneda Chitose, age twenty. University student from Okayama. Disappeared
visitin' relatives in Kyoto. The cops found all her stuff, even some of her
clothes, in an alley, no sign of her...presumed dead after a month-long
search.// He paused. //Ouch. She was engaged to a Matsura Kenichi, an' she
was two months pregnant.//

"Damn. That sucks."

//After her 'death', her father up an' moved to Tokyo--the family's loaded,
an' he moved into one of their estates in the city. It belongs to his
cousin, Mihama Norio, but Mihama-han's been in England for the last five
years, an' the house has pretty much been empty all that time. Kaneda-han
does most of his office work over the Internet, an' only goes into the
office once or twice a week. But that's not the best part...//

"Oh?" Conan imagined that Heiji must be wearing that confident, excited grin
that said he'd found something truly interesting.

//He's been made guardian of another cousin's daughter--Mihama Chiyo, age
eleven, who just five months ago passed high school entrance exams--aced
'em, in fact--an' was pushed all the way up from the fourth grade to her
first year in high school. Her records say she's a child prodigy with high
aptitude scores...a certified genius.//

"Wish I'd thought of that," Conan remarked.

//Heh. Well, here's the kicker--I did some checkin', an' it looks like the
only teacher at her old school who remembers her ever bein' in any classes
was her fourth grade teacher.//

"Maybe she'd just transferred--"

//Ahou! You think I didn't check that? Yeah, a different school's listed for
her for the first few years of school. Thing is, I checked around, an'
nobody there'd ever heard of her.//

Conan grinned. "Sou ka...this sounds like a real lead. Thanks, Hattori. I'll
take it from here."

//Right. I'll keep diggin' to see what else turns up. I didn't expect it to
be this easy, to be honest.//

"Neither did I. I'm surprised you found it first.

//Well, actually...// Heiji coughed nervously.

"Eh?"

A pause. //Kazuha found the file on Kaneda Chitose.//

Conan blinked. "Toyama-san did...? Masaka...Hattori, tell me you didn't..."

//Kudo...Neechan knows now, doesn't she.// It wasn't a question.

"Ah...hai."

//Then this is really high priority stuff now, isn't it?//

"Yeah..."

//I thought so. That's why I've got Kazuha helpin' me. I haven't told her
any details yet--only what we're lookin' for now. But--//

Conan sighed. "I understand. It's...it's okay, go ahead and tell her."

//Don't worry, you can trust Kazuha. She won't blab your secret.//

The young boy snorted. "There IS no secret anymore. They know I'm still
alive, and what the apotoxin really does. That's why this is so urgent."

A pause.

//THEY *KNOW*?! *AHOU*! WHEN WERE YOU GONNA TELL ME THIS?!//

Conan laughed nervously. "Um...I guess I should've mentioned it..."

//DAMN RIGHT YOU--//

"Listen, Hattori, I gotta go. Thanks again, and tell Toyama-san thanks for
me!"

//DAMMIT, KUDO--//

"Mata ne!" *click* Frowning, he looked at the names he had written down on a
notepad while talking to Hattori, then headed for the row of phone
directories stacked on a shelf in the corner.

"What did Heiji-kun want, Shinichi?" Ran asked.

Conan flipped through the pages of the phone book quickly, scanning. His
eyes landed on the name he was searching for, and he quickly copied down an
address. Hopping up, he called, "We've got one. I've got to go check it
out."


"Eh? But...dinner..."

"I'll be back in time for dinner!" Conan shouted, already halfway out the
door with his skateboard and soccer ball.


Ran stared at the closed door where he had once again disappeared. Then, she
sighed. "Good luck, Shinichi." Without further thought, she returned to the
kitchen.

Her little detective was going to be hungry when he got home.

* * * * * * * * *

>From his perch in a tree, Conan watched the street corner intently. Several
minutes passed, and then he saw two girls, one short, with carrot-coloured
hair, and one older, extremely tall, with long raven hair. The younger girl
was chattering animatedly at the taller girl, who was silent, but had a
small, content smile on her face.

Nodding, Conan leapt down from the tree to begin the game. As the two girls
drew near, he stood on the sidewalk opposite the large residence with the
nameplate 'MIHAMA', kicking a soccer ball against the boundary wall. As the
girls drew closer, he carefully, precisely aimed his next kick a bit too
high, sending the ball sailing over the fence. "Oh, NO!" he cried loudly.
"Kaachan's gonna kill me!"

The two girls stopped, blinking. "What's wrong?" the younger girl asked.

Conan put on his best 'distressed little boy' act. "My kaachan just got me a
new ball for my birthday an' I just kicked it over the fence an' I saw a big
scary dog in that yard an'...an'..." He sniffled for effect.

The pigtailed girl smiled, patting his head. "It's okay," she said. "This is
my house! And my dog is really nice. Come on, let's get your ball."

"Really? Thanks, oneechan!"

The young girl preened slightly at being addressed thusly, and the taller
girl chuckled softly. Conan followed them into the yard. Inwardly, he
frowned. *I need to get this girl alone to talk, but...* He noticed the tall
girl walking hurriedly to the large white dog which was bounding up to them,
and sighed. *I have a feeling she's gonna be here a while.*

"Ne, oneechan," Conan asked his target, "Is that your oneechan?"

The girl laughed. "Iie, Sakaki-san is my friend from school." She bowed.
"Gomen, I forgot to introduce myself! Mihama Chiyo."

"Edogawa Conan." Conan made a show of running over to grab the 'lost' ball,
and bounced it on his knee as he ran back over. "Arigatou! ...ne, oneechan,
can I stay in your yard an' play for a bit? Kaachan don't like me playin' in
the street, an' maybe I won't lose my ball again this way."

Chiyo smiled. "Sure thing, Conan-kun." She smiled. "Ne, why don't I play
with you? I don't need to do my homework right now, and I could use the
exercise."

"Hontou? Sugee!" *Perfect. Now we just need the big girl to leave.*

Fifteen minutes passed, and Conan allowed himself to be lost in the simple
fun of horsing around with a soccer ball and a new friend. After a bit, the
tall girl suddenly stirred from her reverie. "Chiyo-chan," she called
softly, "I just remembered, I've got to pick up stuff for dinner--I'd better
get going."

"Ah, okay! I'll see you tomorrow, Sakaki-san!"

"Ja," the tall girl called as she left, lingering just long enough to watch
the two children at play before disappearing from sight.

After a moment, Conan idly commented, "Oneechan, Sakaki-san's your friend
from school, right?"

"Hai!"

"But you don't look a lot older'n me," he pressed, kicking the ball toward
her. "She's gotta be in high school."

"Un," Chiyo replied, stumbling a bit as she returned the ball. "I'm in high
school too."

"Eeeeh? Wow, you must be really smart, oneechan!"

Chiyo blushed slightly, but there was an unmistakably proud grin on her
face. "Eheh...I guess."

Conan tucked his hands behind his back and began bouncing the ball from his
knee to the top of his head and back. "Y'know, I'm pretty smart, too. I bet
I could be in high school."

"Really?" Chiyo commented, watching him with an amused smile.

"Un. I know lots of things. I know math, I know English, I know history..."
He paused, stopping the ball under his foot, and dropped the 'cute little
kid' act. "I know secrets."

"Secrets?" Chiyo asked, tilting her head.

"Un." He rolled the ball back and forth under his toe. "Big secrets. About
bad men who wear black. And detectives. And kids who aren't really kids at
all." He fixed her with a sharp, calculating stare. "Like you,
Chiyo-neechan...iie, Kaneda Chitose-san."

Chiyo paled, her eyes wide. "Wh...what..." She stammered. "Wh-what're
you..."

He smiled, then. "Saa, Hattori was right." He took off his glasses and
pocketed them. "Relax...and I think we should go inside before we talk any
more, don't you?"

Chiyo nodded mutely, swallowing. "H-how did you...I mean...wh-who are you?"

"A detective," Conan replied, tucking his ball under his arm. "Kudo
Shinichi."

Chiyo's eyes tripled in size.

* * * * * * * * *

"I'm not the only one, then," the chibified girl said as she sipped the tea
she'd just poured.

"Nope. There's at least three others, including me, but we suspect there may
be more."

"But how did you--I mean, we were so careful..."

Conan smirked. "I told you, I'm a detective. And obviously, I know exactly
what to look for." He frowned. "Kaneda-san..."

"Chiyo," the girl insisted. "Kaneda Chitose is dead. Please...please just
let me be Chiyo."

The smaller boy shrugged. "Chiyo-kun, then. The reason I'm here is that I
may need your help."

"MY help?" Chiyo snorted, sipping her tea. "Do I look like I'm in any
position to help anyone? I seriously doubt you need tutoring in your
homework, and that's about all I'm good for these days."

"No...that's not true," Conan replied. "You're a witness. You've seen them.
You know. You're living evidence, like me."

"You want me to testify against...*them*? The men that did this to me?"
Chiyo laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry, Kudo-san, but...they've already done
worse than kill me. I..." She choked down a sob. "I've lost more than you
can imagine..."

"I know," Conan said softly. "And I'm sorry. But...don't you want to make
them pay for what they've done to you?"

The small girl glared fiercely. "No. I've got a new life, and new friends,
and I'm happy. I don't want...anything to..." Chiyo began to cry silently.
"I just want to forget..."

Conan stood, walked over, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I understand.
Believe me, I understand. But I...we..." He sighed. "The truth is, they know
what that drug of theirs does now."

Chiyo's eyes widened in horror. "They...they *know*? About...me?" The last
came out as a squeak.

"THAT, we can't be sure of," Conan said. "We don't know if they knew who you
were before, after all. But they DO know that APTX-4869 isn't the lethal
poison they thought it was, and they're going to be...well, obviously, they
don't want potential witnesses running around who can expose them."

"Just who ARE 'they', anyway?" Chiyo asked. "Yakuza, or...?"

"Much worse," Conan said. "Much, much worse." He fixed her with a piercing
gaze. "Which is why you may be in danger. Which is why my partner and I
tracked you down, and why I'm here now." He paused. "This is very important:
you must be extremely careful to avoid suspicion. You already stand out too
much as it is, a grade-schooler in high school. But that in itself isn't
terribly suspicious, so just don't blow your cover if you can help it."


"I don't intend to," Chiyo said, scowling.

"But the fact that WE found you, is proof that so can THEY. So you really
need to be on your guard. I'm not saying you need to jump at every shadow or
anything, but just remember that you ARE in danger now." He paused.
"And...I'm not promising anything, but there's a chance we may have an
antidote, and soon."

Chiyo blinked. "An antidote? You mean..." She looked down at herself. "...I
could be...that person again?"

Conan nodded. "Yeah. If you want." He sighed. "I know what you lost. I know
you...were pregnant when you were changed. And I can understand if going
back to that life, and having that loss on your heart, would be too much for
you. I just thought you deserved to know that there may be a way back, if
you want it."

Chiyo swallowed, and her voice was thick when she replied. "Thank you."

Conan stood and handed her a business card, which she pocketed. "I'll be in
touch if I have anything new to tell you, or if I need your help. If you
need to contact me, call. And don't forget that I'm in hiding, like you,
although a lot more people know my secret than I'm guessing know yours." He
paused. "Take care of yourself, Chiyo-kun."


She nodded. "Thank you, Kudo-san. Iie, Conan-kun." She smiled, wiping tears
from her eyes. "Ne, is it okay if I tell my father what you told me? He's
been running himself crazy these last months, trying to find those guys who
did this to me..."


Conan nodded. "Sure. But don't mention my name, okay? The fewer connections
to me you have, the better. I'm a major target for them right now."

"And I'm not?" Chiyo asked, arching an eyebrow.

Conan grinned. "You didn't use that drug on one of *them*. I did."

"You..." Chiyo blinked. "You turned one of THEM into a kid?"

"Yep."

Chiyo squealed. "That's great!" She paused. "But that's why they know about
us now, isn't it?"

The smaller boy scratched his head nervously. "Aheh...yeah."

Chiyo sighed. "Well, better you than me."

Conan chuckled. "I'll be in touch," he repeated. "Take care of yourself, and
call me if you have any problems."

"Thank you."

As he neared the door, Conan paused. "Oh, one more thing..."

"Hai?"

"If you drink strong alcohol, like Paikaru, while you have a fever, you'll
change back for a little while. It hurts like hell, though, and it'll only
work one time."

Chiyo blinked.

"Just thought you might find that useful," Conan replied with a shrug.

"Thanks," Chiyo answered. With a final wave, the detective left the
house--and left a young girl who was really a young woman with a lot to
think about.

* * * * * * * * *

"DADDY!" A tiny ball of energy erupted into the room, bouncing up and down
happily. "I'm gonna go find a big frog!"

A twentysomething man with long, stringy hair smiled tiredly at the
excessively genki child. "That's great. Don't fall in any water. Be home in
time for supper."

"Yeah! Frog, frog, frog...gonna catch a FROG!" The little girl barely
remembered to put on her shoes before barrelling out of the house.

'Daddy' sighed, slumping against the wall. His hair obscured his face as he
jammed his hands into his pants pockets. "One more day...to keep going..."
He looked up at the light fixture. "It's all for her...it's all for her...I
can do it."

He pulled an old, creased photograph out of his pocket; it showed a
beautiful, smiling woman with long green hair, wearing a kimono. He smiled
sadly at the picture. "Hinoto-chan..."

Tears streamed down his face as he broke down, shoulders trembling with
silent sobs.

(end part 2)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------

Author's notes:

As of this chapter, I've begun using the term 'kurozukume' instead of 'Black
Organisation'. I'll be retroactively fixing it in chapter one the next time
I post a revised draft.

For those inclined to bitch about too much Japanese usage in fanfic--go
watch some dubbed Paranoia Agent. :P



Also, we have some more forensics and medical stuff this time that I pretty
much BSed my way through, and I'm not ashamed to admit it--so feel free to
call me on it if you know more about the subject than my two hours of
research merits. :)

Last note: I have a rather large, embarassing gap in my knowledge of
Meitantei Conan that extends from the Desperate Revival story arc to the
serial bombings (episode 304 two-hour special, where Takagi and Conan were
trapped in a bomb-rigged elevator.) Everything beyond that particular point,
I'm also spotty on--including events from about volume 40 of the manga up to
the present. As such, I'm going with what I know, however vague, about
things such as Jodie Saintemillion (she's FBI, she's NOT Chris
Vineyard/Vermouth, etc.), and will probably not mention any of the most
recently introduced kurozukume from the manga (at least three more have been
added in the last two volumes, from what I've heard).

Of course, this fic is already pretty much an AU in any event, but I just
thought I'd note that. :)

Disclaimers:

Meitantei Conan belongs to Aoyama Gosho, Shogakukan, Yomiuri Television, VIZ
Communications, and Funimation. Azumanga Daioh belongs to Azuma Kiyohiko,
Dengeki Comics, Genco, JC Staff, and ADV. No permission has been obtained
from any of the copyright holders for the use of characters and situations
from these series. This work of fiction is not for profit and not intended
to infringe on copyrighted intellectual property in any significant or
harmful way.


Oh, and the disclaimers for the last paragraph would be spoiling things a
bit, so we'll leave them until next time. ;)



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