I'm sure this idea has been done a million times before, but what the heck. I love a good body-switching fic.

Note: This story is set after the events of the Jet-Black Mystery Train arc. I rarely go into detail about canon, but spoilers still might crop up for those who haven't watched all of the episodes. Consider yourself warned.

The Switch

It was official. The gods hated Kudo Shinichi. That was the only explanation for why bizarre, bodily-changing things kept happening to him. Either that or there was a deity out there who had a very twisted sense of humour.

Now being shrunk to the size of a six year old was something Shinichi had taken in his stride. Yes, there were days when he wanted to bash his head against a wall, scream at the injustice of the universe, or just storm into the Black Organisation's headquarters, Rambo style, and end the madness. However, Shinichi was a level-headed guy when all was said and done. As such, he had put his acting skills to the test, thrown himself into his new life as Edogawa Conan, and quietly bided his time until he had the upper-hand and could strike back. Unfortunately, no amount of level-headedness had prepared him for this latest complication.

"What the hell?" Shinichi muttered, staring at his hands.

Long, slender fingers flexed under his command. Not good. These hands definitely did not belong to a six year old. They didn't belong to him either, for that matter, because he knew for a fact that he had not been wearing white gloves when he had left the detective agency earlier that evening. In fact, the only person he knew who wore gloves like this was …

Shinichi's heart tried to lodge itself into his throat. He sat up off the ground and stared at his body. White cape. Blue shirt. Red tie. Oh, hell.

"You've got to be kidding me," he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb.

"I see you're finally awake."

Shinichi turned his head so fast that he almost gave himself a crick in the neck. Conan sat not far from him, holding a shining gem up to the moonlight. Except that kid wasn't Conan. It was Kid with a capital K, otherwise known as Kaitou 1412, the jewel-stealing phantom thief.

Shinichi swore under his breath.

"Agreed," Kid responded with his usual calm, pocketing the jewel. "That was my sentiment exactly when I realised I was stuck in your scrawny body."

"You seem pretty relaxed."

Kid's teeth gleamed in an unnerving smile. "The only thing a magician needs more than his bag of tricks is a good poker face." He leaned forward, glasses glinting in the moonlight. "Besides, I was hoping you'd have an idea for how we can reverse our little problem. You are supposed to be some kind of genius detective after all."

Shinichi frowned. Good point. Maybe there were some clues left as to why they had ended up this way. He stood up so that he could better observe their surroundings. And almost fell flat on his face. Right. He was taller now.

Kid raised an eyebrow. "Smooth."

A faint blush warmed Shinichi's cheeks. "Shut up."

Thankfully, Kid decided not to taunt him further. Perhaps the enigmatic thief really did believe that Shinichi could get them out of this mess. Shinichi wished he could say the same. In truth, he was still reeling with shock. Somehow, for whatever reason, he had switched bodies with Kaitou Kid. It was too weird. Getting poisoned and being forced to shrink to the size of a seven year old was one thing; switching bodies with another person was on a whole new playing field of bizarre. Shinichi didn't have a clue where to begin.

"Do you remember anything from before we switched?" Shinichi asked.

Kid shook his head. "I remember stealing the jewel and coming to the roof. I guess I passed out after that, because then I woke up like this"—he gestured at his miniaturised body—"and saw you unconscious next to me."

Shinichi frowned and walked up and down the exposed platform, searching for clues. From what he could see, the rooftop just looked like an ordinary rooftop. He scanned every inch of the damn thing, but there were no marks or odd items left behind to suggest that anything out of the ordinary had happened, let alone that anyone aside from the two of them had been there.

"Well?" Kid prompted. "Any ideas?"

Shinichi pressed his hand against his chin in the classic Thinker Pose. "Quiet, I'm thinking."

Kid sighed and folded his arms behind his head. "Well, think faster. The police will have realised they've been chasing a dummy by now. They'll be back soon to do the final sweep of the building. No doubt your girlfriend will be looking for you as well."

"She's not my girlfriend," Shinichi said absently.

Kid raised both of his eyebrows. "Really? That's a surprise. I never pegged you two to be the friends with benefits type."

Shinichi's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kid seemed to realise his error, as he quickly raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender. "Nothing, nothing. Please continue your investigation, oh great detective."

Shinichi frowned at the other boy. Something was very suspicious about that statement. Why would Kid think that he and Ran had that kind of relationship? Just thinking about it made Shinichi blush. Sure, he'd confessed that he liked her in London, albeit in a roundabout way, but it wasn't as if they'd ever kissed. The most he'd got were some unexpected hugs and hand-holding when Ran was feeling particularly emotional. Hardly the stuff of a physical, no-strings-attached friendship.

"Whatever," Shinichi muttered.

He had more important things to worry about. Like how he and Kid were going to get back to their respective bodies.

Still frowning, he walked slowly around the rooftop, examining the railings and the door that led to the stairwell, along with pretty much every other nook and cranny. Then he sighed.

"No luck?" Kid asked.

Shinichi shook his head. "Not that I can see."

What would be more helpful was if he could remember anything from before he passed out. An unfamiliar face, maybe some kind of drug that might have been used—anything at all. But, like Kid, there was just a big blank. The most Shinichi could remember was that he and Ran had got caught up in the heist, he'd followed Kid to the rooftop after the jewel had been stolen, and then nothing. He'd opened his eyes and realised that he was no longer a pint-sized detective. Instead, he was an internationally wanted criminal. Life was perfect like that.

Kid stood gracefully and came to stand beside Shinichi. "Looks like our time's up."

Shinichi followed the other boy's gaze to the street below and saw the police swarming back into the building, led by an irate Inspector Nakamori. It occurred to Shinichi that he had no idea what he and Kid were supposed to do now that it was obvious there was no quick fix to their problem. It wasn't like he could go back to the detective agency in Kid's body, and it wasn't like Kid could go back to wherever his secret thief lair was in Conan's tiny body either—not with Ran doing her usual Conan man-hunt routine. They were officially screwed.

Kid stepped back from the railing. "So, detective," he said. "I'm guessing you're thinking the same thoughts that I am."

"Right," Shinichi agreed. "We need to figure out a plan."

Perhaps that was the only good thing about switching bodies with the phantom thief. Both of them had secret identities they needed to protect. Plus, Kid already knew that Conan was actually Kudo Shinichi trapped in shrunken form. That saved a lot of time and drama. Shinichi didn't want to think what would have happened had he switched with someone like Ran or Sonoko. Just the thought was terrifying.

Still, in contrast, Shinichi was aware that he didn't know that much about the thief. The most he had been able to piece together was that he and the other boy were about the same age, looked similar in appearance, and that Kid had at least one accomplice who helped him set up heists. There was no way that Shinichi would be able to pretend to be Kid in a convincing manner. Not when he didn't even know the boy's name.

That was when Shinichi realised that Kid was grinning up at him in a decidedly unnerving way.

Shinichi's eyes narrowed. "What are you pla—"

Too late. Kid's hands moved at lightning speed, pulling the cape up and around the Shinichi, and then spinning him like a tornado of white fabric. The moment the spinning stopped, the white cape, top hat and monocle were gone. Even the trademark pants, shirt and tie had been replaced with simple dark clothing. Shinichi had no idea how Kid had managed the transformation in such a short amount of time (aside from having ninja fingers), let alone without Shinichi noticing that he was being undressed and changed into different clothes. ('Cause, frankly, that was kind of creepy.) Regardless, the caped magician had vanished into thin air and in his place was—

"Shinichi?"

Ran's voice startled him from his thoughts. He turned to see her standing at the stairwell entrance, staring at him as if he were some apparition who had come down from the sky. Kid grinned smugly.

"Oh, Ran-neechan, I didn't see you there," Kid said in Conan's childish voice. "Kaitou Kid managed to get away, but Shinichi-niichan helped me get the jewel back. See?" He pulled the gem out of his pocket and let it shine violet in the moonlight.

"That's great," Ran said, though she didn't glance at the gem. She was still staring at Shinichi as if she was afraid he was going to disappear any moment.

Shinichi closed his mouth. Was it possible that Kid had disguised him as Kudo Shinichi, his actual teenage self?

Kid threw him a pointed look, as if to demand why Shinichi was standing there like a stuffed owl and making him do all the work. Right. Neither of them could afford to let Ran get suspicious.

"Hey, Ran," Shinichi said with an awkward wave. "It's been a while."

Kid flashed him an encouraging smile. Alright, so far so good. It seemed that he really had been disguised as the sixteen-year-old version of Shinichi. Which felt way weirder than it should. Normally, when he was in this form, he was stuck worrying about when the antidote was going to wear off and transform him back into Conan. Except Conan was right there, currently inhabited by Kid.

Ah, this was too messed up.

Ran blinked out of her daze. "I thought you were out of town," she said with a frown. "Isn't that what you said on the phone last night?"

Damn! That was true.

"I just got back, actually," Shinichi lied. "I was on my way home when I heard that a Kid heist was going on." He shrugged. "Conan has mentioned before that they're different from usual robberies, so I decided to check it out."

Kid nodded in agreement.

Ran stared at Shinichi intently, eyeing him from head to foot as if trying to find some hidden flaw in his appearance. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Suddenly, her eyes narrowed.

"It really is you, right?" she asked.

Shinichi rubbed the base of his neck. "Uh, yeah. Who else would it be?"

"Kaitou Kid maybe?"

Kid gave an involuntary twitch. Even Shinichi was startled into a snort of laughter. She was right yet so wrong at the same time.

"I'm not Kid," he said bluntly. "Ask me anything you like and I'll prove it."

"Fine." She folded her arms across her chest. "What was the song we heard that made us end that big fight we had back when we were at middle school?"

"Amazing Grace," Shinichi answered without hesitation. "I remember it because we'd barely spoken for a week because of that stupid argument about clairvoyance, but then we heard that woman singing and we forgave each other." He smiled. "I also played that song for you on the violin not so long ago, though you weren't supposed to know it was me."

Ran blushed and let her arms drop back into a more relaxed pose. "Alright, I was just checking. That thief has an annoying habit of disguising himself as you."

Under her breath, she muttered something about blimps and perverted phantom thieves. Shinichi glared at Kid, who plastered an innocent smile on his face. It was the same expression Conan used when he wanted people to think he was a harmless kid instead of a dangerously perceptive detective. Shinichi's hands curled into fists. Oh, that little brat was so in for it.

Kid must have sensed the impending danger because he wandered over to Ran and tugged on the hem of her shirt. "Ran-neechan," he said, looking up at her with big blue eyes, "can we go home now? It's getting pretty late."

Shinichi's heartrate spiked. Wait a minute, they still hadn't figured out what they were going to do to fix their switched body problem. Besides, he didn't like the idea of leaving Kid to stay with Ran as Conan. Not after hearing Ran call him that "perverted phantom thief".

"Hold on, brat," Shinichi said, plucking the small boy off the ground by his collar. "You're coming with me."

Ran blinked. "But—"

Shinichi flashed her a boyish grin. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of him."

Kid heaved a big sigh, legs still dangling in the air. "Oniisan is mean."

Ran's eyes widened. She planted one hand on her hip and rounded on the taller boy, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Shinichi," she said in a voice that promised doom to all who hurt bespectacled children. "Just what have you been doing to Conan?"

"Absolutely nothing," Shinichi muttered, and glowered at the tiny thief. "Isn't that right, Conan?"

Kid grinned. Shinichi could almost hear the thief's smooth, mocking voice in his ear:

"Feeling a little frustrated, detective?"

No doubt this was payback for all the times Conan had ruined Kid's carefully laid plans with his "Ah-le-le" exclamations and other childish behaviour. Shinichi resisted the urge to toss the boy off the roof. Fortunately, Kid had no intention of dragging out the charade. Instead, he wriggled out of Shinichi's hold and landed on the ground with the grace of a cat.

"It's okay, Ran-neechan," Kid said, smiling brightly up at the girl. "I already agreed to stay with Shinichi-niichan tonight. I just like teasing him."

Wasn't that the truth.

Shinichi cast an exasperated glance at the other boy, but then he froze. It had just occurred to him that Okiya Subaru was currently living at his house. Was it even possible to take Kid there, let alone stay there himself, while they were in their current predicament? Subaru didn't miss much, and that meant the risk of discovery would be high. Of course, they could always stay with the professor and Haibara, but Shinichi wasn't sure if Kid would approve since they'd have no choice but to explain what had happened. Plus, Haibara would tease him mercilessly.

Damn, this was annoying.

"On second thought," Shinichi said, rubbing the base of his neck, "how about we all stay at your place tonight, Ran?"

"Eh?" Ran's cheeks blossomed with pink. "You want to stay over?"

Shinichi's own cheeks warmed. "Uh, if that's okay with you. I just remembered that I rented my house to that Subaru guy. Kind of feels awkward going back without giving him some kind of warning." He glanced down at the small boy beside him. "Sorry, Conan. I know you wanted to stay over, but we'll still be able to talk this way."

Kid stared at him sharply. There was a slight pause and then he flashed his bright, child's smile. "If that's what Shinichi-niichan thinks is best."

Shinichi nodded. It was safer to keep the truth about their body switch between the two of them for now. Secrets tended to get unravelled and revealed when too many people were involved. Just look at his own situation. It had started with the professor and now he couldn't count the number of people who knew the truth about Edogawa Conan on one hand. Besides, with any luck, he and Kid might wake up the next morning and find that the problem had reversed itself. Or, at least, that was what Shinichi hoped.

In the meantime, he just had to wait for his chance to talk to Kid in private. There was a certain incident that had occurred on a hijacked blimp that needed some serious investigating. Shinichi would not rest until he knew the truth.