Disclaimer: Case Closed/Detective Conan and Magic Kaito are properties of Aoyama Gosho.

Contrary to Hakuba's (and probably just about everyone's) beliefs, Kaito does not train only doves. He had loved animals since he was a child and his father had fostered that love into what he has now. He has three hundred hectares worth of sanctuary filled with all kinds of mammals and amphibians under his father's name; and he also has a special aviary under his own name.

His aviary stood about as tall as six-story building, and about five hectares wide. The purpose is both for housing his father's and his birds. Sure, maybe one third of them are doves, usually used in trick shows (and heists). But Kaito's not a racist; he welcomes birds of all colors in his aviary; especially ravens and crows, since they were the easiest to train.

Crows are usually seen as pests here in Crescentia because of their overpopulation. They are usually crowded over garbage disposal area, making a mess in search for food. It made them easy target for bird-hunting. It was forbidden to hunt birds within Crown City, but outside, it was fair game for everybody. It's almost as bad as duck season, except crows don't have seasons—they laid eggs whenever they pleased.

So Kaito, who lives outside of Crown City, sometimes has his hand full with injured or/and abandoned baby ravens. He had people and Jiichan to help, of course, but Kaito has always preferred to hand-rear them himself. He likes his birds to know him and feel safe with him. It always fills his heart with warmth when the birds he cared for came back to him after a flight.

Kaito set them free once the birds in his foster-care are in full capacity. Some never came back; some visits occasionally until they forgot about him; but some chose to stay with him. The ones who voluntarily stayed with Kaito get to live in his aviary, with other dozens species of birds that Kaito had rescued or bought from auction bid.

All in all, Kaito's aviary is actually full with common birds rather than rare ones. The most common is the columbidae family that includes pigeons and doves; then the corvidae family that includes ravens, crows, and magpies. Not to mention parrots, cockatoos, and other exotic birds that cannot be trained more than saying a few words that are only kept there for the sake of their own comfortable lives. Kaito is not that cruel as to rid of less useful birds just because they cannot be trained.

The birds that are smart enough to be trained and close enough to Kaito and his father were given names. Some doves kept the names his father gave them, and Kaito named the doves that he hand-reared by himself. The ravens that Kaito had hand-reared and stayed loyal were also bestowed with names.

For example; Kuroki, Kuroko, and Kurokichi are three of Kaito's first hand-reared corvids and his most favorite. Kuroki is a male of common European crow who likes to bark like a dog to get his attention; Kuroko is a female white-necked crow with mild personality that is the most receptive to Kaito's teachings; and Kurokichi is a female Eurasian magpie that likes to dive-bomb people once it sees glittering things, including Kaito. As corvids, they are more receptive to Kaito's trainings than the columbids.

Though the corvids are cleverer than the doves, during heists, Kaito strictly only brings doves. It's simply tradition (and their feathers well-complimented his regalia; it's a win-win situation). During casual outings, however, Kaito only brings around five or six random birds with him when he goes out, just in case. But some of them are sneaky enough to burrow into his clothes that Kaito didn't know the bird was with him until it announced its presence.

Like right now for example, Kaito knows he brought Kuroko and Kurokichi with him to the play-date meeting, along with his four other doves; Riri, Chika, Mochi, and Yuui. But he didn't know he got Kuroki inside his clothes until it announced its presence with a dog-like bark.

"Kuroki!" He exclaimed, hearing the bark and seeing the black bird actually wiggled out of his left sleeve. The bird let out another excited bark when Kaito acknowledged it.

Kaito sighed exasperatedly. "You're lucky we're inside Crown City right now or you'll be a target," Kaito said to Kuroki who just barked in response. Kaito grinned. "Cheeky brat. Fine; since you want to be useful, you can be useful."

Right now, Kaito is sure he's being the center of attention. He is standing at the sidewalk in front of Hollica Café, where pedestrian traffic is high. He currently has two birds on his shoulders and he is talking to another bird on his hand. He can practically feel the odd stares people gave him but he is not bothered. He has always reveled on people's attention.

"Kuroko, Kurokichi, and," Kaito take a long look at Kuroki's open-mouthed smile. "Kuroki," he sighed and the crow barked. Kaito sighed again. "Follow the red dots until they're inside a building."

Kaito clicked a hidden clicker inside his pants pocket. At the sound, the corvids took flight, fluttering away from his shoulders. The three ravens, clever as they are, took their time and blending in with other flocks of corvids before splitting up to follow the kids; Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko; who got red stickers on their backs.

Kaito had used the time he patted the kids to stick a red sticker on their backs. All his ravens are trained to follow red dots with laser pointer and they always have tiny cameras on their feet ready to use. It's what he trained the ravens for. The doves are for trick-shows; the crows for espionage.

He had replaced the tiny cameras on their feet before he left his house, just in case. All the cameras are connected to his phone via WiFi. His ravens had never let him down before and they will follow the children until being signaled otherwise. This way, he can keep an eye on the children to make sure they got back home safely.

He was about to go back inside the café when the café's front door opened and Sonoko lead the other girls outside.

"Well, I'll follow 'long, but I gotta go home soon tho'," Kaito heard Kazuha said. "Mah folks gonna be mad if I break curfew."

Oh, so they're already talking about their next destination. That's good.

Aoko sidled up to his familiar presence as she said, "I also didn't have a destination in mind because I've never been here before. Kaito have been here a few times, so he might know some good places."

Kaito chuckled, "I only knew good ramen places."

"That's it!" Sonoko predictably brightened up. "We should give you and Kuroba-kun a grand tour of Beika!"

"Right now?" Ran gaped at Sonoko.

"Well, not tour around everything, of course. We don't have time for that." Sonoko said.

"We'll start with the closest ones from here. Let's see," She pulled out her phone to look through maps and Kaito waited for the inevitable. "We have Beika Park and Hoshou Mall. Those are the closest from here, but they're on opposite directions. Aww, man. We can't go to both; at least not today."

"Well, then let Kazuha, Nakamori-san, and Kuroba-kun decide. They're the ones who had to go back all the way to Callisto and Io this evening." Ran said. "What do you guys think?"

"I ain't mind ta go 'long wi' ev'ryone, as long's I can go home b'fore curfew."

"What about you guys?" Sonoko asked Kaito and Aoko.

They both looked at each other. Kaito shrugged noncommittally. This would only work if someone else but him chooses the destination. Aoko was the one who decide, "Can we go somewhere near the station please? That way, we both can easily catch the train to Io when the day is over."

"Alright," Sonoko nodded enthusiastically. "Then to Beika Park it is."

Kaito doesn't even have to mask the satisfied smile off his face. Everything went according to plan.

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"This is Haven Street," Sonoko said. "This street is the fastest route to Beika Park."

This street is also where Shin'ichi was raised on, Conan thought. She knew this street and this district like the back of her hand. Holmes said he took a walk around London every day to get a mental map of London, complete with its every alleys and rooftop turns. That was why Shin'ichi also did the same. Now Conan thought that it was rather unnecessary and rather cringy that she was that much of a nerd, but she can't deny that a complete mental map is very useful.

Conan listened as the teenagers chat about their day. She took Ran's hand as they walked. This street is no stranger to them—especially not to Sonoko or Ran, Conan mused. Sonoko, Ran, and Shin'ichi used to roam these streets together when they were kids in search for puzzles, until Sonoko decided she was tired and bored and would rather catch beetles instead.

"Oh, while we here, I should empty out Shin'ichi's mailbox." Ran reminded herself. "It must be full by now. I forgot when the last time I emptied it."

"And then we can take them to Professor Agasa." Conan chirped.

"That's right." Ran smiled down at her. Conan didn't tell her that she usually went home herself to sort out her mails before Ran could empty it. She didn't want Ran to see any important mails, after all.

They stopped in front of Kudo residence. Ran took out her copy of Kudo's house keys from her bag. She had hooked up Kudou residence mailbox key, gate key, and front door key in a one keychain, separated from her own house key, so she wouldn't forget.

Conan always thought that it was a dangerous habit, albeit convenient; but that was why Ran only has the three main keys. The two other additional keys are always on Conan; the side-door key and back-door key.

While the two of them were busy emptying Shin'ichi's mailbox, Sonoko hung back. She was listening to the conversation between Kazuha and Nakamori until Kuroba nudged her. "Hey, what are they doing, exactly?" He asked, gesturing at Conan and Ran. To outsiders, it would look like they were rummaging around someone else's mailbox.

"Oh. It's just Ran has appointed herself as the caretaker of Kudou residence until Shin'ichi comes home." Sonoko absent-mindedly said. "That includes emptying her mailbox and dusting her house sometimes. So she has the key to the front door."

Kuroba hummed at the information. "And Kudou Shin'ichi is…?"

"Right. I forgot you might not know her. She's famous in Crown City; I always forgot not all Crescentia knows her." Sonoko said. "She's our friend. The Detective of the East? Savior of Police and FOMA Force? Modern Marple? Female Heisei Holmes? Surely you've heard of some of those names at least."

"I've heard of her," Kuroba hummed. "I just didn't know you're talking about the same person."

"Yes, well. She's our friend. Me, Ran, and Shin'ichi, we were childhood friends." Sonoko said, her eyes distant as she recalled her childhood. "We used to be inseparable, but we grew distant after…" she trailed off. "You know what, that's not my story to tell. You should ask Ran; she knew more about the detail rather than me."

At that, Kuroba furrowed his brows; partly in confusion on how Sonoko reacted and other part with concern because even though Sonoko is very expressive, this is the first time he saw her actually looked sad. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Sonoko said. "Just, can we talk about something else?"

Kuroba frowned, more in concern this time. "Sure." Sonoko nodded and turned to walk behind Ran and Conan who was already done and are walking towards Professor Agasa's house right beside Kudo residence.

After Ran sealed back the mailbox, Conan got herself an armful of mails. A quick peek told her that it was mostly junkmails, like bills on electricity and utilities, and fanmails.

"Let's give those to Professor Agasa, and after that we can go on." Ran said, taking Conan's hand. Conan nodded.

They found Professor Agasa outside, pruning his hedges. Ran waved to catch his attention. "Professor Agasa!" She called.

The balding elder looked up and smiled. He waved back, "Good afternoon, Ran-kun! Conan-kun!"

"We just emptied Shin'ichi's mails." Ran said as Conan ran up to the elder and gives him the mails to be saved.

"Ah, yes. Thank you." The professor took the mails and put them on the porch table. "Are you two not coming for tea?"

"Oh, no, Professor." Ran shook her head and gestured behind her, revealing the group. "We have some people to entertain. We don't have much time."

Professor Agasa spotted Sonoko hanging awkwardly at the back and excitedly called out, "Hello there, Sonoko-kun! Long time no see!"

Sonoko awkwardly smiled and waved, but didn't try to come closer to initiate conversation.

Professor Agasa turned back to Ran and Conan. "Well, Ran-kun. You, Conan-kun, and Sonoko-kun should come up here for tea sometimes. It gets lonely here by lonesome, you know. Especially you, Conan-kun. Maybe you should introduce your friends here and we could all have tea; and perhaps we can have sleepover, if you don't have any exams coming up."

Conan's eyebrows rose up, understanding what the Professor meant. Tea means information, and his offer of sleepover means it was a long kind of information that needed to a whole night to disclose. Possibly important, but she couldn't exactly ask what it is in front of many eyes.

"But don't worry. We have all the time in the world for that," the Professor continued, patting her head. "You should run along now. Your guests are waiting. We can have tea some other time."

Oh, so it's not urgent. Conan nodded with relief. "Don't worry. I will come visit you more often, Professor. Thank you for inviting me!" Not saying when she's going to come, but saying that she's definitely going to come, puts a relieved smile on Agasa's face.

"Bye, Professor!" Ran waved as Conan once again took her hand. "Take care of yourself!"

"You too!" The professor waved goodbye as Ran and Conan joined their group and walked away. Then, he continued to prune his hedges again.

Ran smiled down at Conan, "That went well, did it?"

Conan grinned, "Yep. But I really should visit him, sometime."

"I know. We can make plans, don't worry." Ran said.

Meanwhile, Kuroba was asking Sonoko about the whole conversation. "Who is that guy? He seemed to know you."

"Yeah," Sonoko sighed wistfully. "He's Conan's uncle and Shin'ichi's Godfather; Professor Agasa. He practically raised Shin'ichi her whole life, which is how he knows me, since me and Ran are close to Shin'ichi growing up. He is also the one who is legally named as Conan's guardian in her papers, even though Conan is practically raised by Ran at this point."

Kuroba hummed. "So, what happened? To Conan, I mean?" Kuroba asked.

"Conan… Honestly, I don't really know." Sonoko frowned in confusion. "All I got from Ran is that her mother's dead and her father practically abandoned her. I couldn't get more details without Ran being worked up. She and her mother were the ones who knew the details. Ran's mother is a lawyer so she's a pro at manipulating the loopholes in law. I'm pretty sure she's the one responsible for legally manipulating Conan's legal papers, which allows her to bunk in with the Mouri's."

"Huh?" Kuroba looked puzzled. "But then Ran's mother got to talk with Professor if she wanted to do that, right? I mean, technically he's Conan's guardian."

"Maybe. I don't know." Sonoko shrugged again before sighing. "Look, I'm not the best person to ask about Conan. Ran should know more. As I said, she's practically raising her at this point."

Kuroba hummed noncommittally, but he dropped the subject. "What about Professor Agasa? Do you know him well?"

"Me?" Sonoko asked. "Not really. I mean, we were close when I was a child since Ran and I used to play together with Shin'ichi and have sleepovers in his house. Shin'ichi's parents are often abroad a lot so Professor Agasa used to chaperon us. But well, after that incident, I didn't see much of a reason to see him again. So we… kinda fell apart."

"That's too bad," Kuroba said sympathetically. "You should go visit him sometimes. He's an old man, you know. You'd never know until when he's going to be around."

Sonoko sighed. "Yeah, I know." Then she looked at him, "I know you say that out of experience, but it's not that easy, you know. What if he hates me?"

Kuroba smiled and patted her shoulder. "He doesn't hate you. If he is, he wouldn't greet you just now, would he? Trust me. It'll be okay."

Sonoko released a relieved sigh, "Thanks, Kuroba-kun."

Meanwhile, Conan's trusty instinct told her that someone has been following them, even though it doesn't feel malicious. She also didn't feel any prickling gaze on her. Curious, she looked behind her to search for the source to see Kuroba-san and Sonoko are walking pretty close together and talking in hushed whispers.

Conan's eyes widened then scowled in realization: paparazzi. This must be part of Kuroba-san's plan, seeing as the Heir looked like he's walking close to Sonoko on purpose. She didn't know how Sonoko could miss it, but Conan could clearly see that Kuroba is discreetly looking around, seemingly knew what to look for, even though Conan didn't see anything.

Suddenly Kuroba's indigo gaze caught Conan's. As if he knew what she's been thinking, he smirked at her and winked; confirming her suspicion that it was paparazzi and he totally planned it. Conan scowled at him pointedly and looked away. If he wanted to be famous, Conan doesn't want to be a part of it. There's a reason why she covered her identity, dammit.

Aside from the minor paparazzi tailing that was completely planned, their walk to Beika Park is surprisingly uneventful. Even as they walk through the Beika Park, there was no one screaming bloody murder and there was no corpse suddenly fell from the sky. Even the paparazzi were gone before she knew it and they didn't confront the group for more pictures. Conan was grateful.

The day went surprisingly well and before they knew it, it was time for Kazuha, Nakamori, and Kuroba to go home to their own respective islands. Sonoko, Ran, and Conan walked them to the nearest canal station that was only ten minutes away from the park. It was a good choice to go here.

They waved goodbye to Kazuha first before Nakamori and Kuroba also bid their goodbyes.

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The sun has gone down, but there are still pink and orange hues remained in the sky. The road lights were already on when they got off the station. The moths are fluttering around them as the neon lights reflecting off of their wings.

Kaito fiddled with his phone as he confirmed that the children are already in their respective houses, safe and unharmed. He tapped the clicker button on his phone to let a clicker sound emitted from his ravens' cameras; to let them know their job is done and it's time to come back home to the aviary.

"So did you enjoy yourself today?" Kaito asked to his companion as he pocketed his phone.

Aoko sighed contentedly. "Yes, I did." Then she looked at Kaito. "Thanks, for this and for keeping your word."

Kaito smirked smugly, "I'm not one to leave anyone hanging; you know that."

Aoko sniffed, "Could've fooled me." Kaito only rolled his eyes. "And, um… I'm sorry for earlier."

Kaito frowned in honest confusion, "About what?"

"I called you out earlier, about you and your mother, in front of everyone." Aoko said, her face filled with regret.

"Oh," Kaito's expression quickly turned neutral and he looked away. "It's okay."

"I shouldn't have done that." Aoko continued quickly. "Whatever happens between you and your mom, I don't get any say in it. And it was unfair of me to judge and push you without even hearing the complete story."

"Look, it's okay." Kaito waved his hand. "You're not the only one who said that anyway. Everyone else did too, so I don't really blame you. And I got over it eventually. It's fine."

Aoko winced at that. Consciously or not, Kaito just categorized her as 'everyone else' to him. Once again, Aoko remembered what the child, Conan-chan, had said earlier, 'so that's why you two didn't work out.' She was a bit peeved that someone pointed it out, even more so that someone who noticed it was a child. But she was also annoyed because what Conan had said was true.

It's true that Kaito was always busy, but that doesn't mean Aoko didn't do no fault. Aoko has always been too swift to judge him, even when he made an effort. When he consciously made an effort, she never verbally appreciated him, never said anything encouraging to him. And even though Kaito hid everything behind laughs and jokes, he was probably, secretly, hurting by her swift judgement. That was probably why Kaito stopped making an effort to begin with. And that's why they didn't work out.

As Aoko had said, they both tend to get to each other's nerves under stress. Aoko is expressive; she tends to be blunt and explosive in her anger. Once she was upset, there is no stopping the words coming out of her mouth. Kaito is more subtle; he bottles his feelings inside, even anger, and masking them behind jokes and laughs. It was only a matter of time before his feelings explodes, and Aoko had underestimated his time bomb.

Aoko is only now acutely aware that Kaito had stopped sharing what happened in his life to her. She realized that she unconsciously always said something about how she didn't care, even if she secretly does. She silently berated herself for always being purposefully dishonest. For what purpose? To save face? From whom? Kaito? Kaito is the least judgmental person she knows. Maybe it was from other people.

Aoko knew how it feels being ostracized by her peers since she was a child. Just because she is only a B-leveled mage, her peers had judged her as someone worthless. Kaito had been the first one who had faith in her, and he was her first friend. And how had Aoko repaid him? By being judgmental herself.

When Kaito came to her seeking comfort and reassurance about his relationship with his mother, Aoko always quick to conclude that Kaito was the one in the fault, simply because she thought that his mother always had a reason to do things. Because mothers would always know what's best for her child, right? There is no mother would ever harm their child, right?

Until now, Aoko had never realized how damaging those beliefs were to a person—especially to a child. Just because her own mother was a perfect mother and she was sad to have lost her, it doesn't mean that every mother is like hers.

Kaito had stopped looking for her for comfort after fights with his mother; choosing instead to bottle his feelings and waits for it to calm down; and Aoko had taken too long to realize what's wrong with it. When she did, it was already way too late. Their relationship will never be the same as it once was.

She always expected that Kaito will always share things with her, and will continue to do so in the future. She hadn't realized that he had changed; he had grown up and has his priorities shifted, and part of it was because of her as well. And she couldn't really fault him for changing, if she was one of the instigators, right? How could she fault someone for moving on when she was the one who purposefully stayed behind?

"I'm still sorry." Aoko insists.

"I know," this time Kaito smiles softly at her. "Don't worry about it."

Seeing Kaito's genuine smile once again, Aoko was reminded of why she had fallen head over heels for this man and why she had given up on them a long time ago. Aoko was nothing as close to understanding as her own mother and Kaito was too burdened by his father's legacy to even think about his own life. They have never walked on the same path since the beginning, no matter how parallel their lives are.

Aoko looked away. She really ought to find someone else to fixate on or she would just tear her own heart over and over again.

They stopped in front of Aoko's house. "Text me when you're home, yeah?" Aoko asked as usual.

"Yeah." Kaito nodded then waved. "See you tomorrow, Aoko."

Aoko waved at him, staring at his broad back until he disappeared at the corner of the street. She sighed. Maybe she would accept Keiko's suggestion to hang out with her and Kaya. Having someone else to socialize with would probably ease her pain. Heartbreak is one thing, but losing a friend is a different pain altogether.

Aoko finally opened her front door and saw her dad. "I'm home, dad."

Inspector Nakamori, or just 'dad' at home, smiled at his daughter. "Welcome home, Aoko. I brought dinner. How was your day?"

Aoko felt a smile bloomed on her face and her pain faded.

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Kaito has always loved the feel of the wind against his face, which is one of the reason he loves flying and being on tall buildings. Up here, in his room's balcony, the wind is perfect. He smiled in satisfaction as he breathed deeply, savoring the scent of fresh air. This has been a good, productive day, he thinks as he watched the glittering town of Ekoda in the falling darkness.

Soon, the guests he was expecting arrived. Kaito welcomes back his ravens with a smile as they landed on his person; Kuroko and Kurokichi on his shoulders, preening his hair affectionately, and Kuroki barking excitedly on his hands.

"You've done well," Kaito said, giving them their deserved petting. He poured the bird treats he knew they loved on a bird perch.

As the three corvids eat to their hearts content, Kaito went back to his room; his glass door opened to let the birds know they are welcomed inside. He sat on his desk and leaned his feet on the table; the very picture of relaxation while his mind is whirring with ideas and questions.

Kaito had been manipulating all the chain of events that had happened since this morning; for the sake of research, of course. Even though he didn't really want to do what his mother told him, he never half-assed things. Everything had to be done by careful planning in correct precision. The fact that Suzuki-chan made that troublesome status only eased his mission.

He opened his laptop and began typing his discoveries. He wouldn't just tell his mother about what he'd found—oh, no. She would have to work for it. It was petty, Kaito knew; but he felt a sense of satisfaction like no other when he discovered something that even his mother doesn't know.

Kaito grinned. He knows things now, so it's time to scheme. Mentally rubbing his hands together, he went over of what he knows thanks to the outing that he had planned.

Immediately after realizing that Sonoko had only wanted to make her negligent boyfriend jealous using his name, Kaito knew he could use it to his advantage. He asked her to invite her friends to an outing that he would plan. And guilty as she was, he knew Suzuki-chan wouldn't question him.

Kaito had spent a whole day searching for Holica Café out specifically, because of its location: conveniently sandwiched between two tourist attractions, one of them is within walking distance to canal station, and to get there they had to walk pass Kudo Shin'ichi's address. These are not coincidences. Kaito had specifically planned so these events would happen.

Even the fact that they were tailed by paparazzi is already planned. Paparazzi would snap the photo of him and Suzuki-chan walking a little bit too close, but Kaito already clarified that they were not together, so that would clear the suspicion from his side. Meanwhile, the paparazzi would keep fanning the gossip on Suzuki-chan's side as she wished, so Makoto would hear about it. It's a win-win situation; Suzuki-chan got the attention she wanted and neither of their names is tarnished. Damage control is done.

His research is also done. For example, why didn't he choose the location somewhere closer to Kudo residence? Why plan all this convoluted strategy just to find out more about Kudo? Because if he did that, it would be suspicious, especially because he is an outsider who planned this outing and two of Kudo-san's friends are invited.

Kaito also provided the outing with two attractions (one better than the other) to make an illusion of choice. He knew from the start that Beika Park will be chosen with how close it is to the station. If Beika Park hadn't been chosen, Aoko (or Kaito) would point out that she needed to go home before dark and Suzuki-chan would accommodate her.

He knew Sonoko and Ran were two close friends of Kudo-san. He was hoping to see some kind of reaction or extract some kind of information from one of them when they saw her house. In case they didn't react, Kaito had prepared some kind of speech to at least make them spill something. But he didn't expect to be bombarded with this much information all at once.

One, Mouri Ran has the key to Kudo Shin'ichi's residence. This is, by far, the most important and most convenient piece of information that he had ever gotten—and he had been a Phantom Thief for two years. Even better, she hooked Kudo's house keys and Mouri's house keys in two different chains so she wouldn't forget.

It would be a piece of cake for him to sneak into Mouri's residence, stole the keys, made a copy for each, and put them back at the same night. He would only need to gather intel on their schedules and he could send his corvids to do that. The only real challenge would be that little girl called Conan who lives in their house; she is more effective than a bloodhound. But really, there is no rush. He could do that when the time is right.

Two, Ran and Conan are close friends with Professor Agasa and Suzuki-chan is his acquaintance. Three, if Suzuki-chan is right, then Professor Agasa could be acquainted with Kisaki Eri.

Four, apparently Kudo Shin'ichi had said to her friends that she was investigating some kind of case; that's why Ran and Sonoko weren't too concerned about her being missing. Five, they said her being in a case was classified because they too don't know the details, which means the police must know more about it; so he needed to use his position as Superintendent to extract more information.

And last but not least; the last information is conflicted with the detective's own admission that she was hiding from some… thing. At this, Kaito frowned in thought. Now, which is the truth? If the police had some kind of information on her, he could determine if she's lying or not.

But her body language that night on the boat; Kaito narrowed his eyes in thought; there's no faking the terrified expression in her eyes that night when he said her name. What could have made her so frightened?

Kaito thinks this would need a bit of a more unconventional method of research. But as fruitful as this research was, Kaito had failed to extract the most important piece of information that he desperately need to know: who the fuck is Edogawa Conan? He had been wondering about this since she cornered him back at Queen Selizabeth.

During the whole play-date, Kaito had been waiting to ask Ran about Conan, but he couldn't find the right time to ask without being suspicious. It ticked him off not knowing.

He had tried getting some time together with Conan to get to know her, but that had backfired spectacularly. Kaito winced as he rubbed his abdomen. She had hit right at his healing wound. That fucking hurt. He was lucky his sutures didn't open again. Had she hit harder, he'd probably bleed out.

Not only that, but Kaito had apparently sully his own name because Conan now thought he was a fucking lolicon. But that was his own fault; he had been too hasty and too pushy. And Conan was always the mature one between her friends, so of course she would suspect something. Being suspected as a lolicon is better than being suspected as Kaitou KID, he guessed.

Kaito was desperate enough that he tried to extract some information from Suzuki-chan. She knew some things but not all. Because of her, he knew that Professor Agasa and Ran's mother had something to do with how Conan was able to live under Mouri family's roof despite not being a family member. That means whoever tinkered with Conan's legal papers is either Professor Agasa or Kisaki Eri, Ran's mother. Both have access, skill, and motive to do it.

Kaito rubbed his face tiredly. Look at him, speculating and making hypothesis like ordinary detectives. His father would roll in his grave.

But he digresses. As Sonoko had said, it would be better for him to question Ran or Kisaki Eri if he wants to know more about Conan. Of course, he knew about Kisaki Eri; she is famous in her line of work. Kaito had met her once, after his father's funeral. Kisaki Eri was a frighteningly efficient and sharp woman. Kaito hadn't been paying much attention to her since he was only a child, grieving for his dead father, but he could clearly remember how he trembled in her presence.

So questioning Kisaki Eri is out of the equation. That woman is sharp as hell; if she even suspects something was off, Kaito's chance to get information would blow over. He doesn't want to mess with Kisaki Eri if he could help it. He immediately crossed that name off his list.

Kaito hummed, biting the end of his pen. If Kisaki Eri is out, then the only other way to get to Conan is either through Mouri Ran or Professor Agasa. He needed to charm his way into Ran's life; without her getting the wrong idea; to extract more information about Conan. The more he knew about that child, the better.

Conan's presence tingled on his brain. It's a perk of being a phantom thief, he guesses, to instinctively know that something is out of place. Not to say that Conan is out of place, but since he had met her on Queen Selizabeth, Kaito had felt that there is something not right about her, but he doesn't know what. That's why he kept an eye on her during their outing.

It was not easy. That child has a sixth-sense almost as honed as his own. She could instinctively knew something was wrong and it almost like she could feel someone's gaze on her. Whenever he looked at her for more than five seconds, she turned and searched and he had to look away to pretend he hadn't been staring. It was thanks to pure reflex on his part that she didn't catch him on the act already.

But during their outing, Conan hadn't done anything out of place; nothing that couldn't be excused as 'children's innocence'. Sure, she had pointed out the cracks in his and Aoko's relationship, but anyone with eyes would've spotted them a mile away. And her jabbing him and calling him a lolicon could be categorized as childish dislike.

But there is something weird about her. Kaito had noticed that Conan had realized the paparazzi were tailing them; nobody else realized but her. However, she didn't say anything. He had caught her gaze on purpose and winked at her to let her know it was harmless, and not only did she understood, she had let it go. Conan had let it go and let him handled it. The child hadn't spouted any observation or conclusion like she did to him on Queen Selizabeth. Weird.

When the other three children had been busy babbling amongst themselves, even though they tried their best to behave themselves, Conan was peacefully listening to everyone's conversation. Even Mitsuhiko couldn't help himself to try to show off his level of intelligence by appealing to Kaito's expertise; magical theory. And Genta could be easily read that he had a crush on little Ayumi with how he tried to show off to Kaito.

Kaito knew Conan is the smartest of the four children; she'd showed it off during his Black Star heist where they were alone and no one was looking. But when there are other people present, Conan is strangely calm and eerily quiet.

Why is that? Why is she hiding her intelligence? Is it because she feels the need to hide? Why would she feel the need to hide? Kaito frowned. He knows a certain female detective who also feels the need to hide. Was it all a coincidence?

And not to mention that conversation she had with the Professor. It was some sort of code. Oh, to outsider's ears it would look like an ordinary conversation, but to his trained phantom thief ears, just from that conversation, Kaito knew that they had more than just uncle-and-niece relationship.

Kaito frowned. Professor Agasa might know more about Conan's identity than Mouri Ran or Kisaki Eri. With that, Kaito underlined Professor Agasa's name as important and typed Kudo Residence's address in his to-do-list above Mouri Residence.

Kaito cracked his knuckles and stretched on his desk with a sigh. He decided he had brain-stormed enough about Kudo already and he'd done enough research for his mother. It's time to switch target.

Kaito hummed a song from Ayumi Hamasaki as he typed 'Edogawa Conan' on Google search engine and tapped enter.

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"So what do you think of Kuroba-kun?" Sonoko asked, sipping on her orange juice.

Ran hummed from the kitchen. "He's nice," she said. "A bit eccentric, but I think he's a good person. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." Sonoko said with weird tone. "I just want to know what you think about him."

Ran, who had been in her kitchen, frowned at her answer. She looked down to Conan, who was helping her stirring the pot on a stool. Conan was trying hard not to burst out laughing and Ran definitely saw that. She narrowed her eyes as she scooped some of the rice on a bowl and entered the living room, where Sonoko had been lounging in front of her TV.

"If this is another attempt on matchmaking, then forget it, Sonoko. It's not going to work." Ran said, setting the bowl of soup in front of the other girl.

Sonoko choked and she coughed up the orange juice that entered the wrong cavity. Ran only watched with a small amount of amusement and mild exasperation before turning back to the kitchen to make sure Conan was safe. She was fine, just trembling from not trying to laugh out loud. Seeing that, Ran allowed an amused smile on her face.

"How do you even know what I was thinking? Are you a mind-reader now?" Sonoko shrieked from the living room when she was done coughing.

Ran shared a smile with Conan who was silently giggling. "I'm not. I just know you well." Ran said softly as she flipped the omelette deftly.

"You can't blame me if I want you to be happy." Ran can practically hear Sonoko's pout in that sentence. "You've been single since you were born! I even feel bad making you accompany me with Makoto."

"Look, I'm fine." Ran said. She helped Conan put the dishes on the tray and they entered the living room, with Ran carefully balancing the tray in her hands. Conan trotted up to the table and sat down gingerly, silently watching.

When Ran put down the tray on the table, she looked up to Sonoko. "I don't care if you're with Makoto or not. If you're happy and safe, then I'm happy." Ran smiled at her and then turned to her dad. "Dad, dinner is ready!"

A grumble was heard as Kogoro's answer.

Meanwhile, Sonoko clasped her hands together. Her lips wobbled and tears gather in her eyes. "Wah, Ran! You're the bestest friend I've ever had! What did I ever do to deserve you?" She wailed as she hugged Ran over the table.

"Sonoko, stop hugging me at the table!" Ran lightly scolded but Sonoko wouldn't budge.

When Kogoro arrived at the table, Sonoko let her Ran go with a sigh. "Hey, Jii-san." Sonoko greeted. Kogoro only hummed as a greeting.

Sonoko sighed again before standing up. "Right, I'm going to go home for the night. Ayako's going to get mad if I missed dinner on her again." She said.

Ran frowned at her, "You sure you don't want to stay here for dinner?"

"I'd really love to," Sonoko said, staring at Ran's food on the table with longing in her eyes. "But as I said, Ayako's going to kill me if I missed one more of her visits. She didn't get to come home often now that she's with Tomizawa family, you know."

"Alright," Ran walked Sonoko to the door. "Be careful on the way, yeah?"

Sonoko grinned as she put on her shoes at the genkan. "I'll be fine. My chauffeur is already downstairs."

Ran waved goodbye as Sonoko raced downstairs and disappeared inside one of Suzuki's silver BMW.

"Thank you for the food, Ran-neechan!" Conan called with an amused smile.

"Thank you for the food!" Kogoro followed as well before gorging himself on Ran's food.

Ran sighed as she walked back to the table. Her father was already hooting at Okino Yoko's figure on the TV.

"How was the food, Conan-chan?"

"Delicious as always, Ran-neechan!" Conan smiled up at her and munched some more.

Ran smiled softly at her pseudo sister before picking up her own chopsticks and began to eat; both girls ignoring Kogoro's fawning over Okino Yoko on TV, even if his hollering covered up Yoko's singing voice completely.

"So how do you feel about Kuroba-kun and Nakamori-san?" Ran asked Conan.

Conan thought about her answer for a while before settling with, "They're nice."

"I know they're nice, Conan-chan," Ran said patiently. "But I'm asking how you feel about them."

Conan stared blankly. Ran does this a lot nowadays. Whenever they meet new person, Ran always gently coaxed Conan to talk about said person; what she thinks about them, or how she feels about them. Maybe it's Ran's way to protect her; she had been reading about child psychology more often than not whenever she has some spare time. Conan didn't know what to make of it, but she supposes there's no harm in playing along.

"Nakamori-neechan seems nice, though a bit pushy." Conan finally said. "She looks like she's angry a lot; probably toward Kuroba-niisan, since Kuroba-niisan pranks people a lot."

"I see," Ran said, amused. Conan always says peculiar things like that; like how she 'sees' someone angry a lot, or cries a lot, or laughs a lot. She had accepted this fact as a trait that made Conan, Conan. "Then how about Kuroba-kun? What do you feel about him?"

Conan scrunched up her nose. Honestly? She doesn't like him. She can see that he's hiding something big behind his façade of laughter and pranks; just like Haibara. And she doesn't like how pushy he is, like demanding to spend some time with Conan alone earlier today. It was as if he wanted to fish some information out of her but not being incredibly subtle at all because he thinks she's just a child. Unfortunately, she couldn't exactly say this to Ran; she would just become paranoid. Besides, Conan couldn't really tell if Kuroba was hiding something dangerous or not.

"I don't know," Conan said honestly. "I mean he seems nice. He's nice with Ayumi-chan, Genta-kun, and Mitsuhiko-kun. He stood up for them when Sonoko-neechan was being mean and he looked out for them when they went home."

"That's right. He's really apt at dealing with children, isn't he?" Ran mused, taking a bite of her grilled fish. "Not at all awkward like Sonoko."

At that Conan snorted but said nothing.

"So does that mean you like him?" Ran asked again.

Conan hummed with a thoughtful frown. "I wouldn't say I like him yet," Conan said honestly then she grinned childishly. "But if he starts being nice to me like he does to my friends, I might like him more."

Ran laughed at that. Then the conversation shifted into something lighter, like how school was and how were her lessons, until their meal is done and it was time for children to go to bed.

After Conan brushed her teeth, Ran tucked her into the futon and flicked off her lights. "Good night, Conan-chan."

"Good night, Ran-neechan."

Conan closed her eyes and listened to the hubbub in the background. Ran is yelling to Kogoro about the mess he made and Kogoro grumbles; but the sound of tinkling silverwares and clanking cans told her that Kogoro is cleaning up his own mess. The TV is still on and Okino Yoko's melodic voice still wafted around the house. From the sound of water and tinkling, Ran is still washing the dishes. She was sure it was not Kogoro who was washing the dishes because she could still hear him hooting for Okino Yoko.

Conan didn't even realize she had fallen asleep.

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A/N:

So guys, I'm opening a commission of beta-reading for authors (Also translations but only for Indonesian-English, English-Indonesian) since I'm out of job right now, I'm trying to make money on the side.

Bcs it's just beta-reading, it's only $0.59/word, with minimum 300 words. I don't know what's the standard in USD so I don't know how much is cheap and how much is expensive. For me $0.59 is a LOT already. Maybe I should lower it? I don't know, let me know what you guys think, especially you guys who live in America. I KNOW you read my story; I watch the traffic graphs. Tell me, is it too expensive? Is it too cheap? Pls vote, write for the price you want in the review section.

Help pls. Thank you in advance xoxo