Creativity

AN: Thanks again for Kencha, Sushi and chibipenguin22 my wonderful beta-readers who helped a lot with the grammar and phrases making this fanfic readable. If you find any mistakes, please do tell. Also, constructive criticism is always welcome.

Enjoy the story!

Some days after the last batch of taps from both KID and Bourbon he found new ones, again. Not that he was surprised. Not really. They had a bug war going on, after all. While at times enjoyable there were times it was utterly tiring and annoying. That was the reason why he tried (and failed) to discourage his opponents to plant taps in the first place.

At least this time Amuro had the decency to put his tap somewhere more reasonable. It was stuck between the books on the highest shelf. It seemed like a peace offering or maybe he hadn't had enough time to think of another outrageous hiding place yet or he did consider this one devilish enough as it was one of the places Conan wasn't able to check as often because he couldn't reach it. Not that he couldn't check with his lost-rubber-tactic. As an elementary schooler, he could get away with throwing things around while throwing a tantrum after getting 'frustrated' with his homework. Unfortunately, he couldn't throw a tantrum like that too often as he was supposed to be quite good at school.

Considering everything this hiding place wasn't exactly creative. More so as creativity was an important trait among detectives. How else would one be able to solve those hideously complicated murders?

It was during the following case when he realized his mistake, his presence was interfering with phone calls (again). Not really noticeable for most people, but the faint buzz in the background was a dead giveaway. He found it in his collar. Amuro must have put it there when he ruffled his head when they were eating downstairs in the Café. Although quite fitting the cheerful, I'm-totally-harmless waiter persona this wasn't something he would normally do, especially to Conan who had considered revenge for a moment. Revenge was unavoidable now.

He was determined to make two pieces of soap in arts and crafts tomorrow. Of course one was for Ran the other, though…

Revenge would be basic.

"Azusa-neechan!" Conan shouted, "We made soap in school today! Here, I have one made for the Café."

He gave Azusa a piece of cream coloured soap with "Poirot" crudely carved in it.

"Thank you, Conan, that's very sweet of you."

Conan then dialed his sweetness up and chirped: "You're welcome! I made it to thank Amuro-niisan for his wonderful sandwiches and your great food! He isn't here anymore, is he?"

"No, he isn't. He had gone home just a few minutes before, but I will relay your thanks for him. May I put this into the staff's bathroom?"

"Of course!" Conan waved goodbye and vanished into the agency after his (good) deed done.

KID's listening device he found under the balcony. Apparently he decided that Conan needed to do some acrobatics. Conan was sure he would have given anyone who had seen him retrieving that particular piece of electronic device a heart attack, if anyone had bothered to look up that is. Hopefully, this was the only revenge KID had in mind. It seemed unlikely, though, as it was neither too creative nor too much of an inconvenience especially since the thief considered himself as an artist. Anyway, he would put KID's listening device to good use and maybe give him a heart attack while he was at it.

However, a few weeks later Conan was furious (and slightly embarrassed). KID had used Ran in his revenge. Disguised as professor Agasa he had planted a bug on her butt which Conan of all people had to remove lest KID hear something he definitely shouldn't. While he knew he kind of deserved it he couldn't help to think that a line had been crossed. Conan decided that KID's tap might found itself be lost in the Beika Aquarium, maybe at the shark tank.

That he stalled KID for Akai was totally justified, too. He might even tell Akai what happened at the mermaid heist. After all, a big brother had the right to know what had happened to his little sister, right? He wasn't mad at KID, no he wasn't. Not mad at all.

Kaito was satisfied with himself. He had retrieved his little wayward camera on a new moon night and placed a new listening device at the agency under the balcony. While it might be a bit dangerous for the little detective to retrieve it he was confident that he would manage it. Besides that would hardly be more dangerous than the stunts that child usually pulled.

Unfortunately, after Tantei-kun had removed the device from its former place the detective actually relocated it. Onto someone who worked at the Café Poirot which was located under the agency. The waiter's voice sounded familiar.

He was at school when he suddenly realized who exactly the voice belonged to. This realization made him question Tantei-kun's sanity (or what was left of it) once more. People might call him insane for the tricks he pulled but he knew what he did and he made it as safe as he could. Tantei-kun, however, made plans where one would be threatened by armed criminals and end up in a carriage full of explosives. Now he had stuck Kaito's listening device on said criminal! Who was the insane one now?

Kaito anxiously listened the whole day. Fortunately, it seemed that it hadn't been discovered yet. Unfortunately, between meeting Aoko after school, homework and planning the next heist he hadn't any time to venture over to Beika today. He was determined to remove his bug tomorrow after school.

The very next day, however, during his class just before lunch a high shriek destroyed his eardrums. He dearly hoped that the remains would be discarded.

The next listening device he planted on Tantei-kun's girlfriend as revenge for the fish-stand-prank. Thanks to that, though, he now knew that the detective was aware of his fear of fish. However, later he regretted his choice of revenge dearly. Conan had retaliated viciously and placed Kaito's poor device in an evil place that Kaito would go as far to call hell. A place where those evil creatures were on display, day and night, without a break. Unlike a fish stand which would at least close during the night and on weekends.

In the end he had to ask Jii who wouldn't ask awkward questions to retrieve his tap.

He really didn't want to explain the bug war going on, especially that he was currently losing to an elementary student — albeit a fake one — of all people. Maybe he did go a bit too far by pulling that stunt, a tiny bit. If he were a normal and sane person he would stop bugging Tantei-kun now. Admittedly, if he had any sense of self-preservation. People said he didn't have any.

Judging by the sounds he received through his tap Conan was throwing a temper tantrum over his Japanese homework. While perfectly normal among his peers when getting frustrated with something, Conan was everything but normal. Amuro was sure a child who solved Kanji riddles and most likely could read and write advanced Kanji wouldn't struggle with elementary school Japanese. Although it wasn't the first tantrum the boy had thrown about homework, and he suspected it wouldn't be his last, Amuro was sure someone as intelligent as that little wannabe sleuth (admittedly he was still a bit sore about the trick Conan and Akai had pulled on him) couldn't struggle with elementary school homework of all things.

Furthermore, he knew that Conan could and normally would finish all of his homework in what he thought were a record-breaking three minutes. Really, if the boy hadn't been that young he would have recruited him into the PSB already. Or at least into the police considering that Conan was quite well known and therefore unsuited for undercover work. Now thinking about it, he would do so as soon as it was possible. Before those bumbling fools who call themselves the FBI (who Conan was entirely too friendly with, too) tried to snatch him away and turn him traitor to his beloved country called Japan.

A short time later the problem was 'resolved' and Conan was crawling through the whole apartment in order to find his 'lost' things. Amuro doubted they really were lost. He thought it utterly impossible (or at least very unlikely) that the perceptive boy could lose anything at all. Beside that, the stationery which had been flung around seemed to have been carefully aimed considering that he had heard a rather loud thud indicating something, probably a rubber, had landed on the shelf where his decoy had been hidden. While it was entirely possible that this was an innocent coincidence it wasn't a big leap to guess that his throwing accuracy was good considering his crazy kicking accuracy.

Not much later his listening device had been found. Amuro wasn't surprised, not really. That place was quite obvious, after all, but it served him well to cover up another tap he had put onto the boy while they were eating in the Café.

Although in the end the blasted thing didn't last two days he liked to think that it had been discovered after the disappointing soul-detective case. A small victory for him, a tiny one at best, but one nonetheless. It was kinda pathetic that something like this counted as a victory in his books, but honestly, this child was a genius, a force of nature despite his young age.

He wondered how Conan had come across this particular case. After all, it was rumoured to be one of the few operations someone high in the pecking order had screwed up big time and covered up very thoroughly. He thought that it was worth investigating, too. Maybe it would be beneficial to them both to work together on it? Then again it would mean working together with Akai of all people, something he really despised despite not actively hunting that traitor anymore.

While he, too, found the one he had planted on the bookshelf quite fast, along with another one he assumed that was Conan's.

This one he destroyed during class time. There, take that! He discarded the remains, he knew where these things came from, after all.

Unfortunately, one of his beloved taps was still missing. He perceived muffled bathroom sounds again, this time the staff's most likely, he really shouldn't be surprised. On one hand the places where his listening devices were turning up was getting old, on the other hand one had to be quite creative to come up with improbable hiding places like Conan did. Although he was quite sure he wouldn't find it at the usual places like the ceiling lamp or under the door handle he still checked every place he could think of. Especially the toilet tank was checked thoroughly. He went through thrice and came up with nothing. This one was frustrating, one would think that in a place as small as a bathroom his listening device would be found easily, but once again the little devil had hidden the device somewhere where no one but he would look.

Fortunately, the next time they worked together in the Café, Azusa had told him with shining eyes that 'sweet, adorable, little Conan' ('devil' he corrected in his mind) had made the 'wonderful piece of soap' in the staff bathroom for them to thank them for the 'wonderful sandwiches' he always brought upstairs (and the great food Azusa made, of course). He had noticed that particular piece of soap a few days ago but had assumed that some nice old lady had made it, not that it was the work of a devil in a child's body. Said demon had made sure that Amuro had to wait another few weeks to retrieve his tap lest risking Azusa's wrath (not too intimidating but inconvenient as they were coworkers and she would be very upset) by destroying that piece of soap.

Maybe he should stop bugging the little devil, now. Maybe not. Who knows?

Omake:

After another few bugs had vanished from their intended places in the agency, as the nearly imperceptible sounds indicated, Amuro wondered where on earth Conan intended to hide those things this time. Probably not the bathroom, he mused.

Unfortunately, the somewhat muffled sounds he received through the taps some days later indicated just that. Somehow one of these blasted things was in the bathroom (again) while the others seemed to be in the cupboard that held cleaning supplies. Where exactly they were eluded him, though. He did notice, however, that someone had bought new toilet rim blocks. It couldn't be, could it?

He shook his head, this wasn't possible. While soap is quite easy to make, toilet rim blocks were an entirely different matter. Especially when they had different scents and came in different colours.

However, he had observed that Conan had spent his time after school at the professors the previous days. No, he didn't stalk the boy. Definitely not. He wasn't a pedophile. Those observations were just a side effect from watching that suspicious lodger in the Kudo mansion, Subaru Okiya, who, he was quite sure despite evidence to the contrary, was actually his most hated person, his archenemy, Akai Shuichi. No, he wasn't obsessed with him, not at all.

The pudgy professor was an engineer, not a chemist, right?

Not that those thoughts stopped him from asking Azusa about the new rim blocks. And guess what? She told him that 'sweet, little Conan' (personally he thought that 'evil, little devil' would be far more fitting) had given them to her as the professor (supposedly) wanted them to test his latest invention, toilet rim blocks that omitted scents of different foods and drinks like coffee or hot chocolate.

He really should have expected this. While not particularly difficult to retrieve it would take some time. He hoped that the next batch wouldn't end up in the bathroom, he really didn't need to know who went to the toilet and what they did there. Did Conan think that he was a pervert or something?!

Maybe that boy would stop doing that. After all, third time's a charm, right?

Come to think of it, why was he subjecting himself to this again? Oh right, yeah, he chose to watch the 'Sleeping Kogoro'. It wasn't boring or terrible (far from that), but sometimes, just sometimes, he wondered why he played with an elementary school kid who bested him quite regularly. Not always, mind you, sometimes he got the upper hand, but quite often not.

Even if every victory was hard to earn, that just made it sweeter to win.

Man, it just was pathetic, losing more often than not to an elementary school student, but then again no one right in their mind would say that Conan was normal, would they?