30 Cases
By: Dragon-sama
Beta'd by: ChibiOkami06 (who is awesome!)
Things to note: Future KaitoxShinichi

Aoko finds someone she recognizes in Conan. Conan begins putting the pieces together.

Case 01 - Conan & Aoko

Conan sighed, idly kicking a rock along as he walked. He and the Shounen Tantei (minus Ai, who claimed to be "sick") had come down to Tokyo for a new Kamen Yaiba exhibit, and luckily (ha) for them, his Ran-neechan agreed to take them. She'd dropped them off at the entrance with strict warnings to be back on time, then had promptly gone off to do a bit of shopping.

Normally he'd have snuck off to follow Ran (after all, any time spent alone was good, right? Except that Ran alternately kept nearly figuring him out or becoming so depressed over Shinichi he couldn't stand it), but he wasn't really feeling up to any company at the moment.

So in a rare fit of depression, he'd given his friends the slip and gone outside for a walk. Now here he was, wandering around without any particular destination in mind as he contemplated just how much his life sucked.

It had been over two years that he'd been stuck as Conan, and a cure seemed just as far now as it always had. And Ran was...well, she was always telling Conan how much she wished "that detective geek would hurry up and come back already!", but it was different than before.

Before, he could barely look at her tearful, broken eyes that were all his fault. Before, she'd often fallen into a depression until either her Conan-kun managed to cheer her up, or 'Shinichi' gave her a call to keep her clinging to the futile hope that he'd finally come back. Before, he'd known she loved him, even if that knowledge ate away at him because of his inability to do anything about it.

Now, though, her eyes didn't hold that lingering sadness. Now she no longer lit up at the sound of his voice, nor did she lament at his absence. Now...he was unsure that she'd really be happy if Shinichi came back.

He blinked back sudden tears at the thought, then angrily swiped his glasses off, scrubbing furiously at his eyes. Really, there was nothing to cry over, at least not yet. The Black Organization had been mostly taken care of, and Ai hadn't yet given up on a cure for them.

And while he continued hiding from Ran (because she was going to kill him for keeping it from her anyway, and he'd rather die as himself), it wasn't like she had said she didn't want Shinichi to come back. He wondered a little bitterly who she'd rather have though; her little brother Conan or her long-time friend Shinichi.

He shoved his glasses in his pocket (not like he needed them, and with no one he knew around the disguise they provided was unnecessary as well), pressing his other hand against his forehead in a hopeful attempt to ward off the headache he could feel building.

He was therefore unprepared for the pair of legs that appeared from around the corner, crashing into him and knocking him to the ground.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! Are you alright, little boy?" cried a concerned female voice. Conan inwardly grimaced at the 'little boy' comment, before grinning sheepishly up at the teenager who'd mowed him down, 'Conan' mask firmly in place.

"I'm fine 'Nee-san! I wasn't really paying attention..." he trailed off at the odd look the girl was giving him.

"Kaito?" she breathed, looking incredulous. He cocked his head in confusion. Kaito? Shinichi he could understand, even from a perfect stranger (he had been quite popular, thank you very much!), but Kaito was new.

"Uh...my name's Conan. Are you alright, 'Nee-san? You look kinda pale," he chirped, though he was concerned at the look in her eyes. Was she a remnant of the Black Organization? She was young, but if she had been part of the organization and she had figured him out, why call him by some other name?

The girl shook her head slightly, then smiled sadly down at him.

"Sorry, sorry. You just look exactly like how a boy I know did when he was your age. My name's Aoko by the way."

He smiled politely as he stood up and bowed.

"Nice to meet you!" he replied, then blinked when she laughed.

"Of course there's no way you could be Kaito," she said, squatting down so she could look at him face to face. "You're far too polite, your hair is much neater than his," here she reached out and ruffled his hair mercilessly, ignoring his indignant squawk, "and you can't be as much of a KID-otaku as he is!"

He started at the mention of KID, abandoning his quest of straightening his hair in order to examine her closely. She couldn't be referring to his attempts to catch the thief, could she?

"KID?" he queried, fishing for more information. "Does this Kaito guy like KID a lot or something?"

Aoko looked torn between amusement and exasperation.

"Like isn't a strong enough word! He says he admires KID as a fellow magician, but I can tell he's really rooting for him when he steals! Well, we'll see who's laughing when my Dad catches KID and throws his caped butt in jail!" she cried, pumping a fist into the air while Conan watched, sweatdropping. She caught herself, and laughed in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"S'okay!" Conan said, grinning mischievously at her. "When your Dad does catch KID, can I come over and get his autograph?" If she was talking about her Dad catching KID, there was a good chance her father was Nakamori-keibu. Interesting, that, but it was also understandable why she was so anti-KID then.

Aoko was staring at him oddly again.

"'Nee-san?"

She blinked, then shook her head ruefully.

"Amazing. With your hair like that, and when you grin, you really do look exactly like Kaito. I bet you grow up to look like him too." She leaned in, lowering her voice to a mock whisper, "But don't tell him he's got a twin out there, or he'll kidnap you for one of his magic tricks!"

She winked at him, but he barely noticed as his brain finally began connecting the hints that had been jumping up and down, screaming in his subconscious

A magician who 'admires' KID and could be an older Conan's twin? KID had already proven he could pass as Shinichi without a mask, and apparently this Kaito person was also close to the head of the KID taskforce. That would both provide the thief with inside information, while satisfying his daring attitude of living on the edge of detection...

No, it wasn't enough to prove a connection between Kaito and the KID. Still, it was a place to start, and the first possible chance for him to get one step ahead of the thief for once. Conan was a little tired of that all-knowing smirk, and longed to find a way to wipe it off KID's face.

"Conan!"

He started badly as Ran's voice rang out in surprise behind him. Aoko was standing back up, smiling at the approaching girl while Conan quickly fumbled his glasses back on.

"Ran-neechan!" he cried, turning to face the other girl when he'd successfully re-disguised himself.

"Sorry about this," Aoko said politely. "I accidentally knocked over your little brother, and was making sure he was alright. He looks like someone I know, so we got a little distracted while talking." Ran smiled reassuringly at the other girl.

"That's alright. I'm sorry Conan-kun troubled you, seeing as he's not even supposed to be out here at all!" This last part had Ran sending Conan a stern glare. He frowned inwardly, grumbling over his bad luck even as he put on a pitiful pout.

"But Ran-neechan! I wanted--" excuse excuse, he needed an excuse! "--to go with you!" Geh. Poor excuse, but it would do. "But I couldn't find you, and I looked everywhere! So I thought maybe you'd gone outside for a walk, so I came looking out here! Then I met Aoko-neesan, and did you know I look 'zactly like her friend!"

Okay, maybe that was laying it on a little thick, but Ran tended to treat his more 'childish' moments with more leniency. Hopefully the distraction would work.

"Your...friend?" Ran asked the other girl, beginning to look suspicious. "His name wouldn't be Shinichi, would it?" Conan tried not to smirk, really he did, but Ran was still so predictable.

"Shi...oh no. My friend's name is Kaito. I've known him since he was Conan-kun's age, so I could really see their resemblance!" Aoko said with a laugh. Ran's face immediately cleared, and she laughed with the other girl.

"How funny! I always thought Conan-kun looked a lot like his older cousin, Shinichi," Ran said, still chuckling. "I guess it's true when they say somewhere out there everyone has a twin!"

"Really? Does that mean this Shinichi of yours looks like my Kaito?" Aoko asked brightly, and Conan sighed inaudibly as he once again faded into the background. Well, he may get read the riot act when Ran remembered she was upset with him, but somehow, with a new mystery just waiting to be solved, he found he didn't mind.

Case: Conan & Aoko - Closed
Next case: Conan & KID

A/N: And so it starts. Thirty not-quite-unrelated stories that lead our darling detective and his frustrating foe along the path of romance (that's Shinichi and KID, for the unenlightened). Tune in next time for thrilling chases across rooftops! No, really!