Yeah, started another story... stupid me ^^ This one is a three parter
and, while Kid and Ran are the main character, they aren't in love. This is NOT a KIDXRan story

Okay :)

STAGED AFTER THE 14th MOVIE

and thanks to Daisuke Kazamatsuri for beta reading ^^

Chapter 1: Not Again

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"Either over neither, both over either, live-and-let-live over stand-or die, high spirits over low, energy over apathy, wit over dullness, good nature over bad, feeling over sentiment... charity over murder, love over charity
... irreplaceable over interchangeable"

-Marvin Mudrick

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One of Sonoko's family's jewels was being targeted again, a diamond that they had only recently purchased from the states. Her father was the one who owned the gem, so his cousin had no interest in helping protect it. Kid, after all, hadn't challenged Jirokichi, so the man felt it unfair to fight against him on a family member's behalf and not his own.

"Ran, what do you have against Kid-sama anyway? You've been lying to me. Something happened to you on the airship, didn't it?"

Ran let the light blush cross her face before glaring daggers at her closest female friend. "Of course nothing happened. It's just not normal to be following a thief around like he's a role model."

"But Kid-sama is a role model. His veiled identity, returning his prize like a gallant knight. If every guy were more like Kid-sama-" Sonoko's eyes sparkled as she thought about it.

"If every guy were like that the world would be paranoid. Anyway, why'd you invite us?"

Sonoko's expression soured. "Because you're my friend."

Ran sighed, smiling. "I know. Sorry Sonoko."

"It's all right. You're going to have to cough up the story soon or I'll drag it out of you."

Conan had come back from examining the room of the mansion's wing where Kid's next target was kept. When the boy entered, he shot Ran a worried glance. Ran sighed again. Why did everyone think something had happened between her and Kid? Something had almosthappened, but she loved Shinichi. If she hadn't have thought, what with how long it had been since she's seen him, that Kid was her long missing friend, she never would have gotten within ten feet of him.

"Sonoko, where's the washroom?" Ran asked, hoping for an escape. Every time Conan stared at her with that lost expression she felt as if she was letting him down in some way. She knew how crazy it sounded but it didn't stop the regret from creeping up on her whenever he did.

"I don't know. Ask one of the maids, they should know."

"Go down the hallway and take the second left. It's on the right and has a wobbly handle, so be careful you don't get locked in."

"Thank you Conan-kun" Ran smiled, bending down towards the small boy. He resembled Shinichi so much sometimes that she could forget how old he was.

"You'd better hurry up." Sonoko checked her watch. "There's only ten more minutes."

"I wouldn't want to miss that, would I?" Ran strode off, blatantly stating that she would rather miss the thief's antics.

Ran didn't have to use the bathroom but she closed the door and sat the seat, wasting time before the thief came so she wouldn't have to constantly hear about him. She hadn't minded Sonoko's obsession with him before, but the Kid was high up there now on her revenge list for the dirty trick he had pulled on her. Her first experiences with Kid hadn't been pleasant, first when he knocked her out and then when he knocked out her dad. She hadn't gotten angry at him then. She hadn't even minded when she'd seen Shinichi again, though she hadn't trusted that it was him. Even now she was sure that it had been Kid, but looking at things in retrospect couldn't put someone behind bars. She bared no resentment towards him for any of that, because they were the things he needed to do. Toying with her emotions, making her think the worst of her best friend, things like that, done cruelly, were what helped her hatred along. She didn't want to hear Sonoko speak about a man like that in front of her.

Ran didn't think her ten minutes were up before she heard shouting coming from out the door. The bathroom was spacious, and she took her time exiting, staring at her reflection in the pristine mirror, rimmed in imitation - or knowing Sonoko's family - maybe real gold. The shower was off to the side, leaving at least a six by ten foot gap of free space to move around in. Their bathroom, sadly, seemed bigger than her bedroom at home, if the fixtures were removed.

While she was looking around, the lights went out. It seemed the Kid liked to use the darkness as a way to escape, so hopefully she wouldn't have to run into him.

Ran tried the handle and door didn't open. Darn it, she thought not too unhappily, now she was going to miss the action. She started towards the seat to wait out her stay, knowing Conan at least would notice she was missing after the excitement died down. Before she reached it though, she heard as someone tired to turn doorknob.

"It's broken," she told the person on the other side. She heard something scrape against the gap between the door and the frame, forcing the latch open.

A blur marred her vision in the darkness, appearing a gray color in the weak light that was entering the bathroom window from the lighting outside. It took her eyes a while to adjust, allowing her to see almost as well as she could with the light on, considering that the outside yard lights were at full power so that they could see Kid if he escaped that way. Before her the gray shaped turned into a person whose silhouette she couldn't make out as they quietly shut the door. They turned to her with a smile.

"Long time no see Ran."

The voice was all she needed to identify her intruder.

"Shin- Kid." Ran didn't hesitate to take in the shock before she grabbed onto his arm and twisted it behind his back. This was the second time she did this and the thief fell easily under her strength. The only thing different this time was he couldn't fool her. That, and for some strange reason her palm was wet where she'd grabbed him.

A hissed in breath told her that Kid was at her mercy.

"I'm not going to let you go this time."

No reply came. Either Kid was trying to think of a way to escape or he'd given up. Ran wished that the power wasn't cut so that she could see his expression. In case he was trying to escape, she reaffirmed her hold, twisting his arm more than she had to when she thought of how he'd almost made her kiss him.

A strangled noise of pain and the Kid's body tensed, the opposite that he should have done to try and get away.

"Don't be such a baby," she chided him in the dark bathroom. It was hard to keep hold of him with how slick her fingers felt. "What did you do? Soak yourself?"

"No," came his whispered reply.

The lights flicker on for a moment, duller than the normal ones. The back up generator that the police had brought along didn't have a lot of power to light the whole mansion.

Kid was staring at her from under a dark cap, wearing a short-sleeved black shirt and jeans, looking for all the world like Shinichi. Ran pushed him into the door now that she could see it, to better hold him. His face lay against it as he winced, coming to focus back on her eyes as the the pain faded.

"This time I'm turning you over to the police."

"By all means, do so if you think you can, but for now you must listen to me. You need to hide." The cap was shoved slightly askew and she could see Shinichi's hair swept across his face. Her anger grew inside of her like a hornet. She pushed him further against the wall, watching him close his eyes for a moment before turning a pleading glance at her.

"As if I'd believe anything you said."

"I'm not lying! Please, you need to hide. If they find us-"

There was a loud bang as someone shoved the door, realizing the handle was broken. The Kid's eyes widened in fright. Ran smiled.

"I'll only have to hold you and the police will do the rest."

"They're not the police!" Kid whispered harshly, his breath coming up short. Ran frowned, not only at his words but at how much pain he seemed to be in. She wasn't hurting him that much. She looked down at him, trying to find an answer to at least some of her questions only to have more swarm her brain. There was blood all over her hands.

"What?"

"Please, hide!" Kid begged her once more. Begged her. She had no other word for it. Ran started at him in confusion and shock. There was no reason she should trust him. He'd lied to her. He'd made her believe that he was- someone precious to her. She shook her head and Kid winced again as someone thew their full weight on the door she was holding him against.

"If you're lying to me-" She released him slowly. He moved his arm to make sure he was okay. The thief hurried to the sink, grabbing one of the hand towels off the wall and running hot water over it. The window was less then three feet from him but he didn't seem to be going for it.

"What are you doing?"

The door took another blow. It wouldn't be long before the police got in.

"I can't leave you here with them." Kid took his shirt and pulled up the front of it, revealing where the blood had come from. There was a large cut below his ribs. He closed his eyes tightly as he pressed the towel into it.

"You're hurt!"

"I'm aware of that." Kid let out a few pants of breathes, glancing nervously at the door. "Listen to me, can you do that? Only for a few moments."

Ran nodded numbly, her mind not being able to come to a reasonable conclusion as to what was going on. Kid took the towel away, now covered in his blood, and shoved it as far as he could in a small trash can in the corner before taking off his black shirt, somehow keeping the cap in place, and pulling a deep red one out of thin air. He ran up to her just as the door was ready to give in, placing a hand behind her head.

Instinctively Ran pushed him away, watching him bare his teeth in pain. Her hands wouldn't fall back to her side but he was able to get himself close enough to her to hide her face. The door gave in and Kid turned around with a wary smile.

"I know that you don't want me to- Hey, who are you?" Kid sounded genuinely confused as two men dressed in black came into the room. Her eyes widened as the fell on the automatic guns each one was holding.

"They're just kids," one man said as he turned to the other. The other, only identifiable as a different person by his sheer body mass, started down at them with narrow eyes.

"It doesn't matter. You heard the boss, everyone. If they put up a fight, we kill them." The man moved to get behind them, the bathroom's smaller diameter not permitting it. Kid made sure to keep her close to him. "Get going."

"Where are we going? What's going on? Where's my dad?" Kid glanced between the two of them. She was the only one able to see the spark of rebellion.

"We don't have time for this. If he wants us to nab everyone in this place were gonna lose the Kid."

"Don't you think I know that. That's why we have men outside. The boss would have heard something. No one's left. Kid's still here."

Ran felt Kid's hand tighten on her shoulder. He seemed worried for a moment before it faded into false surprise and agitation at being interrupted with a girl. Ran blushed.

"We've go to get out of here" he whispered suddenly to her. "I can get the big guy. Can you get the other one?"

Ran looked the smaller man over. He was nervous, new to this type of thing. His gun was held in a tight grip. These were the people you had to watch out for, she knew, because they would shoot at the slightest provocation. Ran nodded, shifting her feet beneath her. The Kid nodded in return, reaching into his pocket.

"On three," he smiled as if it were a game. Ran glared. "One. Two. Three."

All she saw was Kid shoot to the side as she went after the smaller man. His gun was held out in front of him and she slammed her arm against his, forcing him to drop the weapon. Ran, taking all her hate at Kid and confusion of the situation into her body, kicked him as hard as she could in the stomach, sending him sprawling over and slamming into the wall before he fell to the floor, head slumping forward. She took in a deep breath before turning around.

Kid had the large man's gun in his hand and was having fun twirling it around. Ran didn't see how he had done it, but the big man seemed to be out for the count, laying slack near the toilet seat.

"Wow, I'd really hate to be on the wrong side of your kicks." Kid's grin was wide as he made sure that the man he'd attacked was unconscious.

"It's bad to me on my wrong side at all." Ran took her stance back up. "And guess where you are?"

"Sorry. Sorry." Kid held up his hands, the gun falling over his pointer finger to dangle there. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"What just happened? Who are these people?"

"Considering you've been here the whole time, I shouldn't have to tell you what happened," Kid said sarcastically, grin in place to make it scathing so that Ran felt all the more angry at him. "As for who they are, I honestly have no idea." Kid went over and plucked the hat off the larger male, studying his face with the scrutiny of a officer. The man had short cut black hair and thick eyebrows that made his eyes seem even smaller then they already were. "I certainly don't want to know who they are either." Kid put the hat back in place before peering out the window.

"They were after you. You should know how they are."

"There are a lot of people who want me dead. I can't say I keep track of them."

Ran could tell Kid was lying to her - again - about knowing who these people were but his words threw her off a second time. She couldn't tell if he was speaking the truth or trying to throw her off with when he said there were people out to kill him.

"Who's trying to kill you?"

"That's not for a lady to worry about," Kid winked. His face became more somber as he turned back to the glass. "I'm going to have a look around. If it's safe, I'll come back and get you. I can't help anyone else. You can go to the police and tell them you escaped on your own. They'll send help."

Ran nodded, folding her arms in front of her chest. It wasn't that she wanted to listen to him, it was common sense.

Kid turned to open the window before flipping around and staring at her as if she'd suddenly become a demon. Ran shuddered, eyes opening to catch a flash of Kid moving from the window with inhuman speed to wrap her in his arms a second time that night. It happened so fast that she wasn't able to throw him off this time. Her mind registered a small whine from the thief as his momentum threw her against the wall.

Because he was holding her head close to him, she had to force his hand away in order to look up. The smaller man in black had somehow woken up from her kick and backed away from them, holding up a knife that was covered to the hilt in blood.

Ran didn't have time to think. She pushed Kid roughly away from her where she saw him fall to the floor. No one got up after she hit them. She glanced the man over once more and noticed he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Taking up a new stance she bore all of her weight into her core and punched him as hard as she could in the face. She was sure she saw a few teeth fall out. He wouldn't be getting up this time. The man collapsed, out of it now, onto the floor next to his partner.

"Nice hit" Kid commented from his new height. Ran turned to where he was on his knees on the floor. He smiled up at her. His shirt couldn't hide the large stain on his back that he hadn't had earlier.

"Did he-?..." Kid had given up his escape to protect her. She didn't know what to think of that. "Thank you."

"My fault anyway." Kid let out a few uneven breaths. His body trembled every time he tired to talk. "They're after me, not you."

A band-aid wasn't going to fix this and the Kid's shirt was starting to stain. She was glad he chosen a red one, or the blood would have been making her feel much worse. Ran went over and took the last remaining hand towel off the rack, soaking it in lukewarm water and ringing it out before kneeling in front of the thief. Kid shook his head.

"I appreciate the sentiments, but there isn't time." Kid looked nervous, and that was saying something. He didn't have anything to gain by playing her for a fool a second time, so there was no other reason for his worried expression and taciturn motions other than to state that he was truly concerned.

Ran ignored his protests and latched onto his shirt so that she could get at the wound. Kid jumped, equal amounts of surprise and pain playing across his face that was only shadowed by the rim of a baseball cap. He could have been anybody under that hat and, as many possibilities of him being someone with evil intent, were the same possibilities of him being someone who deserved her help - at least in return. He had protected her when he didn't need to.

The puncture wound was beneath his ribs and it looked as if the blade was forced up. No more than an inch in a half wide, there was so much blood that she couldn't get a good look at it.

"I've never actually been stabbed in the back before." Kid smiled at her and tired to pull himself away but getting up must have been more painful than he had anticipated because he only drew one leg up to lift himself up with before pausing to turn away from her. "I'm sorry. I don't think that I can get you out of here anymore. I can lead you to another room where you can hide and hopefully they won't find you until I can relay a message to the police. Nakamori-keibu and his officers won't be..." The Kid stopped speaking for a moment to get his breathing evened out, using more of it than necessary to speak. "Capable of dealing with these people, since most of his men don't carry guns. I'm sure the Inspector has one, but one man against all of these doesn't look too promising. I'll be back with help soon."

Ran was used to being speechless in situations that she couldn't control but, as much as she reminded herself that he wasn't, Kid seemed more and more like Shinichi every second she spent with him. She narrowed her eyes before she knew what she was doing and placed her hands on her hips.

"You can't even stand up. How do you expect to get out of here? I'm not deaf either. I heard them talk about men outside. You'll be killed and then what help will you be to me?"

"I didn't think you cared so much." Kid flashed his teeth at her before standing without so much as a single hesitation in the movement. "Don't underestimate me."

Again, she didn't think before she acted. Ran stood up next to him and pushed him into the wall. Not hard enough to do him any real harm or to get the attention of the rest of the people in the house who appeared to have no trouble murdering her, but with enough force that Kid wasn't able to keep his balance. She didn't miss when he winced as his back made contact with the wall.

Kid gave her an annoyed look before using his left arm and letting himself sit back on the floor where he'd been seconds before. He put a hand up to his face and stared at her with his uncovered right eye. "That wasn't very nice you know, Mouri-san."

"If you think you can walk around and lie to me, than don't expect me to play fair either." She crossed her arms and stood over him, shadowing him for the low light of the bathroom.

"If I stay here, you'll only be put in danger, maybe killed." Kid tipped his head back so that she could see how serious he was. She was taken aback but the color of his eye, now that she could see it and didn't have other things on her mind to worry about, such as living. It was blue, almost, if not, the exact same shade as Shinichi's. She wasn't ready for that. The person in front of her couldn't be that old. As good as Kid seemed to be at disguising himself, she'd crossed paths with him more than once and he always seemed to be around the same age.

Ran clenched her hands, trying to keep those thoughts away. He wasn't Shinichi. No matter how similar the two were, she'd know if it was him.

"Don't run away."

Kid gave her an 'are you serious' look.

"You may not be Shinichi, but I'm sure you're someone else's Shinichi." There was something sweet and kind about him that Ran didn't feel the same falseness in that she did in his voice, his manners, and everything else about him. "Stealing isn't right. I told you this once, and I'll tell you again because you act like a child and you probably tuned my words out every time I talk to you. Turn yourself in. You're hurting people."

"I can't." Kid seemed to shrink on on himself, unfolding one leg out from under him and leaning on the bathroom wall. He seemed surprised with himself at the answer he'd given her but it didn't help Ran. She was still confused and Kid seemed more interested in listening for any outside noise rather than clarifying his words so that she could understand them.

"You said being here is putting me in danger. That's because you're here. I'm pretty sure all those fans of yours don't like being put in danger every time you show up either, considering that they don't even know its dangerous."

"I'm well aware of that, but there's nothing I can do and, as long as they come in groups, they shouldn't be in harm's way." Kid got up off the floor again, eyeing her to make sure he wasn't pushed back this time. Ran was tempted to do it out of spite, since he seemed to expect the worst from her.

When he was standing on his own his shoulders slumped and his eyes lidded in a very teenaged expression of frustration. Ran was getting less and less of a reaction out of herself every time he displayed behavior better suited for someone her own age, rather than the age she had believed Kid was.

"If I'm going to remain here, we have to play this very carefully." Kid removed his shirt, not seeming to care that Ran was a girl and he was doing it in front of her for a second time. She'd been too distracted to take notice of it earlier, and the fresh blood on his back almost made her miss it again, but there was no doubt that Kid was young judging by the way his body looked under the clothes. "See if there are bandages in the cupboard if you would," Kid said as he tipped his head in her direction, wearing nothing but dark jeans a black cap. There was something hindering his words when he spoke and Ran saw what appeared to be thread between his teeth before he turned away from her and rested one of his feet on the toilet so that he could see his torn shirt.

Ran bent under the sink, not to help the thief, there was no way she'd want to do that, but to repay him. She froze with the bandages in hand and saw Kid's head shoot to the door before her own eyes settled on it. There was the sound of a fight somewhere close by and Ran felt her hand tighten on the cloth, hoping it wasn't her father... or Conan.

"Hurry." Kid turned back to his work, sowing the tear shut and biting on the extra thread. She wasn't sure where he put the needle, or where it had come from, since it was gone in the next second as he held the shirt up at the shoulders to examine his work. He turned to her with a grin, eyes flashing for a moment before being hidden in the shadows once again. "If it's not too much trouble, I would like help wrapping the cut on my back. I don't want to give myself away."

Kid took the bandages from her before she had a chance to do what he asked, wrapping them around the front where he was hiding his first injury from her. She couldn't tell how bad it was but the one on his back seemed worse. Kid's breathing hadn't been the same since he'd saved her and she was afraid that it had hit his lung or something. Of course, she quickly tried to change the worry for him into anger for getting her into this type of situation but it was harder to do than she thought.

"Here." Kid handed the bandages back. "It doesn't have to be perfect, just enough so that it's not bleeding through the shirt."

"But your shirt's already full of blood." She looked down at the red t-shirt. It may have made the blood less obvious but it wasn't invisible. She knew the longer it sat, the darker the stains would become.

"I know. I have an excuse for that though." Kid waved a hand at the unconscious men. "They injured me, as me, not necessarily as Kid. As long as no one looks too closely, it should be fine."

Ran jumped as someone banged on the door. Kid's eyes caught her attention when he turned and shoved a hand in front of her. Serious, determined, and with a tint of fear that let her know that he was human. It was an expression she'd only ever seen on Shinichi's face, and only once, when she was so scared that the serial murderer was going to kill her and Shinichi got to her in time before her grip let up. She didn't know why she'd saved the murderer then, but Shinichi's words rang in her head now, lost until the moment when the Kid's expression matched her childhood friends. Do you need a reason to save someone's life?...

"Wait, you're still hurt." Ran pushed his hand away from her so that his body was turned to better wrap up the cut. She took a moment to be amused at the shocked look on the thief's face before doing her best to stop the bleeding while someone continued to pound on the door, shouting for them to unlock it.

Her hands were shaking but she ignored it, feeling pressure not only from the man at the door but from Kid's eyes watching her over his shoulder. It wasn't her best job, it wasn't even a good job, but her fingers fell away from the bandages as Kid pulled the shirt over his head and the door slammed open. In the heart stopping moments after the sudden noise, Ran found that Kid had once again stepped in front of her, to protect her.

The man who slammed the door open was wearing a dark suit with a hat that shaded his eyes, similar to what Kid's was doing, in the small amount of light the generator could produce. Ran's eyes were on his face for only a moment, traveling to the gun he had pointed at them. Kid wasn't smiling, but she didn't think he would be. Only she knew who he was and smiling while a weapon was being pointed at you wasn't something a normal person would have done.

Kid lost his outward expression of control in seconds, grabbing onto the arm of her shirt and hiding his face partially, with one arm wrapping around her back. Years of training told her that it was one of the worst positions that you could take up, leaving too much open to attack.

The man with the gun didn't take much time noticing the two unconscious men in the bathroom with them. He only grinned more, taking a few steps into the room. Kid cowered, drawing inward and taking a step backwards into a vulnerable position that her sensei would have yelled at any newbie for. Ran caught up on his behavior quickly and wrapped her hands around herself when she noticed she'd fisted them and was ready to fight off the man. He was too far away from her and had a gun, and her pride was a stupid thing to get killed for.

"More of you idiots. And I thought I was only here to catch one fool." The gun was aimed and Ran and she felt Kid's hand tighten around her. If he was going to shoot her away, Ran wasn't going to back down. She let her fear of the man drain away until her resolve was clear.

I'm sorry Shinichi, I won't be here to wait for you...