Hello! I'm so glad you've stumbled upon my story. This story will be ongoing for a while, so if you like this chapter never fear! There is certainly more to come! Please leave a review. Thanks!

I do not own Detective Conan.

Victim: Kudou Shinichi

Chapter 1: The Note and Haibara's Tears

"Wow Heiji!" Kazuha exclaimed as she stared out the plane's window. "I still can't believe we're going back to Tokyo. I feel like we haven't been there in AGES."

"Last time we visited was a month ago Kazuha," Heiji corrected in a bored voice. "Besides. We won't be in the city for very long. We are here to solve a case, remember? Also, I don't think-" He was promptly interrupted by a slap to the back of the head.

"Can't you just stop running your mouth and let me enjoy myself. I'm sure the case won't take up all of winter break. We'll still have time to be in the city." Heiji sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. He really liked his childhood friend, but sometimes she could be a pain in the neck: quite literally. He took the message that had appeared on his doorstep out again. The note was very strangely worded, and it had been typed up so he couldn't tell who wrote it. It said:

"There is a place where the East and West must meet, and the sun will decide which side to set upon. The Manor of Tears shall be the stage, and the show will be a winter trajedy as the darkness after sunset chooses its prey."

The note had not been signed, but in the place where one would normally find a signature, there was a date. Hattori Heiji smirked to himself. Ok, so maybe it isn't an actual case, but I'm going to figure it out. He settled himself comfortably in his seat, and pulled his hat down over his eyes to make Kazuha think he was asleep. Maybe we'll finally know who's better, eh Kudou? Let's just see who can figure out this note first; seeing as I've got a head start. Heiji smiled once more. The Great Detective of the West would be paying the Great Detective of the East a very interesting visit.

Conan flipped through the mail that had been piling up at his house and sighed heavily. Nothing for me again. Guess I've been gone a little longer than I thought I was. The pint-sized detective hopped down from his chair. I can sort through the rest of this after I get today's mail. He went out to the front of the Kudou mansion, and was surprised to find a single envelope addressed to him. Conan glanced around cautiously; wondering who it was from as there was no other address but his own on the envelope. Then he took the odd piece of mail inside. He was just opening it when a voice made him almost jump out of his skin.

"What's that?" a small girl's voice said.

"Haibara!" Conan exclaimed as he faced her with the note he had pulled out behind his back. "How did you get in here?" The girl grinned at him in the way that she always did. She wasn't really happy, but she always put on a mask of sorts when she was around him. She shrugged.

"Took the professor's spare key. He really doesn't pay too much attention to where he leaves his things. Now, answer my question." By way of answer, Conan turned away indignantly to unfold the note.

"I'm not sure," he finally murmured after reading over it. "It looks like a riddle with a date at the end." Haibara snatched the note from his hand, and began to walk around the room with it; mumbling the words under her breath as she paced. Then she handed it back to him with another smile.

"Seems like an invitation," she suggested. "And being that it's addressed to Kudou Shinichi, you're going to need an antidote to go." Conan nodded in agreement as he glanced over the note once more. The East and the West... Could it mean...Hattori? "It's the perfect opportunity to try this out then," Haibara added; making Conan meet her eyes again. She held a small, open box in her hand that contained two identical pills. "These should last about two days each, but only use the second if you get in a pinch, and make sure you've changed back into Conan before you take it." Conan gave the girl a genuine smile, and thanked her as he ran back out the house with the box and the note in his pockets.

Haibara waited until the house was silent again before letting go of her mischievous smile. Idiot. You should've told him. She felt the guilt weighing her down the same way the second box in her own pocket did. There's no way you can keep lying to him. Haibara shook her head as she always did though, and made sure the Kudou mansion was locked as she left. After all, she didn't want it's only inhabitant to return to find it robbed. She refused to be to blame for another disaster in his life.

"Come on, Shiho! Let's go over there!" the little boy laughed as he darted past his best friend. She tried to keep up with him, but her seven-year old legs couldn't keep up with his nine-year old ones and she tripped. Shiho frowned as she examined her skinned knee. It burned, and she heard herself whimper involuntarily as tears filled her eyes. She may have been a child genius, and she may have been placed in his class because of this, but she was still a child. She was still just a little girl like all other little girls, and she wasn't old enough to truly understand that tears did not stop the pain.

"Takashi!" her tiny voice cried out to her best and only friend. The little boy turned back to her at the sound of her voice, and a sad smile graced his lips as he saw her disappear into a puddle of tears.

Shiho didn't think he would come back for her at first, and she wasn't sure why, but it frightened her more than anything. Her parents were gone already, and the only person she had left besides him was her sister. Of course, Takashi didn't know about the horrible organization she stayed with. He only knew that Shiho was an orphan just like him, and he understood what that felt like. That was the first thing they ever realized they had in common.

"Shiho," he whispered tenderly; kneeling beside the distraught girl and stroking her hair. "Don't cry Shiho." He lifted her chin and smiled softly at her. "I'll always protect you. I'll always take care of you, and I'll never leave you alone." He always said that to her when she was sad, which happened to be a lot. Then he took her by the hand, and helped her climb onto his back. He carried her away; telling her to pretend that she was a princess, and he was her knight in shining armor.

It took Ai Haibara a moment to realize that she was curled up in a crying heap on the professor's cold kitchen floor. A shiver ran down her spine. No. Not again. "I won't let anything happen to you, Kudou-kun," she promised out loud. With her new purpose in mind she got back to her feet, and went to change her clothes for the night.

Yay! Chapter 1 complete! Thanks for reading! I would very much appreciate a review. They help a lot. The next chapter should be up soon. Thanks again!