An AU of an AU: Do not need to read original to understand storyline.

The original AU ended up not liking being written so this one prevailed. I'll try to get the original up…eventually.

--

Kaitou Kid soared through the night sky contentedly. The heist had been fun, what with Tantei-kun chasing him and everything. Speaking of Tantei-kun, wasn't that his 'sister' screaming down there?

He descended cautiously and dropped into a tree near the Mouri-tantei Agency. Three police officers were gathered round a distraught Mouri-chan. One of the officers, he vaguely remembered his name to be Shiratori from Division 1, placed a calming hand on Mouri-chan's shoulder. "I'm sure Conan-kun will be fine, Ran-san." He assured. Well, of course he would. Why wouldn't he?

"B-but… he's never done this before. What if he's hurt? I know Conan-kun would never worry us intentionally by not coming home!" Ran's sobbing was interrupted by a loud thump as Kid fell out of the tree. "K-Kid?" She gasped. The officers just gaped, their jaws somewhere around their shoes.

"What?" Kid demanded. "Tantei-kun didn't come home?"

Ran stared at him in shock. "No, but…why would you care?" She asked, suspiciously.

Kid pouted as much as his reputation would allow. "Believe it or not, Ojou-san, I do care about my rival's well-being. Besides, Tantei-kun really could be hurt, not that he can't take care of himself. If I find him, Ojou-san, I shall let you know – in a way that won't risk myself, of course – and put your worries to rest." He activated the glider again and cleared his throat. "By the way, my dear officers, the jaw to the floor look really doesn't become the fearsome Division One." With a laugh, he launched himself into the sky.

Shiratori grumbled. "How'd he know we were from Division 1, anyway?" He muttered.

--

Kid soared through the sky once more, much less content this time. Where on earth could Tantei-kun be?

His search continued for another hour at least before he landed in a poorer part of town to rest his 'wings'. Really, Tantei-kun could be such a bloody pain in the ass. Almost as much as Hakuba, from whom he was adopting British swear words. He glanced around as he touched down, thankful for his night vision. Was that really a person curled up in that hole? What a painful way to sleep. Kid crept closer, curious, and nearly cried out for what he saw. His Tantei-kun, dear little Tantei-kun, was coiled in a bloody mess, occasionally whimpering in pain. He leaned forward to inspect the boy's injuries and was rewarded to the sight of rather larger, very pointy fangs. "Oh dear," He murmured in shock.

He cautiously laid a hand on the detective's shoulder and was rewarded with an armful of growling detective. Tantei-kun was snarling in a very threatening way, but at the same time, he clung to Kid, to any comfort the heat source could provide. Jeez, talk about contrary. He slowly raised his hand – the one that wasn't wrapped around the detective – to eyelevel and presented it to the confused tantei. "Will you come with me?" He asked in a calm voice. "I can help you, if you'll let me." He offered the hand to Conan again and this time he reached up and grabbed it tightly, fingers curling around his own with a bone-crushing strength. "Come on." Kid whispered soothingly. "Let's get you somewhere safe." He gathered the detective in his arms, holding him securely to his chest, and opened his hang glider again. No one paid any attention to the white bird gliding over the town.

He landed on the roof of a building in downtown Tokyo and deactivated the white wings. During the ride, Tantei-kun had curled up closely into his body, seeking comfort in the warmth, he supposed. Kid smiled and reached down with the arm he'd used to pilot the glider, taping a hidden panel. It slid back to reveal a keypad in which he quickly typed four digits. The door on the roof unlatched and a hooded figure opened it, beckoning Kid inside. "Odd time to call for a visit, Master Kaito."

"This is supposed to be an inn." Kid grumbled back. "Is Shizuka in?" He asked.

The figure nodded, responding in a deep, masculine voice. "She's at the bar." Kid bobbed his head in thanks and breezed past the figure. The stairs going up to the roof lead to a cozy room, sparkly silver walls adorned with crystals and strange artifacts. He passed through the room quickly, pushing open a swinging door on the left side of it. The bar was small, but the size had nothing to do with the number of occupants, all of whom paid no attention to the wanted criminal walking among them. They were quite strange, too, many of them talking in bizarre languages and wearing horns or tails. Heck, there were even a couple dozen with fur. Kid scanned the room, looking for a certain person, a grin lighting his face at the sight of bright red hair headed his way.

"Carrying an extra package, Kid-san?" Her melodic voice flowed smoothly between them, regardless of the noise in the room.

"I'm looking for Shizuka." Kid replied, glaring slightly. "Tantei-kun needs a little…help."

"Oh? I believe I saw her at the counter." Koizumi Akako looked down at the boy bundled in Kid's arms. "You might want to clean him up first. That's an awful lot of blood for her to deal with."

"She won't like this one's." He stated shortly. "Thank you for your assistance, Madame Sorceress."

He squeezed through the crowd, pulling Conan tighter to his body, protectively. He reached the counter and approached a beautiful woman wearing a dark green veil over her emerald high-collar dress. She turned her head to him in confusion, eyes immediately settling on the boy. Her porcelain skin flushed red at the sight of him. "That boy…" She whispered, her quiet voice mixing beautifully with the English accent she used.

"He was bitten." Kid muttered, dropping onto the stool beside her. "I don't know what happened, I just found him recently."

"A newborn, then. He'll be quite hungry when he comes to."

"He's awake now." Kid said, confusion leaking into his tone.

"Awake, perhaps, but not all here." She sighed softly. "It's been awhile since we've encountered a newborn. Let us leave this room. There is too much fresh blood here for him." She rose and led him out, back to the silvery room. She approached the counter that the cloaked figure from before stood. "We'll need a secure room to talk in, Arnold." She addressed the man.

He bowed. "Of course, Miss Shizuka." He handed her an old key and led them down a hallway. The entire building seemed to be fashioned in a very old style, English perhaps, or German. "Here you are, Miss Shizuka, Master Kaito."

"Alright, Kaito, lay him on the bed, please. We want to be careful with his wounds."

He complied, laying the small child on the satin sheets. "Kid, if you please. This boy happens to be a detective after me."

"And you saved him? How very odd you are, Kid-san." She said in a velvety voice.

"Yes, well…oh, he's coming to." He leaned over the detective, biting down a gasp when deep scarlet eyes blinked up lazily at him.

Conan slowly opened his eyes, confused by the pounding in his head, the pain coursing through his body, and the strange lust building up inside him. His vision settled onto Kid and he lunged forward.

Kid let out a shout, thinking the detective was trying to capture him, but Conan bypassed his hands and clamped his mouth down on Kid's throat. Kid jerked at the piercing sting and felt a warm liquid trailing down his neck. "Wha-?"

"No!" Shizuka grabbed Conan, pulling him away from the thief and barked, "Clean the wound, quickly! A newborn's venom isn't controlled, if you don't get it out of your system, it'll change you!" Kaito yelped and flew into the bathroom, turning the faucet on and rinsing a cloth under it before holding it to his neck. He glanced at the mirror and frowned. Now why was he blushing? No, it must simply be the shock, making him flush like that.

"Do I just rinse the wound?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly. Not good, he'd have to take care of that.

"Yes. I don't think he got a chance to release much venom, so that should be fine." Shizuka's voice floated in from the bedroom.

"Alright." He walked back out, holding the cloth to his neck.

Conan watched him closely, his eyes more of a bright mahogany now. He slowly licked the crimson droplets from his lips, eyes never straying from Kid.

"Uh…Shizuka? Why's he all…predator-ish?" Kid asked, browsing his mind for a better word and trying to ignore the bubbling nervousness in the pit of his stomach. Tantei-kun kept staring at him!

"He's operating on instinct, now. He's probably terrified, his last clear memories being of his changing. It's not easy, you know, experiencing the transformation."

"Ah. Now, uh…will someone explain a few things?"

Shizuka smiled. "I'll attempt to wake him fully." She released Conan's wrists with one hand and raised it over his eyes. "Awake, my child. Join us as who you are, not what your instincts tell you you are." She released his face and he blinked drowsily.

"Wha-where am I? What happened?" He whispered, his voice cracking. "My neck…" He trailed off, wincing in pain.

"Relax, Child," Shizuka said in a soothing voice, "Can you tell us what you remember?"

"I-" His eyes lit on Kid again. "Kid…what-?"

"We're friends, Child, we want to help you. Please, tell us what you can remember."

He swallowed. "Heist…he got away…followed…lost him at a…got lost…pain…"

"Can he speak coherently?" Kid asked, teething his lower lip.

"Give him a minute."

"Someone there…in the shadows…felt…evil…pain…then, neck…like poison…it hurts…" Conan broke down, sobbing, rubbing his fists over his eyes defiantly.

"Shh..." Shizuka hugged the boy, pulling him close. "It's alright, Child. We'll help you, I promise. You'll understand soon."

Conan's sobs subsided, the detective in him eager for information. "What happened?" He croaked.

"You were bitten, honey, by a vampire. I know it sounds strange, but it's true, I promise you. Vampires come from all over, some birthed by other vampires, some changed, like you were. And all of them, every single one, with a lust for blood that can't be ignored." Conan let out a strangled gasp, hand fisting in her green dress. "Don't worry, Child. One doesn't have to kill to feed. You'll learn how to control the venom to keep from killing your meals."

"Venom?" His voice was muffled by her clothing, but he didn't move, head still buried in her chest.

"To change humans into vampires. We all have it, but we have to learn to control it."

"Like a scorpion, measuring how much venom to subdue its prey?" Kid questioned from where he was propped against the wall.

"Yes, quite similar." She nodded over Conan's shoulder. "We can teach you, Child, all of us here at the inn."

"Inn?"

"Where we are." Kid explained. "We can tell you more later, but basically, it's a gathering place for non-humans."

"Non-? Then you're…"

"Not human? Yes." Kid cleared his throat. "I think you're the one we need to worry about right now."

Conan made a sound in his throat, an agreement, he assumed. "You're a vampire, then?" He asked Shizuka.

"Yes, a Dhampir. I was born from a human mother and a vampire father. You might be interested to know that I'm also 347 years old." Kid choked. "Yes," She smiled at him. "Vampire's aren't immortal, but we age very slowly."

Conan groaned. "Great." He muttered, "Like I wasn't already too young."

"Oh no." She smiled. "Your aging will be human-like until you are full grown."

"Really?"

"Yes. Aging is a bit different for former humans, see? You still have your human DNA, including the genes that affect your aging. The vampirism control on age doesn't happen until about 20 in human years."

"Oh." Conan tried making sense of all the stories spinning around his head, but control was quickly slipping away.

"Let's get you settled." Kid offered. "I told Mouri-chan I'd let her know if I found you. I'll take care of that. Don't worry," He said to Conan's suddenly frantic look. "You can stay here, probably best that you do so anyway. I just need to let her know you're alright." Conan nodded, yawning, fangs almost cutting his bottom lip in the process.

"You'll learn how to retract those, too." Shizuka murmured.

--

Kid grinned as he unlatched the window. You'd think a detective would have his friends get better security. A click made him freeze.

"What do you want, Kaitou Kid?" A cold voice asked.

Kid raised his arms slowly, a small smile on his face. "And here I was just thinking of the poor quality security system. I suppose with you around, you don't need alarms, eh, Ojou-chan?"

The gun cocked. "What do you want?" She demanded.

"Nothing much. As a matter of fact, I'm here more as a favor than out of need."

"Kid." Her voice was very threatening.

"I thought you might be interested to know that Tantei-kun is safe, although he does need an alibi for the night. I was under the impression that his scientist friends provided him one in times of need."

The small girl holding the gun froze. "And you know this, how?"

"I have my sources." He grinned.

Haibara Ai glared. "Fine." Her voice dripped with icicles. "I'll have the Professor call Mouri-chan. But Kid," He looked into her cold eyes, "If he's hurt, there will be hell to pay."

"Yes ma'am." Kid saluted and vanished.

'Jeez, kids these days…" Kid thought grudgingly, laying a hand over his rapidly beating heart.

--

Kid ducked back into the bar, ordering a shot of brandy. The barkeep passed him the glass in exchange for three gold pieces, regardless of his young age and the law. Kid smiled. "Thanks, Risan. I needed this after today." He gulped the shot in one go and the barman filled it again.

"Tough day? It always is for our kinds." The man wore purple robes that flowed down to his ankles, but the shorter sleeves didn't conceal the scales trailing up his arms. His green skin was slightly translucent in the dim bar, but no one seemed to mind, or indeed even notice as most of the occupants had similar afflictions. Many a person had fur or scales, some without even a human-like form, slithering or flying through the air.

"Yeah. 'Found a newborn vampire, one of my rivals."

"Poor sod." The barkeep shrugged, indifferent, "He'll get used to it, though. However, that does explain why you went looking for our resident vampire expert. Many of us were wondering about that…and the bloody form in your arms."

"A 'child'." Kid said. "Or at least a semblance of one." He sighed and set down the glass. "Thanks for the drink, Risan. I'll be on my way."

The green-scaled man nodded to him, already cleaning the shot glass. "Good evening to you, then, Master Kaito."

"Hnn." Kid wormed his way through the crowd, heading back to the room his detective was in.

"Who is it?" A flowing female voice asked when he knocked.

"Kid." The door opened and Shizuka smiled at him. "Where's Tantei-kun?"

"Sleeping in the bed. I was just going to grab a towel for him; dried blood is such a pain to deal with."

"Ah. I'll get it." He ducked into the bathroom. "Oh great," He said, looking in the mirror. "Now I'll have to find the right shade of foundation to cover up the bite mark."

"You'll have to do that for a long time to come; bite marks never go away." Shizuka sighed. "You see, every meal, every snack, they'll all have the evidence on them for the rest of their lives."

"Won't that be a problem?"

"Well, most newborns choose a single person to feed from, but obvious complications arise from that."

"Like?"

"Like leaving the human with enough blood to live. Plus, the human will always need to be there when the newborn needs blood. After experience, the newborn will learn to be discreet, but until then…"

"Oh…and it needs to be a human?"

"Well, no, just a non-vamp, really, but… 'human' is an easier term to say than 'all creatures other than vampires and their descendants', wouldn't you agree?" Kid smiled wryly and nodded.

--

Blinking sleepily, Conan propped himself on his elbows and looked around. He was in a small room, a standard inn room, containing two beds, one of which he was currently residing in. The other was still made, sapphire sheets folded nicely over the mattress. Kaitou Kid was lounging on top of the bed, not leaving even a single wrinkle on the sheets, like a phantom that would vanish under his gaze.

"It-" His throat was dry and hoarse, so he swallowed slowly, willing the pain away, "It wasn't a dream, then?"

Kid looked at him with sad eyes. "No, Tantei-kun, I'm afraid it wasn't."

"Oh." Conan sighed, rubbing his eyes. His glasses were missing; he'd probably dropped them in the alley where he'd been bitten. "Isn't it late?" He questioned. Kid bobbed his head in answer. "Er, don't you have somewhere you need to go, then?"

"Nope. My mother is on a trip in India, so it's not like anyone's waiting for me there." Kid's voice was indifferent, but it was different than the usual monotone he used with the police.

"Is that your real voice?"

Kid smiled. "Maybe," He said simply.

Conan pouted. 'Stupid thief,' He grumbled internally. "So…you said something about telling me more about this place…"

Kid grinned. "Curious, are ya?" He chuckled, "Well, I suppose I can oblige. What do you want to know?"

Conan paused. "Would it seem childish to say 'everything'?" He grinned at Kid's amusement.

Kid watched as the fangs protruded from the child's mouth again. "Well, I'm no expert, particularly when it comes to that vamp stuff, but I can tell you about the inn, now that you qualify as a welcome guest." He cleared his throat. "In about…the 1500's? Somewhere around there, anyway, a group of 'outlaws' were running through Japan, doing what most outlaws do; try to escape the law-upholders. These guys – well, there were girls among them, too, but you get the point – were outlaws for a very simple reason: they weren't human. In those days, anyone that was different was bad, so they were right there among the 'bad guys.' Anyway, they ran through Tokyo before they were ambushed. In need of a place to hide, they ducked into a rickety, old building. They didn't see anyone, probably lucky, cuz I think one of 'em was a vamp and there wasn't time for snacks on the road, and hid in the basement.

"Later, the police of that time had long since gone, but the group needed somewhere to rest and recuperate, so they used the place they had, right up until the owners came home and found a group of monsters in their basement. We don't know the details from then, but apparently, the owners allowed the group to stay, hidden safely among them as humans. You see, all of us creatures have the ability to assume complete human form, sort of a defensive mechanism, if you will, so it was quite easy for them to do once the police were off their tails – not the literal ones, of course. That'd be rather painful."

"Is this going somewhere?" Conan questioned.

Kid glared. "Anyway, once the owners died, they kept the building and used it as a safe haven for other unfortunates. It eventually got turned into an inn/bar and was named Mythical Delight. Interesting name, no?"

Conan smiled half-heartedly. "I guess. So… there's lots of non-humans around here?"

"Oh yeah, tons. Not all of 'em live here, though, too small, but many of them visit on a regular basis."

"Wow. This is a lot to take in…" Conan muttered, burying his face in his hands.

Kid smiled. "Yes, it is a lot, I suppose. I was raised on this stuff, so it's not so strange for me, but for someone who lived in a whole other world…"

Conan sighed. "I'm going back to sleep." He flopped down and pulled the covers over his head, trying not to think. Was he really supposed to believe in all this? But how could he not, with what happened to him? There was no other explanation…right?

--

"Relax, my Child, relax." Shizuka's lilting voice called out to the young boy. "You need not try so hard. This is natural, it will come to you with time."

Conan grumbled from where he sat cross-legged on the grass. Shizuka had come to him at twilight and brought him to this rural park to practice controlling his fangs and venom. "Why'd we have to come all the way here, anyway?"

"Oh, I simply love the moonlight and this park has the best view." She brushed aside his foul mood easily.

"You like the view? Then its not that sunlight hurts us or anything."

"Oh, my dear, it's nothing so coarse as that. Sunlight isn't harmful to us, but we do burn something dreadful."

Conan blinked. "We do?"

"Yes. It's the pale skin, you see. Instead of tanning, it burns. But really, it's nothing like those old myths say."

"Oh. Good," He smiled.

She allowed herself a grin before clapping her hands. "Alright, Child, back to work. We need you to get this under control as quickly as possible if you're to live among humans once more." He nodded and his face twisted into a mask of concentration.

--

The next morning, Kaito was strolling through the hallways of his esteemed school, dodging a particularly well-aimed mop from time to time. While doing so, he was contemplating certain new events in his life. Having Tantei-kun as a vampire and now a welcomed member of Mythical Delight put a very risky factor on his occupation as a phantom thief. Tantei-kun was an exceedingly intelligent person and it wouldn't take much for him to connect Kid with his real identity. Being so new to the ranks of mythology, Tantei-kun wouldn't put as much hold on old traditions such as secrecy and loyalty to fellow members, which could easily place him in a very uncomfortable position. Especially when many of the current thoughts floating through his head weren't exactly innocent.

Soft lips clamping down on his throat, directly above the pulse point, sharp fangs dipping into the flesh, wet tongue lapping up the blood flowing down his neck –

Kaito shook his head, trying to clear the memories from his mind when a mop collided solidly against his side, forcing him to double over in pain.

"Kaito!" Aoko screeched in terror, watching as he crumpled to the floor. "Ohmygod, ohmygod, Kaito!" She shook his shoulder violently, stopping only when he let out a hiss of pain.

"Let's get him to the infirmary, Nakamori-chan." Hakuba offered. Aoko nodded and helped the blonde drag him to a standing position, wrapping an arm around his waist for support. Together, they hauled him down the hall and into the infirmary, informing the nurse of the situation. As Hakuba laid the brunette onto a white bed, he noticed an odd mark on his neck. Raising an eyebrow, he dismissed it as none of his business. After all, it wasn't likely that that mark would prove him to be Kid.

When Kaito woke up, about a half hour later, the first thing he noticed was a red blur sitting on the edge of his bed. He blinked a few times and the fuzziness cleared, revealing Koizumi Akako as the room's only other occupant.

"'Ello," He mumbled.

"Good Morning." She said, somewhat coldly.

"What's up?" He asked, confused at her attitude.

"Hakuba is already suspecting something. You're not being careful enough." She scolded. Her eyes focused on his neck and settled into a glare.

"Ah, well, I'll just have to watch my step." He nodded slightly, still confused, but content to let the issue drop. She bobbed her head, glare fading slightly and departed.

--

Conan resisted the urge to yawn widely and sighed. Shizuka had deemed him controlled enough to go to school, but he was still worried over the hunger he could feel building inside of him. Right now, what he really wanted was some more of that delicious red flowing down the pale skin. The figure was hidden in the dark bedroom, but the taste…

Conan sighed again. He still didn't get it. Shizuka had told him that his thirst for blood would always accompany him, but that didn't explain his strong reaction to Kid. Sure, he'd been hungry, but he hadn't wanted to stop, ever, even if the thirst was quenched. He couldn't explain it and he wasn't about to ask anyone about it, but… none of these other scents, wavering around the room, twisting from the room's air conditioning, none of them were as appealing as Kid's, as desirable as his…

"Kudo-kun, the bell rang." Ai's cold voice reached him, breaking him free of his contemplation.

"Ah, I'm coming." He pulled himself up and trudged after the kids, marveling at all the different flavors floating around.

"What happened?" Ai asked, walking next to him.

"Eh?"

"Yesterday. Kid stopped by Hakase's and asked us to provide you an alibi for Mouri-chan. Why? What happened to you that Kid would cover for?"

"Oh, uh…nothing?"

She gave him a flat stare. "You're terrible at lying, Kudo-kun."

He sweatdropped. "…really?"

"What happened Kudo-kun?" She demanded.

"Well…I got caught up in a case. Kid was involved and, well, I guess he decided to help me. After all, I ran into the trouble chasing after him."

Haibara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Really?"

Conan gulped. It was a very weird sensation he was experiencing, the awareness of actually seeing the blood rushing through her veins as she glared at him. "Y-yeah, really."

She stared him down for another moment before she turned and left him staring after her. He blinked, watching her catch up with the other kids. With a sigh, he stumbled into the men's room and leaned against the counter, breathing in short, gasping breaths. How weird. He'd never reacted to an argument with Ai like that before. He felt weak, like he was missing something…why? Was it because of his new…status? Because he'd been bitten by that stranger in the alleyway? Speaking of which, he should probably go by there and see if he could find his glasses. These replicas that Kid had conjured up were handy, but they didn't have any of Agasa's improvements, for obvious reasons.

He glanced up at the mirror and gasped. Red…dark red irises…why were his eyes red!? They were blue before! "Ugh." Conan groaned. "All this vampire crap is so annoying."

--

Kaito sighed dramatically. He'd just dropped Aoko off at home and was headed back home. He'd never gotten a chance to drop off his heist from last night, what with the whole deal concerning Tantei-kun…

'Tantei-kun…' He thought with a tinge of worry. The poor guy had been through a lot last night…and then to go to some kiddy school today…must've been a pain.

Kaito shook his head. 'Why am I worried about him, anyway? He's a threat to me now…a detective that can find my identity but not bound by the loyalty of the non-humans. It would be in my best interest to just stay away from him…'

Soft, silky lips sucking gently on his skin, drawing out the blood; A wet tongue lapping at his neck, chasing the red trails; Deep red eyes that tracked his every move, causing a shiver to run up his spine; More, more, more…that was all he could think of…even the shock hadn't stopped him from thinking it in the back of his mind…

'Yeah, definitely better to stay away from him…' Kaito thought with a nervous gulp. And maybe if he kept telling himself that, he wouldn't want to go check on him.

--

Conan probably could have used checking up on. After a day full of kiddy knowledge and strong smells, he'd had about all he could take of school. He wanted out. Now. But there was no way he could get out, especially not with Haibara casting that suspicious look at him constantly. Luckily there was only half an hour left of class, but the kids were murmuring about going to the park and playing some ball. Conan was not looking forward to it. For some reason, he felt totally exhausted. Maybe it had something to do with his new non-human status? Aftereffects from changing?

Whatever it was, it was making this day a lot harder to deal with. And there Ai went, shooting another look at him as the bell rang and he trudged towards the door.

"Conan-kun?" Ayumi-chan piped up, looking at him in concern when he declined their offer to play ball. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Ayumi-chan, just tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep." Any that he'd gotten had been plagued with nightmares anyway.

"Well, I just – " She was cut of by a scream from across the park. On instinct, Conan ran towards the sound, followed closely by the three detective boys and one not so hurried scientist.

As they got closer to the scene, Conan could see people gathered around a body. "Call the police!" Conan shouted, speeding closer. The kids yelled an affirmation and stopped by a phone to quickly do so.

Conan continued towards the body when a strange scent overtook his nose. It was odd…the slightest bit familiar, but the familiarity was more of a background scent. The core of the scent he couldn't recognize. All he knew was that suddenly all thoughts of the case fled his mind. All he wanted to do was consume that smell, surround himself with it.

Haibara's eyes narrowed in confusion when she noticed Kudo pick up speed, running almost inhumanly fast towards the crime scene. Someone shouted and then, suddenly, he just stopped dead.

Conan froze as a sound broke him out of his daze, a look of disgust coming over his face. What in hell was he doing!? He wanted to…he wanted to drink the dead person's blood! How could he – what sort of terrible person was he to want to do something like that!? It was just horrible!

Ai approached him, shaking his arm, but he didn't say anything. The kids ran up, telling them the police were on the way, but he still didn't respond, just turned whiter and paler than he was before.

He was a disgusting creature, that's what he was. He wanted to do something as gross as drink the blood from the ground – from the goddamn street! He couldn't believe it. What was this thirst doing to him!?

--

Division One investigators arrived, many of them groaning at the sight of Conan and his little group of friends. A few, however, took notice of the fact that he was standing quite far from the body and that the other kids weren't running all around the scene. Instead, they were crowding around Conan, all wearing looks of concern.

While the officers took care of the body and Megure-keibu assigned Shiratori to questioning the witnesses, Takagi stole away from the crowd of uniform and approached the kids.

"Ayumi-chan?" He called softly. "Genta-kun? Mitsuhiko-kun? Is something wrong? Conan-kun?"

Ayumi turned to him with tears in her eyes. "He – Conan-kun, he told us to call the police when we saw the body from afar, but when we got back, he just…he won't answer! He won't even move!"

Mitsuhiko attempted to comfort the girl while Ai took over the story. "I was headed this way a distance behind him, but Edogawa-kun suddenly sped up and then stopped dead with no warning."

Takagi frowned, hearing this explanation. There was something bugging him, aside from the boy's odd behavior. There was something different about him, a different feel to the air around him. And…disgust. Takagi could feel a heavy cloud of disgust hanging around Conan. At what? Sure, a body was pretty gruesome and if it were any other kid, Takagi would leave it at that, but not Conan-kun. Conan-kun had crawled around bodies that made some of the senior officers nauseous without batting an eye. So what was different now?

He knelt down in front of the boy, gently shaking his shoulders. "Conan-kun? What's wrong? Is there something bad troubling you?"

The kids looked at him weird for his last question, but Wataru ignored it. His concern right now was Conan-kun.

Conan still didn't respond, only stared at him with blank red eyes. Wait, weren't his eyes blue before? He tried again. "Is there something gross here?" Conan did react to that, if only through the look of confusion that crossed his face. "What's so disgusting, Conan-kun?" He whispered.

Conan stared. He slowly opened his mouth, but immediately closed it again, clamping a hand over his nose and mouth, but not before Takagi noticed something strange.

Conan-kun had fangs. And that was not just a trick of the light.

"Oi! Takagi-kun, get over here! We have work to do!" Megure shouted at him. Takagi nodded to him and turned back to Conan.

"Listen, why don't I get you something to eat after this, okay? Will that make you feel better? They serve really good food at a place near here, Mythical Delight. I think some of it might help you."

Conan jerked at the name and his eyes widened, but Takagi had time to say no more.

--

The case took longer than it usually did to solve when Conan was on the scene, but part of that may have been that Conan wasn't actively participating in this investigation, just standing to the side, watching someone closely.

"Oi." A soft voice said next to him. Conan tilted his head towards her in acknowledgement, but didn't turn away from the object of his attention. "What's going on? This isn't like you, Kudo. You never flake out on a murder investigation."

"I'm fine." He deadpanned, very unconvincingly. "I've just been feeling weird today."

All said, Haibara Ai was not satisfied with that, but after ten more minutes of prodding, she realized it was a lost cause. Kudo was not going to say anymore. Shaking her head, she gathered the Shonen Tantei together and started them home.

"What about Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked, glancing over her shoulder as the perpetrator was carried off.

"You heard Takagi-keiji earlier. He's taking Edogawa-kun out for some food." Ai said. "Let's get home."

"'Kay." Ayumi nodded. It sounded strange that the police officer would take Conan out for food, but Conan was always close to the police, and if Ai-chan said it, it had to be true. After all, she trusted Ai-chan almost more than she trusted Conan-kun.

"Conan-kun?" Takagi said, coming up behind him. "You ready to get some food?"

Conan nodded, eyes completely focused on the police detective. Takagi smiled and motioned for Conan to walk with him. "It's pretty close to here and parking is hard to find, so we may as well walk."

"Why are you taking me there?" Conan questioned suspiciously.

Takagi shrugged. "You're acting strange, any one can see that, Conan-kun."

"So your solution is food?"

Takagi was silent for a long while. "You have fangs…"

Conan traced his canines with his tongue. "So I do."

Takagi sighed. Why was this kid so difficult? "There was recognition when I said the name of the place…you've been to Mythical Delight already, haven't you?"

"What's it to you?" Conan asked defensively.

Takagi sighed again and glanced around him. "Look, I'm a regular at Mythical Delight." Conan's eyes narrowed. A regular? Meaning he attended regularly…but why would he? "I'm an empath."