A Case of Identity

[Mouri Ran]

She didn't remember any Kuroba Toichi-sensei from before, and she was sure that Kuroba Kaito would make an impression to her even as a child. He clearly looked like her friend, after all. No, none of the names were familiar to Ran until today, including Kaito's mother, Kuroba Chikage.

However, it was clear from the happenings today that Kaito really was some sort of magician. That would explain the rose, and the few other tricks he'd done at school probably. Why Shinichi's father would need a magician's expert advice is beyond her though. It was none of her concern anyway.

But why would her new classmate hate detectives? If that was the case then it could be enough proof that Shinichi and Kaito weren't the same person. There was no way Shinichi would hate detectives. But just to be sure...

"No, no, no!!!" Ran cried upon the offer of the phone number. "That won't be necessary at all, Yukiko-san."

That might have reassured her though. Despite everything, a tugging feeling in he back of her mind told her that Shinichi and Kaito were the same person. Ran blamed it on the fact that she missed her friend terribly that she was clinging to the mere idea of having someone standing on his place... even when it wasn't actually him. And besides, it wouldn't be that farfetched to think that maybe the whole family were hiding something from her and that they went to this extent to keep it a secret.

Or was it too much?

No, Shinichi wouldn't keep anything from her. Nothing that big anyway. But just to be sure indeed...

"But still..." Ran started sadly, lowering her head. "I can't help but see Shinichi in him. When Kaito-kun was at school today, I was almost certain that he had come back. Even when the teacher told us his full name, I thought that maybe he was doing it to hide from someone. I wanted to confront him right away after that."

[Kudo Yukiko]

Yukiko laughed a little at Ran's reaction to her offer. She was actually thankful that Ran rejected her offer, as she wasn't entirely sure on how Chikage would react if she gave her number to someone unfamiliar to her.

It would start a chain reaction, Yukiko inwardly sighed, realizing the possibility that she would have had to explain Shinichi's situation to her if she asked.

She frowned when Ran explained the reason for her question. She really did miss him, didn't she? Even she was starting to feel bad for having to keep it a secret from her just because he wanted her to. Even then, hadn't the Professor told her and Yuusaku what happened to Shinichi, she highly doubted that Shinichi would have informed them himself. She was incredibly thankful that the Professor was on their side and understood what was best for everyone. She simply didn't like Shinichi's desire to keep everything a secret from his loved ones, it was cruel.

"I know," Yukiko gave Ran a smile, but she was shocked at how spot on she was. She wouldn't express it, though. "You've got to understand though Ran-chan, Shinichi's line of work is very difficult. Even though Yuusaku and I live in America now and everyone knows this, Yuusaku still gets potential clients that desire his deduction abilities right here in Japan. A detective isn't confined to one area, Ran-chan, once they're exposed they're expected to travel."

"Don't you remember that one time that you met me at someone's house with Eri because Kogoro messed up and spent his earnings already? I was there on Yuusaku's behalf, you know." She reassured her. "But have a little faith in Shinichi, won't you? He's trying his best to get back here as soon as possible. He's not avoiding you intentionally."

[Mouri Ran]

"He's not avoiding you intentionally."

Ran wondered if that was really the case. The longer it took for him to show himself, the more Ran thought that he just didn't want to see her.

"A detective isn't confined to one area, Ran-chan, once they're exposed they're expected to travel."

So there's a high probability that Shinichi's never going to come back. If he was traveling in other countries, he might encounter something to make him stay: more interesting cases, better living conditions, girls... What if he never came back here? If he comes back though, she knew he won't be able to stay around all the time. Ran wondered just how long she could have this little faith of him returning back to her.

That was the wrong idea to think. Of course, he'd come back soon.

Geez, why did Shinichi have to be a mystery-loving jerk?

But that was if he wasn't around for real. Ran couldn't help but think that Shinichi was somewhere nearby. Somewhere so close to her, but she just couldn't see. If that was the case, then he really would be avoiding her in a way that he was hiding from her. That was even worse than him being out of the country. She would prefer that.

"I guess I have no choice." She sighed. "It's not like I could kidnap him when he comes back and just tie him to a chair, right?" That thought would have been funny because she knew she could do it.

"But then again, I won't be surprised if he'd call one day to say that he was going to stay somewhere permanently. That would be heart-breaking but... why would I stop him, right? Until then, I'll just keep waiting for that idiot."

The thought saddened her, because she knew that it was very much possible. Whether Shinichi was away on some case or if he really was hiding around, if he doesn't want to return to her as Kudo Shinichi, then Ran really couldn't do anything about it. She had no choice but to wait.

[Kudo Yukiko]

"E-Eh?" Yukiko responded when she heard Ran's remark, baffled until she went into depth. Of course she wouldn't be able to do that, not without his secret being discovered. How long did that antidote that that Haibara child created last for him, anyway? Yukiko was never around for when he would shrink back into Conan, nor did she ever want to be; she could only imagine it to be a painful experience, and such a thing was NOT what she would have been able to cope well with without protesting and possibly resisting the urge to do something terrible to that Haibara child for creating such a drug.

As much as Yukiko loved his pint-sized form, it was nerve wrecking to be the only mother who ever had to deal with it. Then again, that wasn't necessarily true; that Haibara child had parents, didn't she? She never heard much about them, but she presumed that they were alive and well.

She laughed in order to ease the tension, which despite it being something she forced out, one would have least expected it due to her acting prowess.

Maybe this was why Yuusaku wanted him to stay in Japan, Yukiko contemplated.

"He wouldn't be able to do such a thing, Ran-chan," Yukiko reassured her. "His whole life is right here, do you really think he'd let that go? He's not that kind of person. You have to have a little faith in Shinichi. I know he's probably hurt you for not being around, but Shinichi's doing everything he can. He's a lot more considerate than Yuusaku is when it comes to these things!"

Because that jerk puts his novels before his own wife! Yukiko inwardly growled.

"If you're concerned about certain things, have you tried to talk it out with him, like asking him to call more often?" Yukiko frowned, and then grinned mischieviously at the meantion of 'heartbreak', "Say Ran-chan, are you hinting that you like Shin-chan? I won't tell!"

[Mouri Ran]

"T-that's not it at all!" Ran immediately denied. "Why would I like that guy, Yukiko-san?" And then she added upon realizing who she was talking to and was talking about. "Err, no offense.

"And I already asked him to call me more often since he wasn't around much. I know he's trying, but Shinichi seemed to be seriously caught up with that case he's working on."

How mortifying would it be if Shinchi's mother found out about how she really felt for her son. From what knew, Yukiko would never let it go, despite that somewhat promise to never tell. She'd probably tease her secretly and knowing how dense Shinichi was about things like this, he'll never figure out.

The boy can't even figure out whan an 'X' in a message meant!

It made her blush though, when Yukiko said that Shinichi's whole life was here in Japan. There was that feeling of having butterflies in your stomach within her now and she was sure that a blush had crept up her face. Now that she thought about it, Shinichi would never do that. He was someone who doesn't move on with an unfinished business anyway.

He's going to come back to me. One day. He promised anyway...

"Oh, yeah, Yukiko-san. Do you mind if I head up to Kaito-kun for a while? I wanted to apologize to him again about earlier. We had started off in the wrong way..."

[Kudo Yukiko]

Yukiko grinned and laughed. "Well, why wouldn't you? Maybe you fell in love with him for a similar reason that I fell in love with Yuusaku when I was young." She joked. "And none taken, the men in my family can be jerks."

Did she now? Yukiko was surprised at that. "You've got to be patient. You know how he and his father are when it comes to mysteries." She shrugged and huffed, inwardly shocked at how much she had been defending those two.

Her question startled her, though. "Oh! Sure, go right ahead. I'm sure he'll understand too, you're probably not the only person with that misunderstanding. You'll want to be a bit careful though, he might attempt to prank you for payback." She nudged.

[Mouri Ran]

Ran laughed lightly at Yukiko's comment about the men in her family, trying to ignore that comparison to how they fell in love. From what she had heard from Shinichi, his parents seemed to have a love-hate relationship. At least they were still together.

"Unfortunately, Shinichi does share his father's love for mysteries. Whenever the two of us talk, it was always about cases or Sherlock Holmes! Unbelievable, that guy." Ran muttered.

"What do you mean by Kaito-kun pranking me as a payback? Are you a victim, Yukiko-kun?" She asked while turning about to head up the stairs.

[Kudo Yukiko]

"Like father like son!" Yukiko laughed.

Yukiko waved her hand up and down in a 'no' gesture, laughing nervously. "Of course not! It's just that when he was a little boy, he used to say inappropriate things and use the magic tricks that his father taught him to his advantage! I'm just giving you a warning! Kaito-kun's very mischievous!"

Like calling me oba-chan, Yukiko thought irritably.

[Mouri Ran]

"I'll be careful then," Ran told her while taking the turn towards the stairs. "I'll be heading up now. If you need any help down there with anything, Yukiko-san, please, just call me."

The second floor hallway was dark and quiet. Nonetheless, Ran knew almost every twist and turn of the house, all from the times she spent in here over the years. Letting her feet drag her through the house she knew all too well, Ran hummed a tune while she twirled the flower given to her by her new classmate.

That's not Shinichi... She tried to convince herself. Yukiko-san told so. They're much too different.

But just to be sure...

Ran stood in front of the wooden door for a while now. Kaito said he would be up here, and he said that she was free to come up if she wanted. No reason to not accept it. Besides, she wanted to speak with him. She didn't had the chance to do it at school earlier. People were all over him in class and in the hallways. He made no move to start a conversation with her, and she didn't approach him either. Now was the only time. She had to know and understand. She needed the reassurance that she wasn't waiting for someone who had no intention of coming back to her. That would just be heart breaking.

With a last deep breath, she raised her knuckle against the door and knocked twice. "Kaito-kun?"

[Kuroba Kaito]

The rose wasn't there for nothing. Kaito hummed as he pressed the listening device in his ear, safely in the confines of his room- he had bugged the whole house since long ago but it helped to have a closer audio source.

He frowned when he heard the chaffing of the rose petals at first; the static was grating to his ears but he still could get to the audio; hopefully someone would shift it enough for him to get whatever was covering the little microphone out of the way.

Either way, he can still hear the voices clearly. The ruffling was just a tad annoying.

They're talking about Shinichi- and Ran hadn't quite let that suspicion go, hadn't she? Kaito hummed as he set a trip wire at the door and put a bucketful of confetti on the door top; simple but effective. Maybe he should pull out the clothes dye?

And really, Ran? She had already confronted him straight away afterwards, he doesn't want to imagine what she thought a confrontation would be.

Hm, no liquids for now, but glitter and colored powder would do. This should cover Ran in every color of the rainbow.

Yukiko-san elaborated on Shinichi's situation- a detective was expected to travel, huh. And they talk through heartbreak and Kaito figures he's not on Ran's radar as he was before. Kaito snorted at the mention of her not being in love- Kudo Shinichi was a lucky bastard.

And no fair, Yukiko-san. She didn't have to warn her.

The conversation comes to an end and he tugs the earphones out, winding them up and squashing them in his pocket as he whistled.

"Come in~!"

Kaito singsang when he heard the knock. The trip wire would be triggered by the door opening, he wondered if Ran-san had sharp reflexes enough to avoid the mass of confetti and glitter that would rain down upon her.