Shinichi leaned back in his chair as he took a sip of his coffee before sighing softly. He was looking over a few files for the case he was currently working on, but had been stumped for the past half hour. He suspected a particular person, but couldn't find their motive yet, even though several pieces of evidence pointed to them.

He absentmindedly rubbed his chin as he set his cup down and picked up the file again, thinking that maybe if he read it again he'd pick up on something he'd missed.

A pair of strong, yet slender arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind, curling around his neck and collarbone.

"Morning." A voice said softly in his ear, his soft breath tickling his skin.

Shinichi couldn't help smiling as he leaned his head back to rest on Kaito's shoulder, "it's the afternoon." He said.

"Well I just woke up so that makes it morning." One of his boyfriend's, Kaito, said softly as he pressed a kiss to Shinichi's temple. "How's the case coming?"

"Awful," Shinichi said as he sat up a bit, but allowed Kaito to keep his hold on him, "I can't find the motive of my suspect." He admitted with a sigh as he put the file back on the table next to his coffee.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon," Kaito said as he moved to tap Shinichi's forehead, "Especially with that big brain of yours."

"I know, I just don't like letting a murderer roam free, even if it's only been a day." He said as he went to take another sip of his coffee.

"Maybe you could ask Heiji about it when he and Saguru come here for our date in a few days." Kaito said as he let his arms slip away from their hold on Shinichi, "maybe he'll be able to help you get around this stump." He added with a shrug.

"Maybe." Shinichi said as he watched him walk away, before turning to glare at the file.

"Oh, and aren't you supposed to be going to that 'Tropical Island' place with Ran today?" Kaito asked as he headed off towards the kitchen, knowing that he had free reign even if it was Shinichi's house and not his own.

Shinichi, who had been taking a sip of his coffee, choked and whirled around to look at the clock. 2:17pm. Shit.

"She's going to be so pissed," Shinichi said as he quickly ran to his room to get dressed, since he couldn't go out in his pajamas, scowling as he heard Kaito laughing in the kitchen.

He quickly shimmied out of his blue pajamas and pulled on a pair of dark grey skinny jeans, a sunflower yellow t-shirt, and one of Heiji's baggy jackets that he left one of the last times he'd come up for a visit, a dull dark green one. He then rushed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and fix his hair, while also tucking his shirt into his pants before rushing back down stairs and towards the front door.

"Ah ah ah," a hand snapped out and grabbed a hold of his shoulder, quickly spinning him around. "Your shirt looks weird like that," Kaito began as he untucked shinichi's shirt, "your fly is down," he continued as he zipped it up, "and you haven't given me my goodbye kiss yet." He finished with a small smirk.

Shinichi smiled at him and laughed softly before leaning forward and giving him a quick yet sweet kiss. "Thanks," He said before rushing to the front door and kicking his slippers off so he could tug his sneakers on. "I love you, see you later tonight?"

"I love you too babe, and no can do, I'm gunna be busy." Kaito called back with a smirk as he leaned against the wall. "And wrong shoe." He added.

Shinichi quickly switched the shoe so he was putting it on the right foot, "you'd better be doing something legal." He said, as he grabbed his house keys and wallet.

"I might be, I might not be."

"No kisses on our date if you aren't." Shinichi said, before grabbing his skateboard and rushing out of the house, not bothering to lock the door behind him since he knew Kaito would.

-

"You forgot." Ran said as Shinichi came to a stop in front of her, picking his skateboard up.

Ran was wearing a baggy light blue jacket with a fuzzy hood, a light green tank top, and a pair of baggy shorts, along with a pair of clunky sneakers.

Shinichi chuckled awkwardly, "me? Forget? No, I remembered, I just got stuck in traffic." He said as he tucked his board under his arm and pulled their tickets out of his wallet.

Ran scoffed, "sure," she said, although she was smiling, "whatever you say Shinichi."

Shinichi gave her a smile before leading her to the entrance of the park, giving the employee their tickets.

"What do you want to do first?" He asked as he looked around the park, taking in all the bright colors, the sound of the screaming children, and the scents of over-priced yet deliciously disgusting food.

"Hmm, lets go to the Marry-go-round first," Ran said, pointing to the carousel not to far away from them, it was painted bright red with bright lights that would be turned on when it got dark. The animals were a combination of horses, deer, and unicorns.

"Sure," Shinichi said with a shrug as the two of them walked over to it and got in line. It wasn't that long of a wait, since not many people wanted to ride it, so they quickly found themselves having to pick what animal to ride.

"This one looks really pretty, doesn't it Shinichi." Ran said as she pointed to a dainty unicorn that was a pale off-white color with a long sparkling horn.

"It does." Shinichi said, glancing at it before looking around again, eventually spotting a horse that made him smile.

"I think I'm going to ride this one, it looks like the horse from the Sherlock Holmes short 'The Adventure of Silver blaze'." He said, pointing to a horse that looked fairly strong and had distinct white markings.

"Nerd." Ran said as she rolled her eyes fondly before moving along, eventually picking a deer that was posed mid-jump not to far away from the horse Shinichi chose.

They both climbed on and strapped themselves in, before getting a bit more comfortable as they waited for the ride to start, some of the other passengers still choosing.

Shinichi pulled out his phone and smiled when he saw a few messages from his boyfriends.

Heiji:
So date-day, what's the plan again?

Kaito:
boyfriend stuff ;)

Suguru:
very specific.

Kaito:
you're welcome

Heiji:
...
Thanks..

Kaito:
no problem babe ;)

Suguru:
we were going to go to that one cafe by the canal and then the movies and the park.
we were debating on going to shinichi's house for the night.

Heiji:
thank you
are we meeting at shinichi's?

Kaito:
yesss, then we can cuddle before going out

Suguru:
it'll be the afternoon when we get there
I don't think we'll be in a cuddling mood.

Kaito:
I'm always in a cuddling mood ;)

Shinichi smiled and began to type out his own message as the ride started up. It was a slow ride, so he'd be able to text while they were moving.

Shinichi:
I for one am up for cuddling in the evening
but not the afternoon
it'll be too hot

Kaito:
you didn't seem to have a problem earlier

Shinichi:
that's cause you were only hugging
cuddling is different

Kaito:
:(

Shinichi laughed softly, and continued to text the three of them for the rest of the ride, before typing out a quick goodbye when it was time to get off.

"Did you have fun talking to your boys?" Ran asked as the two of them began to look around for a new ride. Apparently she'd noticed him being on his phone for the whole ride.

Shinichi couldn't help the small blushed that dusted his cheeks as he gave her a sheepish smile. "How'd you know it was them?" He asked.

"You only smile at your phone when you're talking to them," Ran said as she nudged his shoulder playfully, "you have a date soon right?"

"Yeah, in a few days." Shinichi said, "Heiji and Suguru are coming up here for our date, and Kaito is around already since he came here early."

"Did I steal you away from him?" Ran asked with a smile.

"Nah he said he was busy today," Shinichi said. "And he knows I was hanging out with you anyways." He added.

They went on a few more rides, but spent more time in line then they did actually on the rides. But to be fair, it was a Friday and there was no school since they were in the middle of their break, so they should have expected it to be crowded.

They eventually bought some food, with Ran getting a strawberry shake and a hotdog, and Shinichi getting a tiramisu-cake shake and a corn dog. They sat at a bench while they ate, not wanting to walk around too much and get blisters, looking up at the Ferris wheel.

"Should we go on that next?" Ran asked as she took a sip of her shake.

"We can if you want," Shinichi said with a shrug, "it probably has a great view."

Ran nodded, "It does, I've been up there with Sonoko before," she said with a smile, "it's really pretty."

"Are you sure it was the view that was pretty and not Sonoko?" Shinichi asked with a teasing grin.

Ran blushed slightly and stuck her tongue out at him. "Yes Sonoko also looked nice, but you know she's just a friend." She said with a huff.

"I know I know," Shinichi said as he leaned back a bit, "but she wasn't just a friend a few years ago."

"Just because I had a silly crush back then doesn't mean I still like her that way." Ran said as she crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at him. "Besides, She doesn't even swing my way."

"I know, I'm just teasing you" Shinichi said, "you'll find some guy or gal who likes you soon though, I'm sure of it." He said as he playfully nudged her shoulder, gaining a smile.

"Yeah you're right," She said as she uncrossed her arms and ate the last few bites of her hotdog. "Now hurry up and finish your food so we can go on the Ferris wheel."

-

"Woooah it looks so pretty." Ran said as she stared out the window of their pod on the Ferris wheel. They were almost at the top of the wheel, and were able to see almost the entire park and the river near by, everything looked so small and practically glowed in the soft warm light of the slowly setting sun.

"Yeah it is," Shinichi said with a smile as he looked out the window as well.

"Hey Shinichi, this would probably be a pretty romantic date for you to take your boys on." Ran said as she smiled at him.

"Stop calling them my boys, it's sounds weird," Shinichi said with a small pout, "and while that's true, I know they'd probably prefer something a bit more mind stimulating, like an escape room."

"A romantic date Shinichi, ro-man-tic," Ran said with a small huff, "there's nothing romantic about an escape room."

"Ah, I guess you have a point," Shinichi said with a sheepish smile, "but for your information our upcoming date is on the 'romantic' side." He said as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"I'll be the judge of that." Ran said with a grin, "spill."

Shinichi couldn't help the blush that spread across his cheeks, "We're going to a cafe by the canal, then the movies, and the park by the cemetery, and they might spend the night at my place." He said as he looked out the window, a fond smile on his face.

"That is pretty romantic, except for the cemetery part," Ran said as she gave him a slightly exasperated look, "why that park? You could do the one with the ponds." She suggested.

Shinichi shook his head, "nah, we like the park by the cemetery," he said, "it's kinda special."

"Special...oh! Thats right, that's the place where Kaito kissed you on the cheek for the first time, right?"

"Actually it was Heiji, and it's also the spot where I may or may not have taken them on our first date last year." Shinichi admitted shyly.

"Oh my gosh you do have a romantic side," Ran said with a smile, "and here I was thinking you were just some awkward nerd."

"I'm not a nerd!" Shinichi said as he sent her a small glare that didn't have any heat in it.

"Are too, you only ever talk about your cases, your mystery books, or your boyfriends." Ran said as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"And all you ever talk about is karate, some hot person at school, or your dad," Shinichi said, "how is that any different from me?"

"Cause those aren't nerdy things, and I'm not awkward like you are," She said, "it took all three of them confessing to you first for you to realize their feelings," she added, "you're pretty dense when it comes to love, Mr.Detective."

"I was always focused on the case, not their bad flirting." Shinichi defended himself. "If you could even call it flirting."

"I'm gunna tell Kaito you said that."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would and I will," Ran said with a grin, "It'll be payback for the time you solved my dads case before he even got there."

"It's not my fault your dad was slow and I was already there," Shinichi said, "and no offense but he's not the greatest detective."

"I know that, but he still tries, so you have to give him some credit."

"I'll give him some credit when he actually solves a case on his own, until then I will happily solve his cases before him." He said as he crossed his arms.

"You're so mean Shinichi." Ran said as she shook her head with a smile.

Their bickering had caused them to completely miss their time at the top, and they where already on their way back down when they realized. Neither of them really cared though, and decided to find one more ride before leaving.

"Oh Shinichi they have a haunted mystery coaster," Ran said as she pointed over to the ride, "wanna go on it?"

"Sure," Shinichi said with a shrug, "if its any good maybe I'll take the others on it."

"You mean your boys."

"They're not my boys!"

The two of them got in line for the ride, standing behind a pair of girls, one with a knee length skirt and loose blouse, and the other wearing a pair of short shorts and a tank top with a pearl necklace. The girl in the shorts also had weird bruises on her thighs, but Shinichi brushed it off, assuming that they were from gymnastics or something.

Shinichi also noticed a couple behind them, a man with large broad shoulders and curly brown hair, and a woman with long honey blonde hair and a puffy black fur coat.

They all ended up on the same ride together, along with a few other strangers, with Ran and Shinichi near the front and between the two girls and the couple.

"This is so exciting shinichi," Ran said with a grin, "I love roller coasters!"

"I know, you tell me that every time we get on one." Shinichi said teasingly as he smirked and ruffled her hair, making her huff and swat his hand away as they were told to lower the safety bars on their seats to lock them in.

The cart lurched slightly, before beginning to roll forwards, leaving the lines of people behind and making its way down the track.

"Thanks for coming with me today," Ran said as they headed towards an incline. "I know you said you'd only take me if I won my karate tournament, but you would have still taken me even if I had lost wouldn't you."

Shinichi laughed softly, "you know me to well." He said with a smile as he nudged her shoulder playfully.

Ran laughed and nudged him back, "try not to scream this time." She said teasingly as they neared the top of the hill.

"Me? You scream louder than me every time, you should be the one trying not to scream." He said.

"I do not!"

But despite their previous denials they both quickly locked hands and let out equally loud shrieks as the cart went over the peak of the hill and shot down the other side, before entering a tunnel and plunging them into darkness.

They were immediately surrounded by monsters and demons that lurched towards the cart or hung above them, barely visible in the darkness, but still pretty terrifying. Shinichi was so focused on the ride that he almost didn't notice when something wet hit his face, like rain.

"Aaahhg!!ckk—"

Shinichi jumped slightly at the cry that was abruptly cut off with a chocking noise and then the sound of something wet hitting the seat.

The cart exited the tunnel a few seconds later, and he jerked to look behind him where the sound had come from, and gasped as he saw the man that had been with his girlfriend, sitting behind him without his head. His girlfriend, now covered in his blood, screaming loudly as she looked at his headless body that was gushing blood in horror.

The ride quickly came to an end and the police were called, and the park security kept all of the passengers from their cart in the area.
The police quickly swarmed them, taking the body and covering it as they quickly went about cleaning up and running tests.

Shinichi, already suspicious, quietly ducked away and went to go investigate the area near the tracks in the tunnel.

-

Shinichi quickly came back to where the police were, and caught part of a conversation.

"It was just an accident, this is all a complete waste of time." One of the passengers from the ride, a tall man in a black trench coat with long dirty blond hair and a hooked nose said as he glared as the inspector assigned to the case.

"You're wrong," Shinichi quickly cut in, "it was a murder." He said as he stepped forwards towards the pair. "The murderer was on that ride with us, so it must be one of us seven people." He continued.

The crowed that had gathered quickly began to recognize him as the teen detective that had made the news and headlines several times for his help with the police, and everyone began to listen.

-

"So excluding you and ran, the murderer can only be these two men," Meguire, the inspector, said as he gestured to the two men in black, one of them being the man from earlier, the other being much shorter and stout with a bald head. "These two women who are friends of the victim and his girlfriend," he gestured to the pair that had been sitting in front of Ran and Shinichi, Who's names were reveals as Hitomi and Reiko "or the victims girlfriend," he finished as he gestured to the woman who was weeping next to the corpse, her name was Aiko.

"The two friends were sitting in front, then there's you and Ran here, then the victim and his girlfriend behind you, and the two men in the very back behind them." Meguire said as he pointed to each spot on a simple diagram he'd made in a slip of paper. "But all of them were under safety restrains, so it would be almost impossible for them to move around enough to take off a mans head, except for his girlfriend next to him."

"Can you hurry up, we don't have time to play detective games." The man from earlier, with the hooked nose and black coat, said as he glared at Shinichi and the inspector.

A chill went down shinichi's spine as he looked at the man, feeling something off about him. Something dangerous.

"Inspector! There's a bloody knife in the girlfriend's purse!" One of the police officers said as he stepped forward with the bag, showing Shinichi and the inspector a long kitchen knife wrapped in a bloodstained rag.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I didn't kill him!" The woman said as tears ran down her face, "I don't know how that got there!"

"Aiko," the woman in shorts from earlier, Hitomi, whispered as she stared at her friend in horror, "I thought you and Kishida were in love...how could you..."

"No! I didn't!"

"The criminal is that woman, arrest her and get it over with!" The hooked nose man said.

The inspector seemed to hesitate for a second, before nodding his head. "Alright, arrested her." Meguire said as he moved towards the woman.

"Wait inspector," Shinichi said as he moved to stand in front of Meguire. "She isn't the murderer."

"What!? Then who is it?" The inspector asked.

Shinichi stepped towards the pair of woman who had sat in front of him and ran on the ride, "there is only one criminal," he began as he turned to stare at the two women, "and its you." He said as he pointed to Hitomi.

"W-what are you talking about?!" She stuttered our as she stared at him in shock, "the knife is in Aiko's bag!"

"There's no way that kind of knife would be able to take off a mans head, especial since Aiko isn't nearly strong enough to pull that off," he began, "plus, the blood on the rag is dried and brown, yet Kishida was just killed, so it should still be red and fresh." He added."You wanted to frame Aiko, and put the knife in her bag earlier before you got on the ride."

"But She was sitting in the very front, so you and ran were between her and the victim," Meguire cut in, "how could she have done it? Wouldn't it be impossible"

"If you use the speed of the coaster and a metal wire or hoop then it becomes possible." Shinichi said as he sent a glare to Hitomi."Here, let me show you."

He gathered several police officers and arranged them into one of the carts from the ride, placing Meguire in the spot the victim had been in and himself in the spot the murderer had been in.

"Okay, pretend I'm the killer, and the inspector is the victim," Shinichi began.

"First, the safety bars were down, but if you were to put something like a hand bag behind you before they were lowered," Shinichi began as he set a bag behind his back and then lowered the bars, "you'd have enough room to slip out after removing the bag." He said, before proving his point by moving the bag and easily slipping out of the bars.

"Next I take out what I prepared earlier," he said as he held up a regular rope attached to a three-pronged hook. "A thin metal wire tied into a noose and a hook on the end." He said, although his rope wasn't metal since it was a demonstration. "Then, with my legs secured to the safety bar and me facing backwards, I can easily lean forwards and put the noose around the victims neck," he said as he did just that, "before simply tossing the hook onto the tracks or some other part of the outside decorations of the ride, and allow the speed of force of the ride to do the rest of the work while I twist around and get back into my seat." He said as he moved to sit back down underneath the safety bar, "and remember that this was all done while we were in the dark tunnel, so no one could see."

He and the rest of the police officers got off the cart, and he turned back to Hitomi, "You're a trained gymnast, aren't you? That's what the bruises on your legs are from right? So you'd be able to pull something like that off easily."

"You're joking!" Hitomi said as she stared at him in disbelief, "this is all hypothetical, you don't have any actual proof." She said.

"Yes I do," Shinichi said as he pulled a bag out of his jacket pocket, inside was a hook attached to a metal wire, and the remains of a pearl necklace. "This was the necklace you were wearing earlier, correct?" He said as he held the bag out, "I took the time earlier while the police were first arriving to do a bit of investigating and found this next to the tracks inside the tunnel."

Hitomi stared at the necklace in horror, and opened her mouth to speak, but Shinichi cut her off.

"You were also crying while we were on the ride," he began, "I felt your tears, and you have tear tracks on your face that go horizontal like they would if you were moving quickly while you cried, instead of vertical like they would if you'd been crying while standing still." He added, and Hitomi quickly reached up to try and wipe the tear marks away. "You knew the victim was going to die, so you were crying before you killed him."

Hitomi's eyes welled up with more tears, and she collapsed to her knees as she began to sob. "It's all his fault!" She began as she cried, "he dumped me to be with my best friend!" She said, shocking the other two girls she'd been there with.

"You two had dated?" Her friend in the blouse, Reiko, asked as she stared at her weeping friend in shock.

"He said he loved me, and that he'd never leave me," Hitomi cried, "we dated for so many years and he said we'd get married and be happy together,"

"But he was lying!" she sobbed, "he dumped me as soon as he met her." She said as she pointed Aiko. "Left me that same day and asked her out the next day as if the last seven years hadn't meant anything!"

"S-so I wanted...I-I wanted to....in the place we had or first date-" she stuttered our as she continued to sob, "with the necklace he gave me..."

Almost everyone stood in shocked silence, staring at her in awe and horror as she sobbed on the ground.

The police eventually picked her up and cuffed her, somberly walking her to the car as they finished cleaning up the scene and told everyone to leave.

-

Shinichi walked a sniffling Ran towards the exit of the park, a gentle hand on her back. The whole ordeal had taken roughly two hours to get solved and cleaned up, so it was already dark by now.

"It's okay, there's no need to cry." He said softly as he gentle rubbed her back.

She sniffed as she turned to look at him. "How can you be so calm?" She asked him.

"I, uh, I guess I'm used to it." Shinichi said with a shrug, "I've been doing cases kinda like that for a while, and I went with my dad on some of his cases while he was still a detective when I was a kid," he said, "I guess I'm kinda numb to it at this point."

"That's so sad!" Ran said as she pulled him into a one armed hug, his skateboard tucked under her other arm.

Shinichi chuckled softly as he hugged her back, "you should probably try and forget it" He said, "it's easier to deal with that way."

"That still doesn't make it go away." She said as she let go of him and began to wipe her tears away.

Shinichi opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw one of the men in black from earlier, the short bald one, run by looking frantic and extremely suspicious as he ran into a dark alley.

He needed to follow him. Something in his gut told him he needed to. Something important was happening.

He turned to Ran, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, you start heading back to your place okay? I need to go check on something, I'll catch up with you in a few minutes." He said, before quickly taking off after the man before she could answer, leaving her to stare after him in shock.

-

Shinichi carefullly followed the man, keeping quiet as he ducked between shadows and behind corners to not be seen.

Eventually the man stopped in a clearing just outside the park. A man with dark sunglasses and a mustache was standing their with a large dark briefcase, looking nervous.

"Sorry to keep you waiting director." The man Shinichi had been following said as he stepped out of the shadows and up to the man.

"You're very slow," the man said as he clutched the briefcase tightly, "I've been waiting for two hours." He said. "I followed your instructions and came alone." He added.

"I know," the man in the black coat said, "I was checking while on the roller coaster."

"Hurry and give me the thing!" The man with the mustache said impatiently as he looked around nervously, probably because the police were still in the area.

"Don't be so anxious, show me the money first."

The nervous man quickly opened the case and showed the money to the man in the coat, it must have been at least a million dollars, probably more.

"Good, now give it to me and you'll get what you want." The man said as he held his hand out.

The mustache man quickly handed over the money, and the coat man pulled out a disk, passing it to the man who quickly snatched it up.

"This film is evidence of your company smuggling weapons, be glad we found it before the authorities did."

"This is the only copy of the film right?"

"Of course," the coat man said with a smirk as he tucked the briefcase under his arm.

The man with the mustache nodded, before quickly ducking into an alley, making his escape.

"Your detective game ends here." A voice from behind Shinichi said, and he whirled around and saw the man with the blonde hair and hooked nose only to be immediately hit upside the head with a steel pole that sent him reeling.

He crumpled to the ground with a choked cry and his vision swam as it quickly turned dark as pain flared up in his head.

"You....lowed by....kid." He heard one of the men say, his voicing muffled and sounding like it was under water.

"Isn't he...tective....le...kill...im." The shorter man said, his voice equally garbled and Shinichi sluggishly tried to look up at the word 'kill', and swore he saw the man pull out a gun.

"Wait...ere..stil...police...," the taller male said as he pulled out a small case from his coat, "...use thi...."

"It's....poison...th....nization...consu... unable to....detect....corpse...."

"....hasn't...tested on huma....let...how it go..."

The man kneeled down next to the barely conscious Shinichi and grabbed his hair and pulled his head up, sending another wave a pain through him that caused him to let out an involuntary whimper, and stuffed a pill into his mouth, followed by water from a bottle, most of it not making it into his mouth and running down his chin instead. His mouth was quickly covered and his nose plugged, so his body was eventually forced itself to swallow in order to try to breath.

The man let his head drop back down to the ground painfully, and pulled shinichi's phone out of his pocket, snapping it in half with a sharp crack and dropping it as well.

"Goodbye, 'great' detective."

The two men quickly left him there, and it wasn't even a few seconds later that Shinichi gasped and let out a chocked cry as a new wave of pain hit him.

He felt so hot. He was sweating buckets and it felt like his insides were melting and like his brain was frying, he couldn't think clearly, mind feverish with pain. It felt like he was laying on hot coals, his skin burning painfully and over sensitive to anything it touched.

He gasped for breath and he arched his back in pain as another jolt of pain coursed through him, his mouth open in a silent scream as he writhed.

I'm gunna die I'm gunna die I'm gunna die....

His vision swam dizzingly and the world faded in and out of darkness, before going completely black as Shinichi's collapsed back down to the ground from his perviously arched position and he finally lost consciousness as another wave of pain hit him and it felt like he was being crushed, his body still feeling overwhelmingly hot and weak too.

I'm dying...

-

Shinichi gasped softly as his eyes snapped open and he jolted upright, only to groan and hunch over stiffly as a dull ache of pain passed through him.

I'm not...dead?

He squeezed his eyes shut as he panted softly, and opened them right as a bright light was shined on him, making him wince.

"Eh? A kid?" Shinichi looked up and saw a police officer standing there, his partner a few feet behind.

"Hey kid, are you alright?"

A kid? What kid? What was this guy talking about.

"Your head is injured, what happened?" The other officer asked as he stepped closer, while the first one pulled out his walkie-talkie.

Shinichi tilted his head in confusion and reached up to prod as his scalp, only to wince and gasp softly as a sharp stab of pain went through his skull when he touched his head. It must have been bleeding as well if he officer had been able to see it from a few feet away, and he moved his hand down to touch his face, finding a sticky trail of what must have been blood going down the sound of his face.

That's right...the men in black had hit him with a pipe...

Shinichi looked down at the blood on his hand and gasped softly when he saw his sleeve, which was suddenly huge, even for a baggy jacket. It completely engulfing his arm with several inches of room to spare. He looked down and saw that his jeans were also huge, his feet barely reaching the halfway point on them and his shirt was more like a dress.

"Yes. We're protecting a young boy. Primary school age." The police officer said into his walkie-talkie.

Primary school student? Where?

"His head is injured, he might be a part of some criminal case. Yes we'll take him to the station."

Shinichi's eyes widened and he quickly stood up, ignoring the dull ache of pain that went through him, and bolted off into the darkness. He ignored the shouts of the officers to come back and that they could help him, needing to figure out what the hell was happening on his own first.

He tripped over his pants several times, resorting to pulling them up and holding them as he ran, and he reluctantly ditched the jacket, it was just too big, hopefully he'd either be able to find it again later, or hopefully Heiji wouldn't mind. He needed to get to his house, or to professor Agasa his neighbor, or Ran.

He ran through the streets, scraping his bare feet on the rough sidewalk, ignoring anyone who called for him to stop, and only paused when he saw his reflection in the window of a shop.

What was happening? He was short, not even four feet tall, and he looked like he wasn't even in grade school yet, maybe first grade. His face was round and chubby with a thin layer of baby fat, his eyes were large and round, his lips were pouty, and his hair was a bit curlier, like it had been when he was younger.

He shook his head and continued running, only stopping when he'd made it to Agasa's house, luckily finding the man outside his door.

"Agasa! Professor Agasa!" He cried as he ran up to the man.

Agasa, an average height, large bellied man in his early fifties with grey hair and a fluffy mustache, turned to look at him with a confused expression. "Eh? Who are you little boy?" He asked.

"It's me! Shinichi!!"

"If you're a relative of Shinichi his house is next door." Agasa said as he pointed to the house.

"No I am Shinichi!" Shinichi said as he glared up at him with a pout. "And I'll prove it!"

"You're Agasa Hiroshi, 52 years old. You're a strange inventor, and although you claim to be a genius all your inventions are junk." Shinichi said as he pointed a finger at him. "And the mole on your butt has a long hair growing out of it!" He added.

Agasa stared down at him in surprise, before looking away and muttering to himself, "that is something only Shinichi knows...did he spill my secrets to some kid..."

Shinichis glare hardened as he huffed angrily. "It's not that, I AM Shinichi! I was forced to take a strange drug that made me like this!" He said as he gestured to his shrunken body.

"You shrank because of drugs?" Agasa asked as he turned to look at him suspiciously, and Shinichi quickly nodded.

Agasa huffed, "if there is such a drug then I want proof, strange kid, I'm taking you to the police." He said, as he grabbed ahold of Shinichi's wrist and began to pull him in the direction of the nearest police station.

"Professor!" Shinichi began as he quickly pulled his arm free, deciding to try a different tactic to get him to believe him, "you just came back from that Columbo restaurant, right?"

Agasa turned to look at him in shock, "eh? How did you know that?"

"Because if your clothes! You have water stains on the front of you're coat, but not on the back, this is evidence that you were running in the rain, and there are some mud stains on your pants." He continued, "the only street with mud like that near by is the one the Columo restaurant on it, since they're doing construction on that road right now, and on top of that you also have some of their special sauce on your mustache and cheek." Shinichi said.

Agasa lifted a hand to rub at his face, before looking at his fingers and seeing the sauce. "You really are..."

Shinichi smirked and tsked softly, "this is only the beginning of the deduction, professor."

Agasa stared at him. "That's what Shinichi always says... so you really are him?!"

-

Agasa quickly led Shinichi inside his own house, since he couldn't reach the lock to unlock it and could barely open the door, and waited for the kid to dry off and find some of his old clothes that should fit him, before patching up his head and listening to shinichi's story about the men in black and the drug.

"I see," he said as he looked at where Shinichi sat across from him on an over stuffed couch, his feet not even dangling over the edge as he sat with his back pressed to the back cushion. "The drug the men in black tested on you had a strange side effect it made your body shrink instead of killing you." He summarized.

"That's what seems to have happened," Shinichi said with a nod as he tugged at his clothes a bit. He'd managed to find his primary school uniform in the attic, a dark blue coat with large buttons, a white button up, a pair of matching blue shorts, and a small red bow tie.

"Do you think you can fix me?" He asked hopefully as he looked up at the professor.

"I might be able to, but I don't even know the original drugs chemical base and such, I'll need a sample to even try and make an antidote." Agasa said apologetically.

"Then I'll go find them and get you a sample," Shinichi said as he hopped off the couch

"Well, that would be helpful," Agasa began, before giving Shinichi a stern look. "But Shinichi, if those men in black know you're still alive then they would probably come try to kill you, and you're an even easier target as a child." He said, "we must keep this a secret between you and me," He continued as he kneeled down and out his hands on shinichi's shoulders. "You can't tell anyone, okay? Not Ran or those boys of yours."

"They're not my boys!" Shinichi immediately snapped with a small huff, before realizing that the professor was right and he really couldn't tell anyone else. They'd be in danger if they found out and the men in black went after them as well...dammit how was he supposed to keep this from his boyfriends! They're all brilliant and two of them were detectives like him and are able to crack almost any case easier than you can crack an egg.

"Agasa-" Shinichi was cut off by the front door opening.

"Shinichi?" Ran's voice called from inside the hall. "Shinichi are you home? You never showed up and didn't answer your phone, so I got worried!" She called as she walked deeper into the house and closer to the room they were in.

"Hide!" Agasa whispered to him, and Shinichi quickly ran behind the desk, ducking down just as the door opened and Ran poked her head inside.

"Huh? Professor Agasa?" Ran said as she gave him a confused look, "have you seen Shinichi?" She asked as she stepped inside the room.

Shinichi looked over, trying to figure out a plan to either get out of the room without Ran seeing, or to disguise him self, and quickly spotted one of the desk drawers was open, and inside was the case that held his father's spare glasses. It would have to do for now and hopefully be enough.

He quickly took the glasses and popped the lenses out, since he wouldn't be able to see with them in since he didn't actually need glasses. He'd just slipped them onto his face when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

He jumped and whirled around to see Ran kneeling behind him.

"Hey, don't be shy," she said with a smile, "awe, you're so cute!" She added as she cupped his cheeks, squishing them a bit.

Shinichi just stared up at her in shock, before giving her a hesitant smile. She didn't recognize him...

"Who's this kid?" Ran asked as she let go of his face and turned to Agasa as she stood up, and Shinichi quickly standing up next to her as well.

"Uh, this is my relatives child," the professor lied with an awkward chuckle.

Ran nodded and turned back to shinchi, who took a few nervous steps back, which must have made Ran think he was shy, because her smile softened.

"Hello, my name is Ran," she said gently, "what's your name?" She asked.

Shinichi shifted anxiously, and quickly looked around, before spotting a name on the bookshelf behind him.

"I-I'm Conan," he stuttered out, "Conan Edogawa."

Ran smiled. "Conan's an unusual name," she said. "But it suits you." She quickly added.

Shinichi, or Conan now, laughed awkwardly "m-my dad was a big fan of Conan Doyle, so..." he trailed off.

"Oh, Ran" professor Agasa cut in, "could you maybe take Conan to go stay at your place for a while? His parents got into an accident so they asked if I could take care of him for a bit," The professor lied, "and I have no experience with children, so..."

Conan started at Agasa in shock. What was he doing??

"Oh, sure I can probably take care of him," Ran said with a smile, "I can pick him up tomorrow if that's okay." She added, "I'll need to talk with my dad a bit about it first."

Agasa nodded, "yes that's fine, thank you so much Ran," he said, "you should go home now, it's getting late and I'm sure your father doesn't want you walking around at night." He added.

Ran nodded, "You're right," she said, before turning to Conan, "I'll see you later Conan." She said with a smile, before giving him a small wave and leaving the room.

The two waited until Ran had left and they heard the front door close, before sighing in relief.

"What are you doing! I've known Ran since I was actually this age, she'll figure it out!" He said as he turned to glare at Agasa.

"She lives in a detective agency, remember?" Agasa said, "if there's any news on the men in black it'll probably pass through there." He said.

"So me staying there is worth the risk of Ran finding out?"

"It's either that or possibly staying with one of your boyfriends, since you surely won't get any leads staying with me or on your own, and they'd most definitely figure you out." Agasa said. "It's either Ran or one of them."

Shinichi ignored the part about them being his boys and sighed while nodding reluctantly, "I'll stick with Ran." He said, cause he knew that his boyfriends would figure it out if he were to stay with them.

"I have a date with them soon though, what am I supposed to tell them, that I need to cancel all of a sudden and not be able to give them a reason?" He asked.

"We'll deal with that when it happens," Agasa said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "From now on you're Conan Edogawa, a seven year old primary student who's parents got into an accident and are unable to take care of you for an extended period of time," He said, "you're smart but not a genius, and need glasses. I'm your only close relative besides your parents, which is why you were sent to me even though you will be living with Ran and her father." He continued. "If you add anything to your story please tell me so I can be aware in case it's information they'd expect me to know." He said.

Shinchi, now Conan, nodded, "Alright Agasa." He said. "Wanna help me pack some stuff?" He asked.

Agasa nodded, "Sure," he said, "and I'll also get you one of the phones I have in my lab, since you said yours had been destroyed right?"

Conan nodded, "Yeah it was." He said. "And don't get one of your weird invention phones, they don't last long."

"Alright," Agasa said with a chuckle, "maybe I can make you some other gadgets since you're a magnet for trouble and you'll no doubt get caught up in cases even while your like this."

Conan chuckled and gave him a sheepish smile. "You know me too well Agasa." He said.

The two soon left the room and went about finding a suitcase and more of Conan's clothes from when he was a child in the attic, along with a few toys they'd found to actually make it look like he was a real child. He didn't pack anything personal, since Ran would probably recognize it as Shinichi's, but he did pack a soccer ball.

He soon had everything packed and went over to Agasa's house to spend the night, since he couldn't be sure if Kaito would show up at his house in the night. He did that sometimes, and Shinichi woke up to his boyfriend spooning him with his arms around his stomach and waist -which was rather nice if he were to admit it, so Shinichi didn't really mind- but he was Conan now, and Conan was a child and didn't know anyone named Kaito, Heiji, Suguru, or Shinichi.

He spent the night in Agasa's guest room, and went straight to bed after setting up the new phone the professor had given him, knowing that Ran would be there bright and early to pick him up when she got her father to agree.

Sleep didn't come easy though, and he laid awake, thoughts about this mysterious organization and the men in black running through his head, along with his worries about never changing back, and his boyfriends. They were smart, but would they be able to track Shinichi to Conan? Hopefully they couldn't, but he wasn't very sure.

He eventually succumbed to the call for sleep, around one in the morning, curled up under the blankets and holding a pillow to his chest, feeling rather lonely.

Hopefully tomorrow would be a better day.