Desclaimer: I don´t own Detective Conan

A/N: For the 7th competition of Poirot Cafe. Theme was Alone, and I really wanted to write something... This is AU, so everything we know happened in Shinichi´s childhood never actually happened. Meaning: he did not grow up in Japan, Ran was not his childhood friend. Special appearance of Eri and Kogoro who are still married XD Hope you like it.

Kudo Yukiko was known for her extravagant tendencies. Her husband, Kudo Yusaku, while more down to earth, also wasn´t exactly normal either. It didn´t wasn´t exactly a secret, not that it would be easy to hide, with their quirks, but most hopped they would calm down after the birth of their baby boy. The Kudo family had been wishing for a baby since they married, and when finally the little miracle was born, others hopped the couple would finally settle into the role of a normal couple.

For one year, Yukiko played her role as a busy house-wife perfectly. She stopped attending the parties, going out with her friends whenever she wanted, and gave it all to take care of her baby. Shinichi, the name they gave to the boy, grew quickly under the loved eye of his parents, but after a while, it wasn´t enough for Yukiko. Indeed, she loved her family, and it was fun to be a normal house-wife… but something was missing. She wanted an adventure, something exciting to happen. Those closer to her could clearly see it.

Therefore, when the Kudo´s suddenly moved to America, ditching everyone behind, especially the editors, no one was surprised. Some even though it was a miracle the couple managed to live normally for a year.

It was six years later, when the little Shinichi was already seven years old, that the friends wondered if maybe the couple was crazier than they had thought.

It was a winter day when Mouri Kogoro received a call from Yukiko. It had been the first in a year, and he knew his wife would be excited. "How are you doing, Yukiko?" Asked the police detective, taking a look at his room to make sure he forgot nothing. It was only morning, and he had a morning shift at the police station that day. "Eri was wondering when you were going to call."

"I´m great, Kogoro. Hope everything is well there too." The former actress´ voice was so excited the man almost dropped the phone. It never ended well for anyone when Yukiko was this excited. "I miss you two a lot. Things have been great here, Yusaku´s editors have no idea we run to…"

"Is it Yukiko?" Mouri Eri asked as she entered the room and took in the extremely worried and slightly happy expression her dear husband had. There was only one person on the world who managed to extract it from him, and that was none other than her childhood friend and enemy.

Without waiting, Kogoro quickly gave Eri the phone, making his way to the kitchen. He was already slightly late, and he knew that actress would never shut up if given the chance. "Hello, Yukiko? This is Eri. Kogoro had to go to work. How are you? Why haven´t you called earlier?"

"Eri!" Grinning at the excited tone of her friend, Eri sat on the bed, relaxing slightly. "Oh, I miss you so much! I have so much to tell you! This last year, Yusaku´s editors were growing rather relaxed, so we decided to travel the world. We stayed about two weeks in the same place, and I especially liked Paris. I´m planning to return there for our anniversary. Russia was rather cold and some of them were rude. Never planning to return there… Oh, and I am planning to take a small role in Portugal, just making an appearance. The filming will only take one week, and since we are already on our way there…"

Blinking quickly as she tried to take everything in, Ran stumbled into the room and climbed on top of their bed, snuggling on the spot Kogoro used to sleep. Her little girl started doing it since her husband had been promoted, and they were unable to chance this strange habit, not that they had tried, thinking it was too adorable.

Wait, wasn´t Shinichi the same age as Ran? Just seven years old… and they were dragging him around? "That is all good, Yukiko, but what about Shinichi? You are not leaving him all alone, are you?"

"Shin-chan? Oh, no, no, we take him with us, at least most of times. Ah! I almost forgot, it was so long we talked to each other… Anyway, can you go pick up Shin-chan at the airport at ten? We couldn´t take him with us this time and his usual nanny cannot look after him, so we asked Hakase."

"Pick him up? Aren´t you with him? If you are worried about the price of taxis, I assure you it´s nothing compared to those in New York." A dreadful feeling was slowly settling in Eri´s stomach. Surely her friend wasn´t that negligent to allow the boy to travel alone, right? "We could meet up for a coffee while you are still here."

"I´m sorry, Eri, but I am on the place to Lisbon. Shin-chan is traveling with one of Yusaku´s assistants, but only until Japan." Well, at least he wasn´t alone… "Since Yusaku will be busy writing, and I have the shootings, we decided to send him away. This way well also have some time for ourselves…"

"God, Yukiko, what were you thinking?" Eri suddenly interrupted, wishing her friend was in front of her so she could shake her. "Shinichi is your child and you ´just´ sent him away? He is not a piece of wood! What is something happens to him? He is just seven!"

"We asked him and he said he was sick of traveling! This is not the first time he travels with the assistant, everything will be alright." Next time the damn woman was visiting, she was going to have a long conversation about responsibility. "Anyway, can you pick him up? He arrived at 10."

10? It was already quarter to ten! "Yukiko, you are an idiot! It´s almost ten already here!" Whoever was the idiot who thought it was a good idea for those two to have children clearly wasn´t thinking straight.

"Almost ten? Oh, I forgot the time difference… It doesn´t matter, everything will be alright."

Ignoring the urge to scream at her completely mad friend, Eri just ended the call, taking a deep breathe. "Kogoro, are still here?" It didn´t matter, she had no time to lose. There was a small five year old who waiting for her. Yukiko remembered to tell him someone was going to get him, right?

It wasn´t the first time little Shinichi took a plane. Actually, in the last three years it became the number one public transportation he used every time. Being only seven, he knew it was rather strange, but considering who his parents were… It took no genius to realize that there was something wrong with his parents. When it was time to retrieve him from school, they never came, unlike others´ parents did. It was always his father´s assistant or an editor. Other parents didn´t think it was amusing when he solved a crime, nor did they believe it was appropriate for a child his age to read detective novels. True, he couldn´t read it properly, and had to use a dictionary, but at least he tried… Oh, not to mention his parents strange hobbies.

The first time they had packed clothes and had disappeared for a week, leaving Shinichi alone with his nanny when he was three; he had had cried every day, wondering why they left him behind. However, as it happened more and more often, he quickly stopped paying attention to it. They always came back, with a toy or book, and continued living as if nothing strange happened. The little boy learned to live with it.

When they started to take him with them, he also learned to accept it and move on, even though he realized after the first two times that he preferred being left behind. He was probably the only four year old that had done bungee-jumping with his parents… Shuddering at the memory, blue eyes stared out of the window, wondering when they would finally land.

"Is something wrong, Shinichi?" The lady who always travelled with him asked with a smile, already used to taking care of the boy. Unlike his parents, Kudo Shinichi was a calm and respectful child that required little attention. He disliked video games, preferring to read a book or draw. He also seemed to have a knack for numbers, what amused her greatly, since his mother stayed as far away from math as possible unless it was for shopping.

"No. When do we arrive?" Smiling even more, Clarissa checked her watch, noticing only an hour was left. Clearly, it was hard for a child to spend ten hours sitting in a plane, especially for young boys, but as always, Shinichi behaved admirably. However, it made her slightly sad, since in her opinion, boys needed to be more energetic. Obviously he learned to stay quiet and go with the flow.

"Just an hour left. So you are staying with Hakase this time… you´ll love it, he always has so many experiments going on, and it will do you good to have a break from your parents…" He nodded but reminded quiet, and the assistant sighed, closing her eyes. The boy needed a permanent residence to live, no wonder he was so quiet, not having any chance to develop his social skills. With his parents traveling like crazy, he never had a chance to make a friend…

As Shinichi looked out of the window again, staring at the dark clouds, he wondered not for the last time why his parents were so crazy. He loved them, at least as much as a child could, but it didn´t change the fact he felt slightly… lonely. Dad had mom, and while they obviously loved him too, he always felt like the spare piece…

Ignoring his own thoughts, since he didn´t want to cry, he wasn´t three anymore, the little boy wondered where he would stay. He had talked with Hakase before and thought the older uncle was fun and interesting, but he still he felt a little… scared. What if Hakase was an evil man? He had heard about uncles that pretend to be nice, and then end up being evil criminals…

Shaking his head once again, the boy almost pouted. He was being silly; mom and dad never would leave him with an evil man. They was their friend, and obviously, he would take good care of him, as his babysitter did. It was a shame she couldn´t take him with her to her daughter´s wedding, but he was a grown up boy already, he could spend two weeks with uncle Agase, even if he didn´t know the man that well. He was no longer an insecure child. Well, he was still a child, he just wasn´t insecure…

Not to mention he was too old to have a babysitter. Then again, it´s not as if he could stay alone at that huge house his parents had…

Turning back to his latest book that was more age appropriate, the time quickly passed by, and before he knew it, the plane landed. "Finally…" Shinichi mumbled to himself, following his father´s assistant out of the plane. As usual, she had a plane to catch, not before making sure he crossed the security check.

"Now, Shinichi, I need to get going." She hated that she was leaving him so soon, but her plane was about to depart, and she needed to hurry up. "Remember to do what your father and mother told you, and don´t go with strangers. Be a good boy, alright." With one last hug, she departed, running as fast as she could to catch her plane.

Shinichi stood near the windows for a moment, considering what he should do next. Usually there was someone to pick him up and his parents warned him about it, but this time, his mother only gave him an address, emergency money and a kiss. Dad wasn´t home at the time he left for the airport, so the child truly was confused.

"Is someone picking me up or not?" He whispered, glancing around him. There were many people moving around, and he noticed many of those who traveled at the same plane as he were still waiting. Making the decision to wait for a bit, Shinichi sat down. Who knew, maybe mom had forgotten to warn him. It wasn´t the first time… Usually they called when he landed, but since they were in a plane, he did not expect a call.

Minutes went by, and before he knew it, he was the only person waiting. Hm… then no one was picking him up? Confused, the boy searched the place, feeling a little bit scared. This was the first time he was left all alone in a foreign country. True, Japan was where he was born, but he couldn´t remember living here, so it was like a completely different place to him.

"Maybe they want you to go alone?" The independent part of his brain supplied, and Shinichi considered it. Well, it surely would explain why he was given the address and money. The first thing his mother had thought him was to count money, so he had a good idea of how much he had on him. He could take the Taxi… but he wasn´t sure how far Beika was from his current location. Maybe he should buy a map? There was also the issue with his age… He knew seven-year-old children weren´t supposed to travel on their own. He could always lie and say he was ten years old but small. He had seen, after all, sixteen years old boys looking like ten… That was a plan. Either way it was better than wait for no one.

Jumping from his spot, Shinichi looked around, noticing everything was in Japanese. Dad had taught him some, but not enough to read well. Actually, he was ten times better at ready English, even if his accent was slightly off. Noticing there was a sign for the trains, he started to run towards it, ignoring the looks some people gave him. Yes, he would say he was ten… After all, no one in their right mind would allow a seven year old to be alone, would they?

The train station was easy to reach, English translations for foreign bellow the signs, and it made Shinichi relax just a little bit. Maybe it wouldn´t be that hard after all… Noticing a map, he hurried towards it, searching for Beika. First, he would arrive at the city, and then he would worry about the specific address. If everything else failed, he would go to the police station, though he preferred to avoid it, knowing it would look bad on his parents.

Memorizing the path he needed to take, thankful there was only one time he needed to change the line, the boy ran towards the machines to buy a ticket. This was a strange experience; he had to admit, but fun. At least he had enough money… it would be horrible if he was broke.

"Good afternoon." Someone stated from behind, and Shinichi jumped, spinning around with his eyes wide. A nice lady was looking at him with a smile. "Are you lost boy? Want me to help you find your mother?" She looked nice enough, but he remembered his parents' words, knowing appetence wasn´t everything.

"Thank you, but I am not lost." Grinning slightly, he took his ticket, making sure to hide his destination. "My train is about to arrive, so I should be going…" Number one rule in any bad situation, according to his mother, was to appear confident. This way people couldn´t take advantage of you. "See you."

Running away before she had a chance to ask him anything, Shinichi wondered for the first time if maybe he should have just waited… or at least called his parents. However, he wasn´t a child anymore. Hadn´t he taken the train alone a few times at home? And if he was old enough to go one the plane without his parents…

Shacking any doubt, he joined the others on the train, grabbing a seat as he settled for a long ride.

Eri was panicking. She had arrived late, it had taken a while to convince Kogoro to take her, since he refused to listen until she yelled at him, explaining Shinichi was all alone, and now as she looked for him, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh god." The woman mumbled, hurrying to the bathroom, hopping he was there. This was exactly why she thought Yukiko was crazy! The boy was only seven! Anything could happen. He could be kidnapped, hurt, get lost… "Did you find him?" She asked her husband, but taking in account the look of panic, she didn´t need it. "What are we going to do now? Oh, I am going to kill Yukiko!"

"The guards maybe know something." Kogoro stated, trying to calm himself down. It would do no good if both of them panicked, and obviously, Eri was already doing it. "It´s not every day a small child travels by himself. Someone must have seen him."

Rushing towards one of the guards, Kogoro took lead, hopping his detective badge could help in any form. No way on earth were they allowed the little boy to wander alone, even if he was Kudo´s brat. They hadn´t met the boy yet, but with parents like that, the detective was worried how the child would end up.

"Good morning. We are looking for a small boy, the age of seven, with blue eyes and dark hair." Kogoro stated without missing a beat, looking as serious as he could. "He is traveling here without his parents, and we are supposed to pick him up, but the child isn´t here."

"Oh, a child with a neat hair and few strands that stick up at the front and back?" A young guard stated as she approached, smiling slightly as they nodded, even though they weren´t sure about his hair. "I saw him, he was heading towards the trains… Are you sure it's him? When I asked, he said he wasn´t lost, and he appeared to know where he was going. I noticed he had a paper with an address in his hands."

"The one in the red sweater? He sat there for a while." This time the other guard contributed, frowning slightly. "He just sat there, looking confused, and then stood up and left without looking back. Maybe he thought no one was coming and decided to take matter in his own hands."

"I see…" Eri mumbled, already planning how to hide Yukiko´s dead body. "Thank you, we better hurry up… The boy never was in Japan, and I cannot help but worry. Thank you. Honey, let´s hurry."

Shinichi was confused. He was supposed to be at Beika, but as he looked at the name of the train station, he shivered. This was not Beika; it was Ekoda, and he couldn´t understand how he arrived there. Ekoda was close to Beika, but there wasn´t a train connecting both. Running to the map, he tried to understand what he did wrong; noticing for the first time that he had been supposed to change trains a second time.

Ignoring the sudden need to curse, Shinichi just wanted to cry. Just his luck, obviously he needed to get lost somehow. What good would the address do him, if he wasn´t even in the right city. As his stomach demanded some food, the little boy hurried to a convenience store, counting the money he had left as he paid for his food. There was hard enough to take one train, so no, he couldn´t go back and take the right one this time.

Entering a park, the boy almost collapsed on the bench, slowly nibbling his sandwich. What was he supposed to do now? He was lost in a strange city, in a strange country. He could talk, but he couldn´t read to save his life. He was slightly apprehensive to ask adults, and he wasn´t even sure where the police station was. Shinichi was completely alone.

The knowledge hit him like a bullet, and before he had the chance to process it, tears started to fall down his blue eyes. He was all alone and no one could help him. His parents were who knows where. They had ditched him, not caring enough to make sure someone would pick him up. They left him and now he was lost.

"Are you alright?" Looking up confused and surprised, blue eyes met a red flower. Blinking, Shinichi reflexively took it, staring at the boy who gave it confused. He was almost his twin, but had an extremely messy hair and eyes that appeared to be indigo. "Why are you crying?"

Too sad to care about the fact he was caught crying, or the fact he apparently met his twin, Shinichi rubbed his eyes trying to get rid of the tears. "I am lost." The confession was made in a whisper, but the other boy seemed to understand. "I don´t have enough money to catch the right train and I-I d-don´t know what to do…"

A hand made its way to his back, and before he knew it, Shinichi had been pulled into a hug. It was strange at first, but soon he relaxed, hugging the strange boy back. "It´s alright." The strange boy said. "I can help you, we can ask my dad, or go to the police. It´ll be all right. No need to cry."

Nodding, Shinichi ended his lunch quickly, trying to hide his puffy eyes. "Thank you…" The stranger only smiled, jumping to his feet. "My name is Kudo Shinichi… can you really help me?"

"Nice to meet you, Shinichi. I´m Kuroba Kaito." And once again, he was holding a red rose, which ended on Shinichi´s lap. "I live around here and I know the city like the palm of my hand. Where were you going? Where are your parents? You don´t look like you got separated from them."

"I… I came here alone… My parents are traveling, so I am spending some time with Hakase." The boy named Kaito was strange, but at least he seemed nice. There was also the fact he seemed to be into magic. Shinichi preferred detective work, but magic was also interesting. "I am supposed to go to this address, but I read wrong the train map and ended here…"

"Doctor? Does he have a name?" Taking the paper he had been given, Kaito grinned. "No need to worry, I know this place. It´s not too far from here, about thirty minutes walking. We could take the bus, but then we would have to wait for it, and walking is better. My dad says I need walks every day to burn extra energy, or else I´ll drive my mom crazy. Anyway, what is Doctor´s name?"

"Hakase." Shinichi answer promptly, smiling slightly. This boy seemed rather interesting, who knows, maybe they could be friends? He wanted friends so badly…

"Yes, I understood he is a doctor, I am asking his name?" Seeing the confusing look, he wondered for a moment if maybe his new blue-eyed friend was mentally challenged, before noticing something. They boy spook with a slight accent, and the information was all written in English. "Hakase means doctor." Kaito explained in English. "You are not from Japan?"

"Oh… that explains why my dad always laughs when I call him Uncle Hakase…" Shinichi mumbled, shaking his head. Great, he didn´t even know the name of the person who was taking care of him for two weeks. "I am Japanese, but I live in America… Would you mind taking me there?"

"Your father is funny." Kaito stated with a grin, as he took his new friends hand, ignoring his protests. "I have a feeling we are going to get along pretty well. Now, how about a slight tour around the city as we walk by? As I was saying, my dad…"

Unable to fight back, Shinichi just went with the flow, smiling at Kaito from time to time as they walked through the town hand in hand. At least, he was no longer alone.

Eri was going crazy when she received a call from Agase stating Shinichi had arrived. Apparently, Yukiko forgot to tell her son someone was going to get him, and the boy thought he was meant to reach Agase´s place by himself, so he had left.

As she laid down next to her husband, too tired to even think about making dinner, she promised herself that she would have a long talk with Yukiko and Yusaku. "I swear, when I get my hands on her, she´ll regret it…"

A/N: So, what did you think? Please review!

Kissed, Kaggami-chan