Prologue

"Ne, Oji-chan, isn't the way that wire hanging off the curtain weird?" Conan, a.k.a Shinichi, asked in his 'kid' voice, pointing at the mentioned wire at the latest crime scene. Mouri Kogorou just about had it with this brat interrupting the investigation. He picked the brat up by the scruff of his neck.

"Now, listen here brat, this is the last time, don't interrupt the investigation again!" Kogorou yelled practically in the kid's face. He swore he saw shock cross the kids face before he just nodded, looking at the floor. Kogorou sighed and put the kid down and the kid went into the other room. Why was that kid always like that? He always got in the way. Then again, now that Kogorou thought about it, he seemed to always point stuff out that turned out to be useful later on in the investigation. Kogorou turned his attention towards the wire that the kid mentioned earlier. It was just barely hanging there by a thread. He didn't really know what to make of it yet, but he knew it had something to do with the culprit who murdered the latest victim. It might have a hand in how the culprit pulled off a closed room murder too.

Conan frowned, trying to figure out how he was going to get out of his current dilemma. That was the fifth time Kogorou had caught him in the last hour. If he was caught again, then Kogorou will get really angry and Conan will receive another lecture from Ran after getting the crap knocked out of him again. Was Kogorou always like this? Shinichi couldn't remember much from the time when he was actually 7. He'd been too busy reading books in his father's study or dragging Ran all over the neighborhood getting into all sorts of trouble with the police for trying to solve their investigations. Sometimes his father would get a call from Kogorou because Shinichi had gotten Ran into trouble that day and then his father would let Kogorou lecture Shinichi over the phone. Of course, Shinichi did feel bad for getting Ran into trouble at the time, but it never stopped him from doing it again. He couldn't help it if Ran was with him when a murder happened. What is he thinking? Shinichi thought shaking his head. He shouldn't be thinking about things like this now; not when there was a case to be solved.

About another hour later, with Conan's help, the case had been solved. Kogorou didn't remember what happened, but that was the usual. The only thing different was that Kogorou seemed to be grouchier than normal and it was especially weird since they had just solved the case. Conan decided not to question Kogorou about it since he had already aggravated the older detective enough today. It was later on that night, when they were all in bed that something happened. Kogorou got up in the middle of the night and tripped over Conan for the millionth time since the kid started staying there. "Are you okay, Oji-chan?" Conan asked in genuine concern. Kogorou glared at the boy.

"You know, this wouldn't happen almost every night if you weren't here." Conan froze at the words. Had Kogorou finally gotten tired of Conan's presence? "I'm not even joking. Seriously, why can't your parents just come and take you? Why do I have to put up with you?"

"O-Oji-chan, are you-"

"No, just get out of my sight!" Suddenly Conan's left cheek stung and his glasses were sliding across the floor. Kogorou seemed to have come to his sense as his eyes widen in shock. "No, I'm sorry, Conan. I'm such a fool, I didn't," Conan shook his head though before the older man could continue.

"It's okay Oji-chan, I understand." Conan, no Shinichi knew when he wasn't wanted. He grabbed his faux glasses, put on some clothes, and before he headed out the door, he said, "I'll be at Professor Agasa's house if Ran nee-chan asks. Thank you for taking care of me." He bowed slightly to the shocked detective before he finally left the house-made detective agency. Shinichi had never been hit like that before, not even Ran had done that to him and he was sure he'd made her angry more than once to deserve that. But he knew even before he started staying there that Kogorou would finally get tired of the arrangement and snap eventually, but that didn't stop the hurt that crawled into the young detective's heart. He really respected Kogorou not only as a detective but as a father figure too. Shinichi understood his father's reasons for not being around much, but that didn't change the fact that Shinichi wished his father was always around like Kogorou. Kogorou showed how much he cared for Shinichi in his own way, even when Shinichi was younger.

Shinichi remembered the time he and Ran went to America and he overheard Kogorou saying how irresponsible Shinichi's parents were to let two kids ride on a plane all by themselves. Shinichi at the time felt a stab of annoyance towards the man but deep inside he was happy that he cared. Shinichi wasn't saying that his parents didn't care. He knew it was the complete opposite. They just couldn't get away from their busy schedules to meet up with them. "Kudo-kun? What are you doing here?" Shinichi looked up to see Haibara sitting out on the porch.

"Uh, Mouri seems to have gotten tired of me living there so," Shinichi said with a shrug.

"So you came here?" It was dark, so he couldn't see Haibara's face. She sounded tired. Shinichi nodded. "You do realize you can't stay here right?" She asked sounding worried.

"I know," Shinichi sighed. "Don't worry I'm just staying for the night. I'll figure something out tomorrow." She nodded and stood up. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked as the two walked down the hallway. She shrugged.

"My sister has been visiting me in my dreams." She said nonchalantly. Shinichi knew better though.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Shinichi said feeling bad.

"Don't be. So how did this all start?" She asked curiously.

"Well, I know I annoyed him like I usually do when there's a case, but then after it was solved he seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason and then not too long ago, he woke up and tripped over me again. I guess he forgot I was lying on the floor." Shinichi said shrugging.

"Wait, you sleep on the floor there?" Haibara asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's not too bad." Shinichi said shrugging. "Anyways, like I said, he tripped over me, yelled at me, and then this happened." He pointed at his now red cheek. It still stung.

"He hit you." She said frowning.

"Yeah," Shinichi said still feeling shocked that it happened.

"That's not right. Was he like that when you were really 7?" Haibara asked still frowning.

"No, he wasn't. But honestly I think he's just stressed out about the whole situation and I guess he took it out on the first person he saw." Shinichi said like it was no big deal. He knew it sounded like he was trying to justify Oji-chan's actions, but that was how he felt. Mouri Kogorou wasn't abusive to his family and Shinichi knows it. He just wasn't sure why he was hit. She sighed.

"It's still not right to hit someone because you're stressed out." She said narrowing her eyes at him.

"I know. I didn't really think it would hurt this much though." Shinichi muttered the last part absentmindedly as he gingerly cupped his red cheek. Somehow I don't think he's talking about his cheek. Haibara thought frowning still. She'd never seen Kudo-kun look so upset and hurt before. Did this man really mean that much to Kudo-kun? No, a better question would be, did this man not realize how much he meant to Kudo-kun?

"I'll go get some extra blankets and a pillow." She said as they entered her room. Shinichi nodded and waited for her to return. When she did, she set the blankets on the floor. "I'm sorry there isn't another bed." She said apologetically.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Shinichi said shrugging. He didn't mind sleeping on the floor. Shinichi set to work on making his bed and when it was finished, he climbed under the covers and closed his eyes. Hopefully he'll figure something out tomorrow. Half of him hoped that Kogorou would take him back, but Shinichi knew that was just wishful thinking. He turned over and he finally fell asleep.