Vindicated

Disclaimers: I do not nor ever will own Conan or Jimmy and co. It's a cruel sad world, isn't it?

Yeah. I got some reviews telling me to update during the weekend. Course most of them referred to 'Going Down' but I really need to get this story up and running. So far we've only scraped the surface on what I intend to have happen.

Going Down's almost finished too, you guys. You should all enjoy it while it lasts. As soon as I complete it I'll post up 'Been A Long Winter'. And if or when 'Vindicated' gets done I'll post up 'The Great Pretender'. It will be a gradual process but I'll get finished eventually.

I hope anyway. ::sheepish grin::

Another thing, I do sometimes use Japanese honorifics. I'm sorry if I do- but it's a forceful habit. Besides, that's the one thing I think that the dubs should leave in, if anything at all. I will eventually try using the original Japanese names, but not in this story. Maybe some distant story in the future though.

On to the next chapter. I promise this one to be humorous as well! Yay!

LAST TIME ON VINDICATED

At least she doesn't cry anymore.

This did not aid any idea of sleep.

He was a thief.

Rachel's half of the medallion!

He defeated a full grown criminal only armed with his blue pinstriped pajamas and a roll of wrapping paper.

"Tetra Razianoff."

"That's right. She's looking for Jimmy Kudo."

And Conan promptly fell over, taking the table-side lamp with him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Chapter 3:

The Joy Ride

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it's hard to get it back in!"

-H.R. Haldeman

xxx

"Eh. Conan-kun," Rachel sighed softly treating the wound on his forehead. "That's a nasty bruise."

Conan flinched at her tender touch. He'd like to say that it was because it stung horribly, but it was mostly because his would-be girlfriend was his nurse. Would-be, that is, if he hadn't been attacked that day…

Her fingertips brushed back his bangs while she worked on applying the bandage. It was a good thing Rachel was so concerned about the bruise too or else she might think he was catching a cold. Conan's cheeks were practically radiating like an ill placed traffic light. But of course, "stop" was far from his mindset right now.

If he was brave, he would noticed how close their faces were. If he was braver, he would have closed the gap. If he was Jimmy, he'd kiss her. But he was none of the above- and that infuriated him. So Conan just blushed onward.

"Ah ha," She grinned, pulling away. "How cute!"

Conan's face suddenly flushed of all color. He was almost afraid to ask, "What's cute?"

Rachel leaned her head in the direction of the bathroom mirror. Despite his overly curious nature, he was almost afraid to look too. And after he did, he kind-of wished he didn't. All loving feelings for Rachel just flip flopped in the child detective's chest.

"Oh gawd."

"I thought you'd like it!" Rachel beamed, tapping the 'Masked Yaiba' band-aid box. "It's so kawaii! I talked Dad into buying these at the store the other day- since I know how much you and your friends love that show."

Conan scowled at the grinning magician and pink bunnies that took stage on his forehead. His scowl deepened while wondering just when his life became such a big joke to the world. Shrinking acts, pink bunny rabbits, and a certain agency of wanna-be detectives that only a child could come up with. Yeah. He was a regular freak show.

"Rachel," Conan began slowly, so not to be accused of whining. "They're all going to laugh at me."

"Don't be silly, Conan-kun!" replied Rachel with a stifled giggle.

Oh. Little late for that. Conan sliced a fingernail over one of the rabbits' heads.

Rachel chuckled and ushered the disquiet detective into the hall. Just as luck would have it, Richard took leave from his own room at the same time. He was more properly dressed; compared to this morning. At least his tie was in place now. Richard actually looked the part he so frequently faked.

They met in the middle of the hall.

The elder PI took one look at the two before him and grunted. Then he took a second look- this time his focus directly upon Conan. His eyes squinted in and out of focus before Richard could fully comprehend that which now took residence on the boy's brow.

Richard's eyes rolled up without him even bothering to smother his obnoxious hooting. Conan groaned. He made a mental note to burn that band-aid box and all it's content as soon as Rachel's back turned.

"Oh, come on!" Rachel snapped. "It's not that bad!"

"Yes! It is," Richard howled and Conan grumbled.

Probably the first time they ever agreed so resolutely on something.

Normally, Rachel would have argued, but her eye caught the clock. And that suddenly didn't seem such a problem any more.

"Iie!" Rachel squealed, "Is that the time?! I'm late-!"

Rachel took hold of Conan's wrist and dragged him down the hall. Richard's whooping laughter chased them to the exit.

The boy tried to dig his heels into the carpet but his socks didn't hold well.

"Rachel-oneesan! Stop! Rachel-oneesan!" Conan cried desperately.

His heels were starting to burn painfully. Conan wouldn't dare tell Rachel though. That would give her another place to stick those ridiculous band-aids.

He tried again, "Rachel-oneesan!"

It was like he flipped a switch. Rachel halted, nearly catapulting Conan down the staircase.

"That's right! You don't have to go to school today, huh Conan?"

"Right," Conan gasped, clutching the stitch in his chest.

Damn this child body.

"I forgot that today was 'Kodomonohi'. Ha," Rachel let out a jealous sigh. "I kind of miss that holiday."

She turned to Conan, giving him a great big smile. Conan's innards squirmed unpleasantly.

"You have anything special planned?"

"Ah. I wasn't planning-," Conan swallowed hard. "I think I'm just going to hang out with George, Amy, and Mitch-san."

Rachel looked slightly disappointed but nodded, "Yeah. Well, it's your special day. You don't want to waste it."

She grinned again, "That's cool, Conan-kun. Being born the day before 'Kodomonohi'. Like two birthdays in a row!"

"Right," Conan smiled weakly. Just found thatout yesterday…

Rachel gave Conan's head an encouraging pat before heading for the door. She slipped into her sneakers, gave each toe two taps on the doorstep, and called, "See ya later, Conan! See ya, Dad!" before taking off in her long sprint to Teitan High.

Conan followed her out, forgetting to take of his slippers.

"Wait! Rachel-neesan!"

Rachel slowed her sprint into a jog in place. "Hai?"

"I'll meet you after school, alright? By the court?"

Since when did little eight year old house guests schedule meeting spots? Rachel was suspicious of the seemingly genuine offer. But she accepted the terms just the same. Conan was her just baby brother after all, right? He just wanted the two of them to share their daily strides home, like usual. Kids like routine. It was only normal.

Deciding upon that fact, Rachel started off again. The mental image of her balancing filled water buckets encouraged the adrenaline to pump faster to her legs. Conan's dubious behavior left her active list of suspicions once again.

Conan stood on the door step, watching, as she whirled about the corner. Groaning, he sunk down into the stoop.

"I'd rather be seventeen again than celebrate this stupid holiday."

Conan cringed when he realized he would probably enjoy himself today. He hated it when was able to take advantage of his child body. It made him accept Conan more than he'd like to. Than Jimmy'd like to.

"Hah…" Conan exhaled. "Two days in a row- both that don't belong to me."

xxx

"Look at this! That's the biggest candy ball I've ever seen!"

Conan squirmed nervously as the candy clerk glared down upon his little group of amateur detectives. Even though it was technically their day, didn't mean the man would give all the candy away for free. There were just too many kids in Tokyo for that kind of thing.

The other members of the Detective Boys didn't seem to care though. They scavenged the shelves for pieces of candy they hadn't yet tried. The three of them had already taken most of the American candy in the store- and that was before 'Kodomonohi'.

The clock on the public library across the street rung a righteous twelve chimes- reminding the little detective that he has spent the last three hours with these annoying little twerps. "Annoying" for the fact that they got him kicked out of at least four perfectly decent candy stores so far and "little" because they goggled over his 'Masked Yaiba' like it was some sort of glowing idol. "Twerps", in his mind, was self explanatory.

Conan rubbed his head roughly at the memory. Their eyes still haunted him, making Conan far more paranoid about the band-aid then when Richard laughed at it.

It was probably lunchtime at Teitan High. That place he should be.

Is it weird when a kid wishes to be in school?

Conan contemplated the oxymoron for a moment more before shifted his mindset on more important things. Like Rachel. She was incredibly important- in an annoying sort of way.

He couldn't help but wonder what Rachel was doing. Did she even miss him anymore? She really shouldn't, but did she?

How much longer could she wait? And how much more school could he miss before failing…?

Did she really mean what she said to Conan? Did she- did she lo-

"Hey, Conan-kun," Amy chimed from his side.

Conan jumped, startled. He been so busy shunning the obnoxious group of children, he forgot that he was supposed to be one of them. Impeccable timing though, Conan thought bitterly.

"Nee, Conan-kun?" Amy inquired again. "Is something wrong?"

"No- Nothing's wrong!" chirped the child detective hastily. "I was just- just daydreaming… that's all!"

"Oh," Amy didn't look like she was going to let Conan get away with that answer. Conan swallowed hard when she continued, "What about?"

"About?"

"Hm?"

"Eh- Um… How big of a pixie stick I should get- yeah!" Conan exclaimed pulling out one of the sugary treats as empathies. "I just can't decide if I should get two small ones or one really big one."

Amy looked over at the pixie sticks thoughtfully. Conan couldn't help but grimace at her seriousness. She actually thought that he had a real tough problem here.

"Ah! That's easy, Conan-kun!" Amy smiled sweetly. "It's 'Kodomonohi'! Get both!!"

"Eh. Right, Amy-san," Conan chuckled softly while taking the smaller ones up to the counter. "I'd rather not get a sugar high, though."

Amy looked a bit ousted but she followed behind the detective nonetheless, "You were thinking about Neesan, right? Not pixie sticks…"

Conan started. He had to give the girl credit- she could definitely read people's minds when she wanted to.

He turned and gave her the biggest kid smile Conan could muster. "Why do you say that, Amy-chan?"

The girl shuffled her feet sheepishly while responding, "I know she's your guardian and all- but Conan… You act as if she's your umm… more then your sister."

"Amy," Conan smiled softly. "Rachel is- Rachel-oneesan is special. I'm just protecting her until Jimmy-san gets back. It's my job!"

"Really!" Her expression immediately perked up. Thank God for Amy and her ten second attention span.

"Kudo-niisan gave you a job?!" She chirped.

"Yup!" Conan winked smugly. What can I say? My reputation still perceives me.

"Well, if it's your job then I guess you have to do it." Amy sighed.

Conan nodded somewhat doggedly. His heart suddenly stopped when he felt Amy's hands slip around his forearm. She rested her cheek softly against his green sweatshirt and let out another sigh. Conan began to sweat.

Oh dammit! What is she doing?

He pulled against her grip but she didn't relent.

Damn! This is awkward! What would George and Mitch do if they caught us? Conan cringed. They'll kill me!

"Are you going to buy that or not?"

Conan looked feverishly down at the pixie sticks clutched in his taut fist. He tossed them at the counter with a grumbling, "Here," before turning back to the problem at hand. Amy was still on his arm.

"Amy-chan…" Conan blushed.

"Hm?" She squeezed him tighter.

He could suddenly smell a strong scent of flowers. It was highly intoxicating. His breath began to catch in his throat. Conan figured his lack of sleep was starting to get to him again.

"Amy…"

Conan felt weird. Real weird. Like he couldn't breathe right. It didn't hurt, really- more like his whole body was going numb. He should have been scared- it shouldn't have felt alright, but all Conan could think about was those flowers. His eyes were starting to shut.

"…Rachel." He felt himself jerk forward.

"Conan-kun?!"

Amy's face vanished in a glare of white.

"Conan-kun!!"

xxx

His mouth was incredibly dry, Jimmy noted. Colors spun all around him- chasing their tail ends in a never ending cycle. He could make out voices but not enough to know what they were saying. Not that he really cared though. His head was swimming out of his body and then back again. The words started again.

"Is… alright? …nasty fall… headache… maybe."

Jimmy saw something in all the swirls. A making of a face. A dark silhouette of a face not quite familiar or unfamiliar. There was a warmth in the eyes. And an incredible distance that Jimmy couldn't even begin to travel. He blinked. The colors continued to spin.

"It looks like… coming to… Maybe… Hey…"

The image was starting to fade. He fought against his consciousness to see it again. It was a person- Obviously a person since it had a face. Did animals not have faces? No. Not faces like this. This face had lost something. A battle of some kind- against age it seemed. Was it Rachel?

"Conan? Conan? Are you alright?"

No. It wasn't Rachel. It was a man. Then- What? It's eyes lit with understanding and moved in sync with it's soon bodiless lips. The sound was gone- leaving Jimmy clinging to what little visual he had left. Outlined in a blood red with light the tissue, that sealed his eyes, let through.

You, It said. And then he knew.

"Richard-?!" Conan sputtered jolting back to life.

He was greeted with a roomful of concerned faces and a strangely candy land background. Jimmy almost thought he hadn't woken up yet. That was until Amy's tear-filled eyes met his. Dreams were never that detailed for him. Unless it was Rachel crying. But that was because it was all too often lately. The boy flushed, remembering to be Conan again.

"What happened?" He groaned, rubbing his head without a need for exaggeration.

"You passed out, you wuss." George grunted drawing back a fist to add elevation to the already placed mountain on his skull.

Amy flung herself on the large boy's arm, making it cut short in it's decent. Her still rolling tears did not ease George's obvious outrage for the little detective. It only meant he'd add a tic next to Conan's name on the infamous blacklist of his vengeful eight-year-old mind.

George cast Conan another bitter glare- as if Conan had slapped the girl to make her cry. That or that Amy was crying over him, the wuss.

"I'm so sorry, Conan-kun!" Amy sobbed, careful not to touch him as he sat all the way up. "It's my fault for squeezing too hard."

"Squeezing?" Both boys opposite of Conan repeated dumbfounded. Conan didn't quite like the impression they were getting out of that innocent remark. For eight-year-olds, those boys sure jumped to some rather grown up conclusions. He could blame it on video games or TV shows but he'd rather just figure out how to clean their minds. Waving his hands and shaking his head, behind Amy's back, didn't seem to help very much, it seemed.

"You, young sir," The clerk grumbled, while giving Conan a hand to his feet. "Need to be more careful. Without proper nutrition or sleep this could become a regular occurrence."

Conan blinked again- looking between the clerk, Amy, and the other two menacing members of the Detective Boys.

I really hate this body.

He frowned and looked back on the strange promotion that had imprinted itself on the backside of his eyelids. Conan was sure it was Richard. And something bothered him about what was said. You could imply a lot different of things. One being that Richard just said that too much in replace of a certain curse word he was desiring to use for the boy. Maybe it was haunting him- being called such a thing. Although- Richard didn't always use You. Sometimes, he did just outright say it.

And then there was the other thing. That You meant something far worse then the absence of a bad word. The look in those eyes said that this conclusion was far more correct. That Richard knew who You was. Who he was. That Richard knew.

But why would his subconscious show him such a thing? Why not haunt him with any other sort of image? Why must Richard be the one to whisper You?

He knew what he thought. It was a fear. And ill placed thought that gave him such a horrible promotion. It was nothing real. He didn't believe in the supernatural. Was that not his favorite saying? One truth prevails? Paranormal things were unsolvable mysteries- so they couldn't exist, right? The truth was- he was dreaming.

But a little nagging voice, same as the one that filled the vacant resonance for the You, couldn't help itself.

A warning. It smirked.

xxx

"Jimmy!" Agasa chuckled as the exasperated detective climbed up the Doctor's porch step. "I wasn't expecting you for at least a few more hours."

Conan scowled up at him while wiping some sweat from his brow. Agasa blinked- spotting it before Conan could cover it up again. "What's that? You hurt yourself, Jimmy-kun?"

"It's a stupid band-aid, Rachel-one," He cringed and then corrected himself, "Rachel made me wear it. I kind of hurt myself- Where's Ai?"

Agasa shrugged. "Where she always is?"

Conan pried himself off his knees and walked into the Doctor's living room. Agasa followed in suit, shutting the door soundless behind him.

The room appeared ransacked- just as it usually did. The couch was flipped over and there was obvious traces of soot on the floor and walls. Another experiment gone wrong. Conan had to note that it was a miracle that his shoes hadn't decided to blow up on him too. The doctor could do some things right. They were just far and few between.

"Hm," Agasa smiled slyly. "You should really be careful, Jimmy-kun. You'll fade away in that lie of yours."

"Do I have a choice?" Conan frowned in disgust while lifting a hidden shoe out of a vase by it's shoelaces. "I really need to talk to Haibara, Doc."

He dropped the dirty object and whirled back around, "I kind of had to ditch the rest of the detective boys at the candy store. I don't know how much time that might give me."

"Hah! I forgot! Today is 'Kodomonohi'," Agasa chuckled while thumbing his chin. "I was wondering why Haibara didn't go to school this morning."

"Yeah, yeah. Seems like everyone forgets," Conan spat irritably, "I have to meet up Rachel soon. I need to talk to Haibara and take my leave."

"Right," Doctor Agasa pushed the dirty shoe to the wall, along with other variously cluttered items within foot distance. Once there was a decent enough path, he led Conan to the basement. Agasa's teenage neighbor could only glower in response.

xxx

Basic systematic flashed across the blue screen in their bland white print. The blonde eight-year-old sat before the monitor, comparing each with much more complicated ones. She always prayed for a match. It was unlikely that this could have any form of basic material in it. Especially with it being her little curse. She had made it as Sherry- with every intent of it being incurable.

Simplicity usually was one to overlook. The former scientist did often jump to the most outrageous conclusions first. Maybe it would be the same with this case.

First, she needed to find the error that saved both her and Kudo from death, and then work from there. She hadn't even found the error yet. According the lab rats, the poison still worked perfectly.

Not that it was the same pill that both she and Conan had taken. All Haibara seemed to make were strange replicas that did exactly what she had planned for them to do in the first place. If that wasn't irony, she would probably laugh more often.

Her eyes widened when something finally overlapped. She hit the back arrow and scrolled up a bit. It was a bit rudimentary but not improbable. Hadn't alcohol been a temporary catalyst before? It could be possible that this could work as well. That was given if the body didn't reject the antidote like it had in all those other test runs. She could see it. It lined up to a near perfect match. That meant- that meant…

"This… This could be-!"

"Ohayo, Ai-san!" A cheerful voice chirped loudly from behind her.

Ai shot nearly three feet into the air. She spun about in her chair to glare at the person behind her.

"What the hell was that for-!" She blinked at seeing Conan rather then the doctor she had anticipated. "Kudo?"

Conan lowered the bowtie with a confident sort of smirk on his face. "I knew that would get your attention. I didn't even have to go on full volume."

"Damn, Kudo," Ai scowled. "Someone should take that away from you. You enjoy it far too much."

"Hah," Conan frowned suddenly. "I need to talk to you, Ai-san. It's important."

Ai puckered her brow, deciding to leave the computer work unsettled. Conan's urgent tone intrigued her. "What is it?"

"You ever hear about a woman named Tetra? A reporter?"

Ai thumbed her chin thoughtfully. "Tetra, huh? No. I don't think so- Why?"

Conan shuffled his feet somewhat guilty. Ai didn't quite like that look. It didn't suit the self-assured Kudo she knew.

"What's going on, Kudo?"

"Hah. Well, it seems that Jimmy isn't exactly dead to everyone yet."

Conan explained, about the burglar and then Tetra's appearance. How she seemed so interested in him. And of course, why she was there- here, in Tokyo. Haibara's expression remained stoic through the whole production. When it was clearly time for her to talk, her frown deepened.

"You'll just have to be more careful, that's all."

"That's it?!" Conan cried. "Be more careful? She's hunting me out, Haibara!"

"And she won't find you. I don't know if you realize this, Kudo, but to the rest of the world- you are dead. This reporter doesn't change anything- it just means you have to be careful.

"Time your calls to Rachel," lectured Haibara, "Limit them if you have to. Don't rely so heavily on the knockout-bowtie plan during cases and instead work on being a discrete as possible. Probably would be better even if you didn't attend Richard's cases for awhile," When Conan gave her a glare, she added, "Or not."

"I'm just worried, is all," Conan mused while leaning to one side.

"Of what? Of the Black Org learning you're still alive? Or of Rachel knowing you're Jimmy?"

"Both I think," Conan grinned sheepishly.

"Typical." Haibara huffed, "Is that really all you came to talk to me about?"

Conan thought it was a rather important thing to talk about. But the way she just brushed it aside, he assumed he was wrong again. How often can a guy be wrong about things? He was starting to wonder if the incident was making him, the great detective of the west, paranoid.

"Actually I had a dream…"

"A dream too? Gawd, Kudo! Do I look like a freakin' witch doctor here?!" At Conan's glare, her expression softened. He was serious.

"What about?" Haibara grumbled- turning away from her discovery once again.

"I'm not sure," He admitted shamefully. "It was like- forget it. It was stupid."

"Kudo. It's alright. You can tell me. I don't mind, really." She tried to keep her voice as sincere as she felt. She did care, if it was bothering him.

"Find anything more about the antidote, Haibara-san?" Conan flashed a wide smile.

He changed the subject. That and Conan's voice seemed fully in control now. Kudo's consciousness was once against suppressed by the lie this fake child had to uphold. Did it bother you that much, Kudo?

"No," Haibara answered absentmindedly. "Same old. Same old."

No need to add another weight to his worries.

Conan's eyes grazed over the room in a bored-like fashion. Haibara was almost startled when he spoke again.

"I'm a grand asshole."

Haibara wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Should she disagree, agree, or tell the truth? She figured to shoot for the in-between of the three.

"Yes. Yes, you are."

Whether she had chosen right or not, Haibara couldn't tell. He smiled. It was a good sign. Way to kick 'em when they're down. Haibara frowned, "I was just kidding, Kudo."

There was a silence and then a soft, "I know."

Their chat basically ended there. Haibara regretted her joke. She wanted to have an actual civil conversation with the detective, one day. But each day that the antidote failed to be made, the harder the exchange was to start.

Conan spotted the clock and started off up the basement staircase. Haibara touched his arm as he passed, unable to utter her apology. Instead, she spotted something beneath his bangs.

"Kudo, What's-?"

Conan blushed profusely and rushed up the stairs. Haibara only smiled at his fading footsteps, "Gomen."

xxx

He was late. Not by actually time but by approximation. By the time this little body reached the school- it would far too late. He was so far away from the school it was ridiculous.

Conan silently cursed himself in rage. If he had waited he might have been able to get a ride out of Doctor Agasa, but he was avoiding Haibara. And he didn't want to arrive in a car that Rachel could jump into without walking home with him. That kind of defeated the purpose of walking her home.

But all that didn't matter anymore. He already stood Rachel up. The second time in his life.

Conan slumped down over his knees- too exhausted to continue. He had tried his best to get there. He might actually cross her path going home though. At least he could walk her halfway home.

The little detective closed his eyes and let the sweat drip down. He wasn't quite sure about moving just yet, though. He may have more energy as a child- but his stamina was pathetic.

Cars rushed by on the road beside him. Their passing wind cooled his pained body and eased his aching soul. I better start walking. No use in staying here.

"Edogawa-chan?"

Conan was given a start. He whirled about looking for the source of the bodiless voice. The accent was strange. Almost as if a tourist was just testing it out because they liked the way it rolled off their tongue.

It came from beside him- from a dark colored limousine with one window rolled down.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Edogawa-chan! I knew it. I knew it was you," The all too familiar reporter flashed a brilliant smile his way. "You look lost. Do you need a lift?"

Conan considered screaming "NO!" and running in the opposite direction. He'd already nearly been robbed, lost his night's sleep, been questioned out of his mind by reporters, passed out, and even survived an awkward moment with Haibara. The last thing he needed was that woman giving him a lift.

But strangely, it was a compelling offer.

Conan knew she'd probably use their time together to question him about Jimmy. But he could easily send her on a wild goose hunt. That and he'd make it in time to meet up with Rachel. It was almost a perfect combination- if only the woman didn't give Conan the goose bumps.

"Ah…"

"It's perfectly alright, Conan," Tetra cooed, as if she knew she was tempting him somehow. "I work for the Police. I'm not a child kidnapper or anything. You know that."

That may have eased a child's mind- but not Jimmy's. He hesitated and then drew closer to the shiny vehicle. He could see his perplexed reflection in it's silky surface.

"I need to go to Teitan High. To Rachel… Rachel-oneesan."

"Great!" Tetra cheered giddily. "We just happen to be heading that way! Come on in!"

Conan wondered if Americans were always this friendly when they wanted something from someone else. He hadn't ever stayed in America long enough to find out. Even if he was part one. And as he rounded about the back of the car to the other rear door, Conan mused- nearly shutting the door on his fingers- that Americans weren't that much different from most Japanese people.

"Driver. To Teitan High."

xxx

"Thank you for the ride." Conan muttered, making sure to bow his head respectively.

Tetra just waved it off, "Children's day today. I'd like to do my part in the tradition- not knowing many Japanese children after all."

"Kodomonohi?" Conan corrected.

"Right, right." Tetra waved again. Conan started to wonder if there was a fly in here that she was swatting off.

"So… Conan. Tell me about yourself. You seem to speak Japanese very well. But your name is foreign," Tetra smiled. "Are your parents gaijin?"

"Sort of," He wasn't in the best mood to talk about his fake identity.

"Sort of, huh?" Tetra repeated him in amusement. "British, maybe?"

"Maybe."

"Well, then Conan-kun. What do you wanna talk about?"

Why not cut to the chase? Conan shrugged. "Kudo-oniisan?"

When Tetra looked surprised, Conan continued, "That's what you wanted to ask me about, right?"

"Why yes. Who told you that?"

"Meguire-san."

"Ah. I see." She looked highly entertained. "Well then. I wasn't planning on asking you for awhile yet, Conan-kun. But why not? I see no harm in it."

That's a lie. Conan inwardly smirked.

"Do you have any relation to Jimmy Kudo, Conan-kun?"

"No."

"Really? But you two look so much alike."

"I- I mean… I'm a cousin of his. Distant cousin."

Tetra looked mostly satisfied. "You ever meet Kudo before he disappeared from the media eye?"

"No." That was basically the truth.

"Have you seen him since he's alleged disappearance?"

"Once or twice."

"Did he appear beaten or injured in any sort of way when you saw him?"

That was a weird question. "No."

"Did he show in strange movement in the way he walked or did he smell strange like- per say alcohol?"

Ha. What is she playing at? "No."

"Do you know Jimmy-kun to have any strange or shady friends?"

"No," Conan frowned and then added. "But I don't know him well, Tetra-san."

"Ha. I figured as much." Tetra smiled softly.

Conan could see they were just coming upon Teitan High now. His stomach flip-flopped. He hadn't managed to delude the woman at all. If anything- he had been on the defensive the whole time.

"One last question, Conan," Conan looked up. Tetra's ballpoint was tapping the yellow notepaper patiently as she came on an appropriate one to ask. "Did Jimmy ever show any desire of returning home?"

Conan blinked. He didn't know how to answer. He could have blurted out "YES!" like his heart wanted him to but- did Jimmy want to return? He didn't know. He hadn't been Jimmy for so long. Conan wanted to be Jimmy. Conan wanted Rachel. Conan wanted to go home. But did Jimmy?

The door clicked as it unlocked. Conan was still left without any sort of answer. Tetra looked on- without any idea of the inner turmoil going on inside the child.

"I don't know," The child answered finally.

"Right." Tetra nodded, as if the question really meant nothing but to fill space on her notebook page. He took leave of her car, feeling incredibly empty. He had made it with three minutes to spare. And just before heading up the sidewalk, he heard Tetra call him again.

Conan turned. Tetra was smiling at his forehead.

"That's one adorable band-aid, Conan-kun."

And Conan found himself glaring at his pained reflection as Tetra's window rolled back into place.

To Be Continued…

Please R & R!

It took me four weeks to write this chapter. FOUR WEEKS! That's why it's so freakin' long! That and because I kept getting dissatisfied and rewrote several sections over and over and over again. One of them being Conan's fainting scene and the vision he got afterwards. That was so incredibly hard to write. It was driving me up a wall.

Okay. Several things I have to talk about. First, I have no clue if Masked Yaiba really was a magician or something like that. So I'm sorry if I got that wrong. ::insert sweatdrop::

Next, Kodomonohi is an actually holiday in Japan. It's called Children's day and I believe it's celebrated on May 5. I think someone told me that Conan/ Shinichi's real birthday was May 4. At least I hope that's right. Once I get around to fixing the dates I messed up, it will make more sense.

I don't much about the holiday other then that they do give out candy to children and they are supposed to extra nice to kids that day. I think kids get the day off too- but I don't know when the cut off age is though. I just assumed Rachel was too old.

There are parades too, I think. Ah, well. Conan just didn't get out much that day. Mostly why Rachel seemed disappointed when Conan appeared not to be real interested in taking advantage of the holiday.

Gaijin is also what Japanese people call Americans who come to Japan to live amongst them. That or just Americans in general. I'm not quite sure, but I think the term is meant to be offensive or something.

If I got any of the information wrong, feel free to correct me. I'm not so sure about it since the books I read this in didn't actually give definitions of the things.

Oh. And while I'm at it- I highly recommend a book called Hokkaido Popsicle to anyone who's interested in a little murder mysteries. It takes place in Japan and there is a series that follows it. It's rather intriguing. Great inspiration for those of you looking for something other then fanfiction to read.

I will warn you that it is adult material though. There is language, violence, and sexual content- so don't say I didn't warn you. But I still say it's worth a read. ::insert smile::

Anyway. So ends another file in Vindicated. Please leave nice long reviews to match this nice long chapter.

And remember, with a keen eye for detail, one truth prevails.