Two months after the fall of the Black Organization, I get caught up in a baffling serial murder case! This time, the killer might be too much even for me!

Always perceiving the one truth, with the body of a child and the mind of an adult...his name is Detective Conan!

The Long-Awaited Antidote?

"If you assume that the phone had a thin layer of some type of adhesive applied to it, then the killer could have used gum tape to lift fingerprints left in the adhesive, transferred those prints to the murder weapon, then wiped the phone clean with a wet paper towel when he used it to call the police. If you check the trash by the phone, there should be a wet paper towel there."

"He's right!" Detective Takagi said. "There's a wet paper towel here, and the phone's been wiped clean!"

"Suspicious, isn't it? That there's no cell service in this building. That a phone which was sticky just before the murder got wiped clean during the investigation. It's because the killer needed to make sure a certain person used the office phone, then needed to use it himself to report the murder. But the killer wouldn't have had time to dispose of the gum tape or the adhesive yet...am I right, Kitano-san?"

The man standing near the back door to the office flinched. "N-nani?!"

"If the police thoroughly search the building, they'll probably find cell phone jammers hidden on every floor. That's why our phones aren't working. Your motive was probably the loans you borrowed from the victim. I overheard you earlier, complaining that you couldn't even pay the interest anymore. I asked around, and I found out that recently you were passed over for promotion. That's why you tried to frame Watanabe-san, right? You wanted to end your debt and blame the person who took the promotion you wanted."

"Excuse me," Takagi said, approaching Kitano. "I'm going to have to check your pockets..."

"Screw this!" Kitano yelled, bolting for the exit. He fumbled with the knob, lashing out left and right as officers tried to tackle him.

"I won't let you!" A soccer ball rocketed across the room, smashing into the back of Kitano's head. With a loud cry, he crashed against the door, then slumped to the floor.

"Arrest him!" Inspector Megure barked. Takagi hauled Kitano to his feet and cuffed him.

Kitano looked into the eyes of the one who had condemned him. "Who...who are you?" he asked shakily.

The overhead lights gleamed off the lenses of the boy's glasses for a moment, before two piercing blue eyes speared Kitano above a confident smirk.

"Edogawa Conan...tantei sa."

* * * * *

"The case was solved by an incredible elementary school second-year, Edogawa Conan-kun—"

"—nks to the assistance of elementary school student Edogawa Conan-kun, also responsible for—"

"—gawa Conan-kun, a boy living with the famed detective Mouri Kogoro—"

"—killer was brought to justice thanks to the testimony of Edogawa Conan-kun—"

The television screen went dark.

Teeth glinted in the dim light filtering through black curtains.

---

Six weeks earlier...

---

Haibara Ai had looked better. Her hair was mussed, her eyes were bloodshot with dark bags under them, and there were stains on her labcoat.

"It's ready," she said simply as she collapsed onto the sofa across from Edogawa Conan.

Conan's eyes widened. "It...really?" he asked.

"Hai." Ai massaged the bridge of her nose for a moment, then looked at Conan with a small smile. "There's a twenty percent chance it will kill you, of course. That's not from the drug itself, but from the stress the change will place on your body. Assuming you survive, then you'll be Kudou Shinichi again permanently."

A look of disbelieving wonder spread across Conan's face. He looked down at his small hands, then reached up and took off the false glasses he wore, examining them.

"I haven't slept for three days, you know," Ai said.

Conan shook himself and looked up at her. "Haibara...thank you," he said.

She shrugged. "Thank me after," she said. She held up a finger. "One condition."

"Eh?"

"You go to Mouri-chan and explain everything to her."

Conan grimaced, but nodded. "Un. It's...it's past time. I've hurt her long enough."

Ai yawned. "Give me time to rest and I'll go with you. I think...I need to be there when you tell her everything." She looked away, bangs obscuring her eyes. "She deserves to know who's ultimately to blame for—"

"Haibara. You're not the one who did this to me. I don't blame you for this." Conan laughed. "Hell, I should be thanking you. If Gin hadn't had your poison, he'd have just stabbed me or beaten me to death, right?"

Ai shrugged. "Probably."

Conan looked up at her. "So...it's really finally over, huh? This is all that's left. Us, getting our real bodies back."

"You getting your life back," Ai corrected sleepily. "I'm...not taking the antidote."

"Eh?"

"I don't have anything to go back to," Ai said. "Everyone I ever loved, everyone who ever cared about me, they're gone. Miyano Shiho is a woman with nothing. No home, no friends, no family, no job, no money...no life." She shook her head. "I have friends now. I have someone who needs looking after. I have a second chance at life...a chance to be happy. I'm not giving that up." She gave Conan a small, sad smile. "The woman I used to be is dead. I'm content to let her rest in peace."

"I guess I never thought of that," Conan said. "All I've ever thought about was getting back to normal and going back to Ran..."

"That's all you've ever thought about, huh?" Ai shook her head. "Well, after I get some rest and take a long bath, we'll go talk to her, and then you can take your life back." She stood, stretched, and padded out of the room.

Conan sat for a long time, lost in thought.

* * * * *

The burning red lip of the sun was barely peeking over the horizon when Conan and Ai entered the apartment above Mouri Detective Agency. "Tadaima," Conan called as he kicked off his shoes.

"You're late, Conan-kun!" Mouri Ran chided, stepping out of the kitchen with an apron on and a ladle in her hand. "It's just us for dinner, Otousan is playing mahjong...are?" She tilted her head. "Ai-chan? Are you staying for dinner?"

"Mm, maa ne," Ai said mildly, slipping her shoes off and arranging them neatly.

"Before that," Conan said, "Ran...there's something important we need to tell you."

The tone of his voice and the lack of an honorific made Ran pause. With a small, puzzled frown and a tilt of her head, she said, "Dinner's almost ready. If Ai-chan would help with the tea, you can tell me whatever it is while we eat."

"Alright," Conan said, nodding. He kicked at the floor with a socked toe. "Anything I can do to help?"

Ran shook her head. "Mm-mmm. Go ahead and wait at the table."

"Haaaai." Idly, Conan removed and pocketed his glasses, then moved to sit at the table.

Several minutes later, Ran and Ai carried cups of tea and plates of food into the living room, quickly placing dinner for three. As she placed a plate containing a hamburger steak covered in thick reddish-brown sauce and topped with a fried egg and a side of mixed steamed vegetables in front of Conan, Ran tilted her head. "Conan-kun? Your glasses?"

Conan sighed. "I never needed glasses," he said. "They're fake."

Ran paused in setting her own plate down, blinking. "Fake...glasses...?"

Ai swiftly set out the tea, then sat down. "I suggest we eat first before discussing that topic," she said. "I'd hate for this food to go to waste after you spent all evening cooking it. Ne?"

"Aa," Conan agreed. "Ran's hamburger steak is the best. I think we can wait until after." He picked up his knife and fork. "Itadakimasu!"

"Conan-kun...?" Ran asked uncertainly.

"After," Conan repeated insistently.

"Aa...h-hai..." Ran stared at him for a moment, then shook herself, picking up her own utensils. "Itadakimasu."

The three shared their meal in silence, with Ran watching both children uncertainly. A feeling of wrongness was welling up in her chest as she watched Conan, absent his customary glasses, a serious and contemplative look on his face. She'd seen that look before, of course—usually at crime scenes. The look that reminded her so much of him.

When they were finished, Ai sat back, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "Thank you for the meal, Mouri-san," she said. "You're an excellent cook."

"You're welcome to come over any time, Ai-chan," Ran said.

"I wonder," Ai replied tonelessly, looking at Conan. Finishing the last bite of his vegetables and taking a moment to scoop up a last bit of sauce on the edge of his fork, Conan sighed and stood up.

"I guess...it's time," he said roughly.

Ran had finally had enough. "Mou, Conan-kun!" She stood and put her hands on her hips, giving Conan an impatient stare. "What's wrong with you tonight?"

Out of habit, Conan reached up to adjust his glasses, then frowned when his fingers met his face. With a sigh, he jammed his hands into his pockets. "I've rehearsed this moment in my head for the last eighteen months," he said. He laughed quietly to himself. "So many times, I've planned out this conversation word for word. Now that we're here..." He shook his head. "Now that we're here, I don't know what to say." He emptied out his pockets, laying two identical phones on the table in front of him. He looked up at Ran, then slid one of the phones across to her. Curious, Ran picked it up and examined it.

"It's your phone, Conan-kun," she said. "Here's the e-mail I sent you earlier today about dinner."

"Aa," Conan agreed. He then slid the other phone across the table.

Ran set down Conan's phone, picking up the other one. "Why do you have two phones?" she wondered. The screen on the second phone lit up, displaying the list of recent e-mails. Ran saw the top one and nearly dropped the phone. "So-sonna," she gasped. "This...this is Shinichi's phone!" She looked at Conan. "But why would you..." Her face paled, her eyes widening. "Unless..."

Conan sighed. "Ran...gomen nasai." Closing his eyes, he turned his head to Ai. "Do you have that with you?"

"Hai." Ai walked over to where she'd left her bag, withdrawing a notebook computer. She walked over and set it on the table, opening it. After a moment's work, a video loaded. "Mouri-san, please watch this...please try to stay calm."

Confused, Ran turned her attention from Conan to the notebook computer. On the screen, Conan lay on a futon, his glasses absent. He picked up a glass of water and swallowed a small capsule. "What...?"

In the video, Conan's face contorted in pain. Ran clasped her hands to her face, eyes wide.

Her face paled and her hands shook as she watched what happened next.

When the video ended, Ai closed the notebook and scooted away. Ran turned her wide, shocked eyes to Conan.

"Ran," Conan said roughly, "lying to you all this time...hurt. Watching you wonder where I was, what I was doing, why I wouldn't come home...watching you suffer..." He bowed his head. "I've hurt you, the most precious person in the world to me, and...and I don't deserve your forgiveness."

"Shi...Shinichi?"

Tears spilled from Conan's eyes. "I...I didn't know it would be like this," he said. "If I'd known, I never would have lied to you. I never..." He balled his hands into fists in his lap. "Hakase, Haibara...they insisted I keep you out of it, and I let them talk me into it...in my heart, I knew it was the wrong thing to do. But I couldn't risk...I didn't want..." He paused, then shook his head. "Iya. That's a lie. It was never about keeping you safe. It...it was about..." He sighed, then laughed ruefully. "I don't even know anymore. After all this time, I don't even have an answer why, and that's going to be the first thing you ask..."

"Kudou-kun, you're babbling," Ai said gently.

"Shut up," Conan said, sniffling. "Just...shut up."

Ai frowned, but nodded once. She turned to Ran. "Mouri-san, while Kudou-kun gets..." She paused. "We should give Kudou-kun a minute. Meanwhile, I'll explain everything."

"You'll explain...?" Ran asked shakily, looking back and forth between them. "Ai-chan, you know about...?"

"Hai. Like Kudou-kun, I am an adult with the body of a child."

Ran blinked, then stared at Ai. "Uso..."

"It's true," Ai said. "Moreover, I am the creator of the drug that caused this." She looked away. "Because of something I created, both of you have suffered."

And while Edogawa Conan cried out months of repressed pain, shame, and self-loathing, the girl who was once Miyano Shiho explained everything to Ran: the Black Organization, APTX-4869, her true identity, and the secret war that an unlikely band of allies had fought against a vast criminal empire for a year and a half.

When she finished, Ran couldn't speak. She couldn't even think. All she could do was stare at Conan, who had finally managed to pull himself together, but now had the most miserable, pathetic look on his face a person possibly could.

"I should have told you that day," Conan said hoarsely, looking up at Ran. "I should have told you. I almost did. I..."

"Don't," Ran said. She moved swiftly over to Conan and gathered him up in a fierce hug. Tears spilled from her eyes. "Don't, Shinichi. I don't want to hear excuses or apologies. Not now."

Conan swallowed heavily and returned the embrace as best he could. After a long moment, Ran released him and sat back. "Why now, though?" she asked. "Why are you telling me all this now?"

"Because it's over," Ai said. "All of it. I've finally completed the antidote that will return Kudou-kun to his true age."

Ran gasped. "Really?"

"Aa," Conan agreed, nodding. "All I have to do is swallow the pill and it'll be over."

Ran stood up sharply. "I'll get some water!" she announced, rushing to the kitchen.

"Matte," Conan said, standing up. "It's not that simple."

Ran stopped and turned to stare at him. "It's not?" she asked.

"It actually kind of is," Ai said with a mild, puzzled frown. "The pill's in my pocket."

Conan shook his head. "You're forgetting something," he said. "Edogawa Conan has a life. Friends. People who care about him. He can't just disappear into thin air. It wouldn't be fair to everyone." He smiled sadly. "Especially the Shounen Tanteidan. I've already hurt one person by disappearing without a trace. I'm not about to do the same thing again."

Ran nodded, eyes wide. "You're right," she said. "Conan-kun just...just disappearing, with no explanation...it'd be cruel."

"Aa." Conan nodded, jamming his hands in his pockets. "I need three days," he said. "Three days to wrap up the loose ends. Three days to say my goodbyes. Once I've established a cover story for Conan's disappearance and said goodbye to everyone who calls Conan a friend, then I'll take the antidote." He snorted. "I've waited this long. Three more days won't kill me."

Ran laughed shakily. "Okay," she said. "Three days...it'll give me time to try to make sense of all this..." She held her head. "Thinking about everything you just told me is making me dizzy..." She looked at Conan. "And three days from now, I'm probably going to be incredibly angry with you, so...so you need to be Shinichi again when I'm ready to beat you senseless for all the secrets and lies."

Conan gulped. Ai smirked.

Ran turned to Ai. "I guess you need time to say your goodbyes too, ne?"

Ai shook her head. "I have nothing to go back to. This is my life now, and..." She smiled slightly. "And I'm happy. For the first time in a long time, I'm actually happy."

* * * * *

"EEEEEEEEH?!"

Three wide-eyed, disbelieving stares met Conan's announcement. The Shounen Tanteidan were crowded around him in the park.

Conan adjusted his glasses. "Un. Tousan and Kaasan want me to go live with them in America. I'm leaving in a few days."

"B-but...!" Ayumi cried, tears gathering in her eyes. "You can't go, Conan-kun! You can't...!"

"What about us? What about the Shounen Tanteidan?" Genta demanded, taking a challenging step forward.

"Kojima-kun," Ai said calmly, "Edogawa-kun hasn't seen his parents in a long time. How would you feel if you were away from your parents for a year and a half?"

The three children stopped in their tracks, her words sinking in. "Ayumi wouldn't like that," Ayumi said quietly, sniffling.

"That'd be awful, even with someone as nice as Ran-neechan taking care of me," Mitsuhiko said.

Genta frowned. "Yeah..." He shook his head. "Still..."

"It's not like you'll never hear from me again," Conan said. "I'll still call, I'll send e-mails. If you need help with a case, I'm a phone call away." He glanced at Ai. "Of course, you might not need me as much as you think."

Ai smirked and laughed softly. "I'm no detective," she said. "I can't replace you."

Ayumi wiped her eyes, sniffling. "Conan-kun..."

"I'm gonna miss you guys too," Conan said. "And I'm sorry, but...it's time for me to go." He sighed. "It'll be a few days before I leave. We'll just have to make the most of my last days here, ne?"

* * * * *

The next three days were a whirlwind of activity. In between playing harder than ever with the Shounen Tanteidan, Conan went around Beika and Haido, saying goodbye to everyone he had ever been close to. Tracking down every single person in the area with whom Edogawa Conan shared a bond of friendship was a monumental and exhausting undertaking, and at the end of each day, he was an emotional wreck. Ran would find him huddled up on the couch at night, a deep, introspective look on his face, fresh tear tracks marking his cheeks.

On the second day, Kogoro and Eri had been told the truth. Eri had accepted it with only a slight hint of skepticism; the video of Conan changing into Shinichi during one of Ai's antidote trials had convinced her. Kogoro had gone through bouts of explosive doubt, furious denial, and aggressive gorilla rage when all the implications of the truth about Edogawa Conan sank in, before ultimately settling into a surly, dismissive sulk. On the third day, Conan decided it was time for a talk.

"Occhan," he greeted as he walked into Kogoro's office.

Kogoro was a mess. He was unshaven, his tie was askew, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Kudou," he spat.

Conan sighed and sat down. "Look...there's something I want to say."

"Really?" Kogoro sneered. "Because I think you've said enough already, you snot-nosed, lying, manipulative little bas—"

"Mouri-san," Conan interrupted sharply. "I can't begin to apologize enough for what I've done to you. I can only say that at the time, it seemed like..." He shook his head. "No, I'm not making excuses. That's not what I came here for in the first place."

"Oh?" Kogoro took a long swig from the glass in front of him. "More secrets to share?"

"No," Conan said. "Just truth." He looked Kogoro in the eyes. "Mouri-san...you're better than this. I've seen you at your best. I've seen what you're really capable of when you put your mind to it. When people you care about are in danger, when your old college friends were caught up in a case...when the national security of Japan itself was involved, that time on the Aegis Destroyer." Conan smiled. "Your deductions were exactly the same as mine right up to the end. I only stepped in because I connected evidence you didn't have. If you'd had the same evidence I'd had, you could have handled that one without me."

"I could've handled them all without you—"

"Not the way you are now you couldn't," Conan said. "I'm going to tell you something, and I want you to listen. I know right now you hate me. I know right now, you don't want to listen to anything I have to say. But you need to hear this."

Kogoro scowled at him, but remained silent.

"Kogoro-ojisan...you could be a great detective if you wanted to. The problem is...you don't want to. You're lazy. You take shortcuts. You let your bragging and boasting get ahead of you. In your mind, the first conclusion you jump to has to be the right one. The truth is, you don't want to be bothered to think things through. You want to accuse someone, find the shortest path through the truth to what sounds just plausible enough to work, then go back to your horses and your Yoko-chan and your drinking." Conan sighed. "If you'd sober up, if you'd pay attention, if you'd be patient at crime scenes and take note of everything around you instead of being in a hurry to 'win' another one and go back to slacking off...you could be a man your family would be proud of."

"Teme..." Kogoro growled.

"You may be a drunken slob, but at least you're there for Ran," Conan said. "And even though you and Eri-obasan fight like pit bulls, I've seen how much you really care about her." Conan laughed. "My parents disappeared on me for three years. They only show up when I'm really in trouble or when they want to be a nuisance..." Conan grimaced. "Well, that's not fair. But once they've done whatever it is they came to do, they disappear again. Sometimes...I'm a little jealous of Ran. As big a pain in the ass as you can be, you're always here."

Kogoro blinked, his mouth contracting in surprise.

"That's why I'm telling you all this, Ojisan," Conan said. "If you'd sober up and make more of an effort, if you'd take the time to do your job right and be patient when you're working...if you could just shake some of your bad habits, you could be so much more than you are now." Conan sighed. "Just...think about it, alright?" He turned to leave.

"Kudou," Kogoro said. Conan looked back. Kogoro was studying him thoughtfully. "Maybe...I do have a lot to think about."

Conan smiled wryly. "Don't we all?" And with that, he left the office.

Kogoro stared down at his glass, sighed, walked over to the sink, and emptied it. He opened a window and lit a cigarette, looking out into the city as he let smoke trail up into the afternoon.

* * * * *

Sunday found a large group gathered at the Kudou house. Shinichi's parents had returned; Ran, Kogoro, and Eri were present, as were Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha (who had been filled in by Ran and Heiji and who was staring at Conan with wide, shocked eyes), Agasa-hakase, Haibara Ai, and Sera Masumi. The entire group was gathered around a large table upon which lay three items: an adult-size robe, a blue-and-white capsule, and a glass of Baijiu.

Ran frowned at that last. "What's with the whiskey?" she asked. "Even at his normal age, Shinichi is too young to drink."

"It should act as a catalyst," Ai said. "Even though Baijiu on its own won't change Kudou-kun back again, it will boost the efficacy of the permanent antidote."

"Change him ba—" Ran blinked. Her eyes widened. "THAT'S why I found you drunk in Otousan's office that one time!"

Conan laughed sheepishly. "Yeah," he said. "One shot of the stuff changed me back for about twenty minutes. I thought drinking more would cure me. Turns out it only works once."

"Well?" Yusaku asked. "Are you ready?"

Conan looked around at everyone, then bowed his head. "Actually..." He took a deep breath. "The last few days, I..." He looked up, and his eyes were wet. "The last few days, going all over town, saying goodbye to everyone as Conan...

"Ever since this happened to me, I've wanted to go back to being Kudou Shinichi. I've wanted my life back. I've wanted my body back. But now..." He looked around at the faces of his friends and family. "I've been thinking a lot. Now that the time's come...now that I can finally go back to my old life and...and put all this behind me..."

He swallowed heavily, then continued in a hoarse tone:

"I don't know if I can."

"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked, tilting her head.

"At first...Conan was a disguise. A way to hide from the kurozukume. A way to cover up what had happened to me. But...but then days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and...and Edogawa Conan became a person. A different person than Kudou Shinichi." Conan shook his head. "Conan and Shinichi are the same person, but...but not the same. Conan has his own life, and...and being Conan has changed me in ways I hadn't realized. I think..." He laughed. "I think I've actually grown up some as Conan. Matured. Lost some of that arrogance I used to have. I've been thinking back to who I was before, and..." He shook his head. "This experience has changed me for the better." He looked down at his hands, which were fisted in the fabric of his pants. "But more than that..." He looked around at everyone, and now he was crying.

"This morning, I looked in the mirror. I saw the face of Edogawa Conan for the last time. And...and..." He sniffled. "I realized that if I take the antidote, that's...that's that. Edogawa Conan is gone forever. And...and I don't know if I want that anymore." He wiped his eyes. "To be Kudou Shinichi again, I have to kill Edogawa Conan...and I can't."

Everyone watched him silently, varying emotions playing across their faces.

"Shinichi," Ran said thickly. She cast her eyes down at her lap. "The...the truth is..." Everyone turned to look at her. "The truth is..." She looked directly at Conan, staring into his teary eyes. "I've wanted you back for so long, had so much to say to you, but now that I know the truth, I..." She played with the hem of her skirt. "The last few days, I've been thinking about...about how much I'm going to miss Conan-kun. About how sad I'll be without him." She let out a shaky laugh. "It's funny...all the time I had Conan-kun, I missed Shinichi and I was upset about..." She shook her head. "And now that I know you're both the same person and you're going to be Shinichi again, I...I'm sad that Conan-kun will be gone..."

"Oi oi," Heiji said. "Did you both take dumbass pills this morning or something?"

"Heiji!" Kazuha slapped him upside the head. "Don't be an insensitive jackass! Can't you see how hard this is for both of them?"

"Shinichi," Yusaku said, "I understand that after everything you've been through, this is a big moment. But you need to think about what you're saying. Edogawa Conan never existed. Everything about him was a lie."

Conan shook his head. "Maybe at first," he said. "And if I'd been able to get back to normal within the first week or two, it...it wouldn't matter. But...over the last year and a half, I've...I've lived this completely different, amazing life. I'm not the same person I was." Conan sighed. "And...I've been thinking about something else." He looked around the room. "It has been a year and a half. Picking up where I left off as Shinichi..." He looked down at his lap again. "Everyone I knew at Teitan High is a stranger now. I'm going to be an outsider, and..."

"That's a good point," Eri said. "You've missed a year and a half. Your classmates are dealing with entrance exams. There's not much left for you to experience."

A pall fell over the room.

"You can still get into pretty much any university you want, Kudou-kun," Ai said gently. "You're smart enough and clever enough to easily pass your entrance exams."

Conan sighed. "I'm not worried about that," he said. "I..." He shook his head. "I just..."

Fresh tears fell into his lap.

Ran got up, moved over to him, sat down, and pulled him into a hug. She, too, was crying.

Kogoro coughed into his fist. "Ever since I found out the truth, I've been...pretty pissed off at Kudou," he said. "But..." He looked at Eri, then at Yusaku and Yukiko, and finally at Ran and Conan. "Thinking back on this last year and a half..." He closed his eyes. "It's hard to think about going back to the way things were before Conan came into our lives." He glared at Conan. "Geez...you damn brat. I can't believe I'm actually going to miss you."

Eri smiled and squeezed Kogoro's hand.

Heiji shook his head. "Hakase, say something here," he said. "Or you, Haibara. You're emotionless."

Ai glared at him. "I am no such thing," she said. She looked over at Ran and Conan. "In any case, my opinion is irrelevant. I've done enough damage already."

Conan sniffled and glared at her. "Stop blaming yourself, dammit! Just because you created that poison doesn't mean what happened to me is your fault! You're not the one who shoved it down my throat! Hell, you killed the one who shoved it down my throat!" He shook his head.

Ran looked over at Ai. "Ai-chan, what do you think?"

Ai shrugged. "This is Kudou-kun's decision to make. It's his life." She paused, then admitted, "I would miss annoying him on a daily basis." She smiled.

"Hakase?" Ran asked.

Agasa stroked his mustache. "I just don't know," he said.

Yusaku leaned forward. "Shinichi," he said, "the only one who can make this choice is you. You need to decide which life is worth holding onto."

"We'll support your decision," Yukiko said. "And..." She looked at Yusaku. "Whatever choice you do make...we're coming home to stay either way. Like we should have done in the first place."

Conan sniffled. "Tousan...Kaasan...arigatou." He looked at the items on the table. He looked up at Ran. "Ran...I love you. I always have."

"Shinichi..."

"Right now, the only reason I have in the world to take that antidote is to come back to you," Conan said. "And if you tell me to take it, I will. But..." He looked into Ran's eyes. "I don't want my life as Conan to end, and...and just by looking in your eyes...I know you don't want Shinichi back if it means losing Conan."

Ran sniffled and bowed her head, wrapping her arms more tightly around Conan. "I want both of you. All of you." Her shoulders shook. "I know Shinichi is still inside Conan, but...if Conan dies, will he still be...?"

"I don't know," Conan whispered.

Everyone sat and watched as Ran and Conan held each other, letting out months of pain and sorrow. After a long time, they looked at each other and nodded in understanding. Conan turned to Ai. "Haibara...thank you for everything, and...and I'm sorry to have put you to so much trouble. But for now..."

Ai nodded. "I'll...I'll keep it safe," she said. "Just in case." She took the pill off the table and slipped it into her pocket. "If you change your mind...Edogawa-kun..."

Conan nodded. He took a deep breath, then reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out his glasses, which he slipped onto his face. He looked around at everyone. "So...now what?"

Yusaku smiled smugly and reached behind him, producing an large envelope, which he laid on the table next to the whiskey. "Now this," he said.

Curiously, Conan picked up the envelope and opened it. He examined each paper, his eyes growing more disbelieving. He looked over the top of the last page at his father, his expression changing to a flat, annoyed stare. "Tousan teme..."

"What is it, Shini—Conan-kun?" Ran asked. Wordlessly, Conan handed her the papers. She looked through them. "Are? Who's Kudou Yuichi?"

"Me, apparently," Conan said.

"Let me see that," Eri said, marching over and taking the papers away from Ran. She scanned through them, her lips pressed into a thin line. As she finished reading, she turned to Yusaku. "You knew he wouldn't take the antidote?"

"I suspected it might come to this," Yusaku said. "I decided it wouldn't hurt to be prepared, just in case."

"What're y'all goin' on about?" Heiji demanded hotly.

Yusaku adjusted his glasses. "I've created a legal identity for one Kudou Yuichi, our second child, the younger brother of Kudou Shinichi." He smirked. "It seems that for the last year and a half, Shinichi has been dealing with a certain criminal organization, and dragged his parents into it. Since the three of us have been busy traveling all over Japan and the rest of the world for this lengthy investigation, we decided to leave our younger son Yuichi in the care of close family friends. And, just to ensure his safety, we had him use an alias while living in Beika. After all, our enemies might have come looking for Kudou Yuichi to kidnap him and use him against us, but they'd never look twice at Edogawa Conan."

Kogoro frowned. "Chotto matte. Isn't this just the same lie all over again?"

"It's an adjustment to an established lie," Yukiko amended.

"It's brilliant," Conan said, a grin spreading across his face. "Now I can tell everyone I'm really Kudou Yuichi, my own kid brother, and that ties up the last loose end to explain away Conan's appearance and intelligence. If everybody knows I'm just Shinichi's kid brother, nobody will question why I look so much like him, act so much like him, know things a kid my age shouldn't know...they'll just shrug it off as me being just like 'Shinichi-niichan'."

"But Conan-kun, how does that help—" Ran began.

"Barou," Conan said. "I just go around and tell everybody who I really am, then say 'but I've gotten used to being called Conan, so I'm going to keep using that name'." His grin grew wider and more excited. "It'll be better than everything going back to what it was!"

Yusaku nodded. "Aa. Now you don't have to worry about not drawing attention to yourself since the organization collapsed, so it doesn't matter if you start showing up in the news for being who you are." He smiled. "You won't have to use that little trick to solve cases anymore. You can just do what you'd do if you were Shinichi."

"You'll be even more famous!" Yukiko said.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of compounding lies on top of lies like this," Eri said. "Especially not since you've effectively made me an accessory."

Yusaku shrugged. "Don't think of it as lies. Think of it as witness protection. Which is essentially what the entire 'Edogawa Conan' situation was in the first place."

"Sharon did get away," Yukiko pointed out. "It's not likely she'll ever bother us again, but—"

"She knew the truth anyway," Conan said absently. He sighed. "It's a pretty complicated mess, but Tousan's right...this is the best way to 'fix' things if I plan to keep being Conan."

"And then you can move back in with us, and we can be a family again!" Yukiko said.

"Iya," Conan said, shaking his head. "I...think I want to stay at Ran's. At least for now." He looked up at Ran. "Unless you want me to—"

Ran smiled and shook her head. "You'll always be welcome with me," she said. "Right, Tousan?"

Kogoro snorted. "Do whatever you like."

Conan looked at his parents. "I'll probably spend a couple days a week at home with the two of you," he said. "But I'm...I'm happier where I am."

Yusaku nodded. "I think I understand. In any case...your mother and I will be staying in Japan. We've been talking, and we've decided we have some growing up of our own to do."

Agasa cleared his throat. "So...you've spent three days telling everyone you're leaving, and now you have to go all over town and tell everybody you're not going away."

Conan winced. "Oi oi."

Everyone laughed. Ran hugged Conan tighter. "Welcome home, Conan-kun."

---

Six weeks later...

---

Enomoto Azusa left Cafe Poirot, humming cheerfully to herself. She'd had a quiet shift, the weather was good, and her new favorite drama was on television later.

Three blocks from Poirot, she heard scuffling sounds in an alley, followed by rustling cloth and a loud thump. She stopped short as a man was thrown out into the street, landing half a meter in front of her. A shadowy figure emerged from the mouth of the alley, running down the street in the other direction and disappearing into the darkness.

Azusa looked down at the man lying in the street. His suit was covered in bloodstains, his eyes were wide open in terror, and blood trickled from his mouth.

A single character had been burned into the center of his forehead:

江

Azusa screamed.

Since 11/21/15