Conan could only stare at his watch in barely concealed horror as the hour hand shifted
to point at the number 5. "Oi, Conan-kun," Subaru called,
waving a hand before him. "Conan-kun?"
Suddenly he tore his gaze from the face of his watch.
"Ah-le-le?" he cried, running
off. "It's late. I have to go." If he had looked back, Conan
would have seen the bespectacled college student studying
him. An intriguing child, he thought. Conan thought
only of saving Ran as he hurried to the security control room. When he told the guard on
duty that he was looking for video footage of a missing person, the stocky man instantly
complied with his request.
He was vaguely aware of a third person in the room, sitting in repose on a rolling chair
half hidden by shadow. Only occasionally did he sense movement from this figure, and it
usually occured in synch with his own motion. When Ran appeared on the screen of the
bookstore's recording, Conan tensed, preparing his mind to identify his friend's abductor.
Only if he had known beforehand who had taken her would he have been ready to see what
happened next. A lanky teen in a Teitan High Summer Uniform entered the store, attracting
Ran's attention immediately. As she glanced his way inconspicuously, the boy stared
straight into the camera and grinned. Conan knew that smile: It was one he'd seen many times
in the mirror. It was his own.
Only after a few moments of panic did he calm himself. He felt reassured that he knew his
enemy. Kaito Kid, he realized. That's why you were observing me. With a smile, a boy in a t-
shirt and jeans stepped out of the darkness. "I know enough about that detective's situation
to deduce that this is not Kudo, but the one I seek," he said, his heavy accent identifying
him immediately. Hakuba Saguru smiled at Conan and whispered, "I believe we are after the
same thing at the moment, Tantei-san?" After pinching the boy -much to Hakuba's dismay- to
ensure that he was not in fact Kaito Kid, Conan replied, "Yes." Then the two embarked on
their case. The security guard watched them go, confused. He almost thought he'd recognized
the young boy, but dismissed the notion as ridiculous.