A/N: I am so absolutely sorry this took SO long to get out.

I had lost my spark for writing for awhile and even right now, it's kind of hard to think of anything to write. I feel like this is one of the worst chapters I've written for this story and I feel bad about it.

I just need to rekindle my love for Detective Conan. I've kind of fallen out of the loop with it lately, and I think that kind of explains my lack of updates.

Again, terribly sorry! For the lame content and the crappy quantity!

oOo

"The janitor's the killer." Kaito nodded at the television screen, a handful of popcorn ready to be shoved into his mouth. Ran scoffed from her side of the couch, eyes glued to the T.V. as she held a pillow to her face. Kaito opened his mouth as wide as he could, hand poised in front of his orifice.

"The janitor is not the killer, you fatso." The boy eyed the girl at her remark and plucked a single popcorn from the bunch in his hand. He flicked it at the girl's head and she flinched, startle at the sudden contact. She shot him a glare.

"I thought you said you weren't scared?" Kaito used both hands to cradle the popcorn, still pondering how he could possibly pull off eating a large handful of the buttery goodness.

"I'm not," Ran began before glancing in Kaito's direction. She chuckled at his current position and rolled her eyes, "Why can't you be like a normal person and just eat a couple from the bowl?"

"Shut up, Ran." Kaito snapped, his usual response when he had nothing to counter her with. Ran laughed before returning her attention to the screen.

It had been about a week since Ran had woken up in Hotaru's bedroom after the Kid rescued her from the men who kidnapped her. She hadn't made any effort to get into contact with her loved ones, as badly as she missed them. She had promptly explained the reason behind her madness to her hostesses Haruka and Michiru, and they were very understanding.

Michiru and Haruka even extended their kindness and fixed up a room for the girl to sleep in, although Ran had stated she was fine with the couch.

"Nonsense," Haruka had said to her, "You're a guest."

"And our guests don't sleep on the couch." Michiru concluded.

"Unless it's me.." Kaito grumbled, but the girls ignored his comment and proceeded to drag Ran into the kitchen to make dinner and talk.

Ran enjoyed her time with the group. Later on the night of her first day, Ran met the two other inhabitants of the apartment, Setsuna and Hotaru. Although she hardly ever crossed paths with Setsuna, Ran found herself spending a good chunk of her time with the little girl, Hotaru.

Hotaru had missed a few days of school throughout the week and explained to Ran that she often fell ill, so her absence would not come as a surprise to her fellow classmates and teacher. Ran found herself growing attached to the silent little girl.

But the one person who was with her, no matter what, when Hotaru, Michiru and Haruka were all at school, was Kaito. He would arrive around the same time each morning and leave whenever Ran was ready for bed.

When asked about school, Kaito replied with, "It'll still be there."

"So what makes you so sure it's the janitor?" Ran asked, hugging the pillow to her chest.

"Well.. look at him, Ran, he's a social outcast. He's an alcoholic. He keeps a little, pink stuffed animal in his pocket at all times.. plus, he works at a high school," Kaito listed, counting on his buttery fingers, "How can he not be the killer?"

"Maybe the screen writers just set up the janitor's character to make it seem like he could be a murderer."

"No way. That's too predictable." Kaito shook his head.

"Too predictable!" Ran laughed, "That's ridiculous, Kaito! My theory makes perfect sense," The girl squirmed, shielding her eyes with the pillow as another victim was mercilessly slaughtered by the anonymous killer, "You have no depth."

"No depth," Kaito repeated with a snort, "At least I'm not the one trying to crawl into the pillow case."

"This is a very gruesome film, Kaito!" Ran retorted, "Your emotional display—or lack of, I should say—shows how human you really are." Kaito rolled his eyes.

"I'm a man, okay? These gory films don't phase me." Muffled giggles could be heard from the opposite end of the couch and the boy shot her a look, "Not a word."

"I wasn't going to say anything!"

"You were thinking it."

"Give me a break, Kaito," Ran stood and the boy casted a sideways glance at her before returning his eyes to the television.

"Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom."

"Gross." As Ran moved around the back of the couch, her hand made contact with the back of Kaito's head. He grunted, but otherwise remained glued to the flickering images on the screen. She chuckled at his unresponsiveness, hands groping the dark walls for the door knob to the bathroom.

In the darkness of the hallway, a small smile flourished on her face as she felt the cool metal of the door knob. Her hand closed around the round object and she twisted it, pushing into the door. Her free hand felt the wall beside the door for the switch.

Once flipped on, Ran squinted at the sudden brightness of the bulb and held a hand up to shield her eyes. She and Kaito and spend most of the afternoon and evening nestled into the couch, blinds drawn, orbs locked on the T.V.

Ran closed the door behind her and stepped in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. The bruise was still noticeable against her light skin, but it had lost most of the purple coloring, which she was thankful for. Kaito made sure he pointed out her bruised cheek and commented of how tough it made her look.

The girl that stared back at Ran didn't look as happy as she thought she felt. Something was troubling her. There was a incessant nagging in the back of her head, and she couldn't place her finger on what it was about The entire day Ran had felt as if something was missing. She felt a certain emptiness.

I wonder if Shinichi's worried about me.

It was then Ran realized why she had felt strange all day.

She missed her teenage detective. And an afternoon of lounging on the couch, watching horror movies reminded her of the nights she had spent with Shinichi on his couch, staring at his television screen, hiding her face in his pillows or chest or blankets in fright, hearing him chuckle at her expense.

Ran released a heavy sigh, her hand drawn to her mouth as she nibbled on her thumbnail, a habit she picked up during one of the nights she had trouble falling asleep in the room her hostesses had set up for her during her stay in their humble abode.

How many times throughout the night would she tiptoe into the kitchen to call her father or Professor Agasa or Inspector Megure? Only to stand in the darkness, her back against the wall, bare feet cold against the linoleum tiles, the phone against her ear, listening to the dial tone. Why was it so hard for her to make a simple phone call? Was she expecting them to be on the other end, each time she picked up the phone?

She did expect them to be on the phone. Her dad, demanding to know where she's been. Professor Agasa, mentioning that Shinichi has been trying to get ahold of her. Inspector Megure, politely inquiring the location of the the men in black.

Ran released an airy, half-hearted chuckle at her own imagination. She took a seat on the edge of the bathtub, elbows resting against her knees.

I wonder what Dad and Conan are up to.