Kaiya POV

"Conan-kun, I found the tomato sauce." I called from my aisle in the grocery store.

"Okay, next on the list is some spaghetti noodles. Kasan is cooking Italian food tonight." Conan looked at the grocery list as I pushed the cart.

"Oh cool kid hi!" a feminine voice called out in English.

"Jodie-sensei! What are you doing here?" Conan said surprised.

"James-san and Shuu were getting some drinks. Is she the girl you were telling me about?" she asked. We were exchanging introductions when we heard the sound of crying. We went to the source of the sound to find a little toddler girl, with brunette hair and a red scarf, crying.

"What's wrong?" I knelt down and comforted the girl.

"Mommy where's mommy?" she sniffed.



"We have to take her to the cashier so that they can make an announcement." Jodie instructed and I picked up the girl.

Within a few minutes a brunette woman in a silver winter coat came and exclaimed "Yuna-chan! There you are! You scared me! I turned around and you weren't there. I'm Mina. Thank you for finding her." She went to hug the girl.

"What do you think you are doing to my Yuna-chan!" another brunette woman with a purple sweater swatted Mina's hands away. "Yuna-chan, don't cry, you are safe now." she held her hands out. She introduced herself as Yui.

To add to the confusion, a woman with a knitted beanie came running "Yuna-chan! I was looking everywhere for you! Thank goodness you are okay!" She turned to the cashier with a pleading expression. "I'm her real mother Rina! I can provide my identification." she pulled out a card and the other women did the same as well, claiming to be the girl's mother. A crowd began to gather around us.

"Yuna-chan? Do you recognize your mommy? Can you tell us?" I asked her. But Yuna just kept sucking her thumb and buried her head in my shoulders..

"She's too young so she wouldn't be able to tell us who her mother is." Conan said.

"And we can't tell the real mother from their looks since they all have brunette hair." Jodie observed.

"Let's question them." Conan suggested.

"What were you doing when your daughter got lost?" Jodie turned to the women.

"I was picking out fresh veggies. She must have run off when I wasn't looking." Mina answered and lifted the basket she was carrying to show us her groceries.

"I was buying milk and eggs when she got lost. My cart is in that aisle." Yui said and pointed in that direction.

"I was looking at the fruits!" Rina replied and motioned to her cart.

"There's nothing suspicious about their actions." Jodie remarked.

"Hmm all three claimed to be shopping when Yuna got lost." Conan said deep in thought.

"There must be another method we can try. What if we put them through a test?" I asked. Conan's eyes lit up and he grinned. I have an inkling of who the real mother is as well but I need to verify it.

********************

"Okay I got it." I nodded after Conan whispered to me. Yuna began to fuss in my arms. "Mister, can we buy a small bottle of water?" I asked the cashier. He handed Conan a bottled water.



"Neh Yuna-chan you must be thirsty. Do you want some water?" I looked at Yuna. She nodded and Conan started untwisting the cap to the water bottle.

"Yuna-chan don't worry we will go home soon." Rina said.

"My Yuna-chan is already so tired. Just finish the investigation so we can go home already!" Mina said, annoyed.

"Can you wait a little bit longer Yuna-chan? Mommy will give you your water bottle later." Yui pleaded.

"What parent wouldn't let their child drink water?" Mina said in disbelief.

"Yeah you must not be her real mother." Rina seconded.

Conan smirked and he pushed his glasses up, "No, it's obvious who the real mother is."

"Really? Who?" the women gasped in surprise.

"There's only one person who didn't want Yuna-chan to drink water - Yui-san. A real mother would always prioritize the safety of their children." Conan pointed out.

"Small children could choke on the cap of the plastic bottle, which is why Yui-san didn't want Yuna-chan near the bottled water." I explained.

"But that's -" Rina was at a loss for words.

"Do you have more proof?" Mina challenged.

"Yui-san left her cart in another aisle. That proves that she came in a rush since she was worried for her child. You and Rina-san still have your purchases with you. She also slapped your hand away to prevent anyone else from touching her child. She was being protective of her child." Conan continued.

The police came shortly afterwards and the other women left. The little girl was united with her mother and the crowd dispersed.

*******************

"There you are Jodie-kun." a man with a mustache walked up to us. If I remember correctly, it was the FBI director, James Black.

"Impressive deductions boya." said a man with green eyes and a black cap next to him. Shuichi Akai!

"See Shuu that's why he's my favorite kid." Jodie beamed.

"Heh heh it was all Kaiya-neechan's doing! Right?" Conan looked at me nervously before giving the others a closed eye smile.

"Uh y-yeah" I played along. Conan shouldn't be giving me all the credit though. Shuichi gave me a look.

************

As we were about to enter the Kudo house, Conan and I bumped into Kogoro, Ran, and Sonoko.

"Eh? Conan-kun, is she the new friend you were telling me about?" Ran asked.

"I'm Kaiya. You must be Kogoro and Ran Mori. Conan-kun has told me a lot about you guys." I said.

"Really?" Ran asked.

"Well of course, everyone knows me. I'm the famous detective Kogoro Mori." he declared.

"What's more important is why is she living at the Kudo house?" Sonoko pointed an accusing finger at me."You better not be doing anything with Shinichi."

"That detective boy?" Kogoro had an annoyed expression. "Anyways I'll see you at home Ran. Nice to meet you Kaiya-chan." and he left. Conan just sweatdropped.

"Sorry for any misunderstanding. We are just family friends. I'm staying here temporarily since my parents are on a business trip." I reassured them. "Plus I wouldn't steal Kudo-kun away from you Ran-chan. I heard that you two are always together." I winked as Ran and Conan blushed. I ship Ran and Shinichi afterall.

"Alright then, I approve. Let's be friends. From now on, if you need anything call for Sonoko Suzuki." Sonoko pointed to herself. Wow she has quite a temper.

Conan then told Ran that he was staying the night at the Kudo house. When we got there, Yukiko made us the most delicious spaghetti and meatball dinner.