Shinichi's POV
It's been four months since we took down the Black Organization and I got the cure to become Kudo Shinichi again.
It's great being back to normal, being able to go back to high school and hang out with my friends that are my own age.
I still see Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, Genta, and Haibara (who decided to remain as a kid) sometimes. Hattori and I also talk to each other more, now that we don't have to worry about my secret being found out.
So life couldn't possibly be better for me right now.
So why do I have this feeling that I'm forgetting something. Something important that I should know.
I'm taken out of my thought process as the bell for lunch rings.
I see many other students get up and grab their lunches to find places to eat. I just stay at my desk, not really wanting to try and find a quiet place to eat.
Ran and Sonoko grab their lunches and walk over to my seat, pulling other desks closer to mine.
No sooner had we started eating when the door to the classroom was pushed open, revealing people that I was not expecting.
No One's POV
"Yo, Kudo!" Hattori Heiji yelled as he swung the door open to his best friend's classroom.
"Ran!" Kazuha yells from behind Heiji, who moves away so that she can go give her friend a hug.
"Shinichi-niichan, Ran-neechan!" The Detective Boys, excluding Haibara, exclaim as they walk into the room.
"W-what are you guys doing here?" Shinichi asks, wondering why they weren't in school.
"Well, My and Kazuha's school's plumbing had ta be shut off for some repairs, so we're out of school for the next few days. And we met up with the kids, who had a half day of school, on the way here. So we thought that we would all come by and surprise ya." Heiji explained with a smile, wrapping his arm around Shinichi's shoulders.
Shinichi just gave him a deadpanned look as Ran gave them a smile.
"Well it's great to see you guys again. Lunch just started, so why don't you join us." Ran asked, hoping to catch up with her friends.
Not even hesitating, the group cried out, "Thank you!" and pulled more desks over.
As Heiji was bringing a chair over, he seemed to remember something.
"Oh yeah. Hey Kudo, are ya alright?" He asked.
Shinichi turned to him with a confused look.
"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" He asked.
Kazuha, hearing the conversation looked over to the two boys.
"Well, we heard some people in the hallway talking. They were saying how they were surprised that ya weren't moping around and being sad. We were really confused and became worried." Kazuha said with a worried look directed at Shinichi.
"Yeah, yeah. They mentioned something about tomorrows date. I think they also mentioned a name." Ayumi said, looking at her friends. Genta and Mitsuhiko nodded their heads in agreement.
Shinichi just looked at them confused, but Ran and Sonoko's eyes widened, looking at each other with panicked looks.
"Yeah. What was the name again?" Mitsuhiko asked, trying to remember the name they heard.
"Matsushita Daichi." Haibara said.
After hearing the name, the remaining students became silent, all at once. Feeling uncomfortable at the silence and the stares directed at them, the group turned to Shinichi for answers.
"Hey, Kudo..." Heiji stopped in the middle of his sentence.
Looking at Shinichi, he noticed his friend's eyes become dark and troubled. He face showing great pain at hearing the name.
The group of friends are startled when Shinichi suddenly stands up, knocking his chair over in the process, and walks silently out of the room.
Staring at where Shinichi disappeared, the group was confused of what had just happened. Turning to ask someone what was going on, they noticed that half of the class was staring after Shinichi with worried looks, the other half was glaring at them.
"R-Ran, what just happened?" Kazuha asked her friend.
Ran, who was one of the people with a worried look, turned to look at the group of her confused friends.
"Well..." Sharing a look with Sonoko, Ran side and motion for the others to sit down.
"It all started nine years ago." Ran started. "The name you just said, Matsushita Daichi, was the name of one of our old classmates."
"Okay, but what does that have ta do with Kudo?" Heiji asked, confused as to what this guy had to do with his best friend and fellow high school detective.
"If you would listen, you would know." Sonoko said, irritated at the dark skinned boy.
Sending Sonoko an irritated look, Heiji looked back to Ran and motioned for her to continue.
"Actually, Shinichi has everything to do with Daichi. They used to be the best of friends." Ran explained.
After hearing this, the group was surprised, never having heard Shinichi mention this Daichi character.
"Wait. What do you mean by 'used to'? Aren't they still friends?" Mitsuhiko asked.
Ran had a sad look in her eyes before she continued her story.
"Shinichi and Daichi were always together. They had the same interests and were both extremely smart for their age. They were practically like brothers."
After hearing this, Heiji felt slightly jealous that someone he considered a brother was so close to someone else, but decided to keep quiet so as not to get yelled at again.
"So what changed?" Ayumi asked.
Ran and Sonoko both looked at Ayumi with confused looks.
"You said that Kudo-kun and Daichi 'used to' be friends. So what changed between them?" Haibara said.
Ran nodded her head, understanding what everyone was wondering.
"Shinichi and Daichi got along really well, but like everyone, they had some disagreements. One day, they had a really bad fight and said some hurtful things to each other. They got so mad at each other that they refused to even look at each other for an entire months."
Surprised that Shinichi would say something hurtful to someone, everyone was wondering what happened between the two.
"Eventually, Shinichi realized that whatever they were fighting about wasn't worth it. He came to me for some advice on how he should apologize. I told him that he should just say what he really felt and that I was sure that Daichi would forgive him. On his way to Daichi's house, they passed each other on opposite sides of the street. Daichi seemed to notice Shinichi and started to chase after him. When Shinichi turned around, he saw that Daichi was running across the street. He also saw a struck driving down the street."
Hearing this, everyone got a feeling of dread settle in their stomach, having an idea of what would happen next.
"Shinichi called out to Daichi, but he was too late. The truck hit Daichi, Shinichi witnessing the whole thing. He ran out into the street and picked Daichi up so that he was resting in his arms. As the truck driver was calling an ambulance, Shinichi was trying to talk to Daichi, but Daichi died. Right in Shinichi's arms." Ran said, finishing the story.
Looking up, she saw that Heiji and Haibara had a shocked face, Kazuha and Ayumi were crying, and Mitsuhiko and Genta were trying to hold their tears in. All of them understanding why hearing Daishi's name upset Shinichi so much.
"So Shinichi-niichan was never able to apologize?" Ayumi asked, receiving a shake of the head from Ran.
"Then, Daishi never forgave Shinichi-niichan? He still hated him?" Genta asked.
"No, Daishi actually did forgive Shinichi." Sonoko said, surprising everyone.
"He actually came to talk to us the day before he died, saying that he also wanted to apologize to Shinichi. However, neither of them were able to apologize to each other, so Shinichi still thinks that Daishi hated him when he died." Sonoko explained.
"Wait, why haven't ya told him that Daichi forgave him!?" Heiji asked, irritated that his friend was probably suffering because he didn't know this information.
"We've tried! But you've seen how he reacts whenever someone starts talking about Daichi. He gets upset and just walks out of the room." Ran said with tears in her eyes.
"That's why." Mitsuhiko whispered.
"What was that?" Ran asked.
"That one ski trip we all went on, the one where we crashed a snowmobile and got lost, Genta and I got into a bad fight. Remember that?" He asked. Nodding, Genta looked down, guilty at the memory.
At the confused looks from the high school students, Mitsuhiko decided to explain.
"Genta and I were blaming each other about whose fault it was that we got lost. We were about to say some really mean things to each other when Shinichi-niichan, Conan-kun at the time, yelled at us. He said that hurtful words can end a friendship and if we break our friendship, we could possibly never see each other again. He was probably thinking about Daichi." Mitsuhiko said.
Mitsuhiko and Genta gained sad looks thinking about the painful memories that they had caused Shinichi to remember.
Everyone looked down, sad looks on their faces at the pain their friend was feeling.
Suddenly, Heiji stood up, determination shining in his eyes.
"I'm not going ta let Kudo beat himself up over this. We have ta do something." He said.
"But what can we do? Ya heard Ran, he doesn't listen to anything someone says when they talk about Daichi." Kazuha said.
Heiji looked at her with his usual confident smirk. "I have a plan."
-Time Skip-
Inspector Megure was startled from his work when he heard the doors to the office slam open. Looking up, he saw Heiji, Kazuha, and the Detective Boys group.
Sighing, Megure stood up and walked around his desk to talk to the group.
"What are you all doing here? There hasn't been another crime that you're involved with, is there?" He asked with an exasperated tone.
"No, no. We actually came ta ask ya about some information on a family who was involved in an accident a couple of years ago." Heiji explained.
Looking at them confused, Megure tried to think of what case would be so important to attract the attention of this group of kids.
Happening to glance at a near-by calendar, Megure understood what the group was asking for.
"You want to know the information of Daichi's family, don't you?" Megure asked with a sad voice.
Surprised that he was able to guess that, Heiji said, "Y-yeah. How did ya know?"
Looking at the group of kids in front of him, Megure said, "What other accident would you be asking about at this time." Seeing the confused looks on the group's faces, he explained.
"It was nine years ago tomorrow that Daichi was hit by that truck." He said with a sad expression.
The group's eyes widened, having not known this information until now.
"I suppose it's because of Shinichi that you came here." Megure said, already knowing the answer.
Getting a nod of confirmation from the group, he sighed.
"It's always at this time of year that Shinichi becomes depressed. I've visited him several times over the years to check up on him at this time. He's like a nephew to me, so it pains me to see him so sad." Megure said, turning his back on the group of kids to look out the window.
After a few seconds of silence, Inspector Megure lifts his right arm and points to a cabinet of files on the far wall.
"Daichi's files are in that filing cabinet over there. It should include all the information on the accident and of his family." He said.
Smiling at each other, then at the Inspector, the group made their way over to the cabinet.
"I hope that whatever you're up to will ease Kudo-kun's mind." Megure thought as he watched the kids work.
-Time Skip-
It was the next day when Heiji, Kazuha, Ran, Sonoko, and the Detective Boys met in front of the house of the high school detective of the east.
"This is a great plan." Ran said. "I really hope that this will cheer Shinichi up."
"I'm sure it will." Heiji replied. He looks at his watch, then down the street.
"Where is she?" He asks under his breath.
The group walks up to the gate of the house and ring the doorbell. Waiting a moment, they hear a voice call out to them from the speaker.
"Hello?"
"Ah, Mrs. Kudo, it's me, Ran. Can you please let us in?" Ran asked.
"Of course! Hold on a minute." Yukiko says, before the speaker turns off. After a couple seconds, the group hears the front door open and see Kudo Yukiko, Shinichi's mother, coming out.
"How are all of you? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"We actually came to see Shinichi-niichan. Can we see him?" Ayumi asks, hoping that their plan will work.
Yukiko's gains a sad smile when she hears this.
"I'm sorry, but Shin-chan isn't here right now. He won't be home all day, actually." She explains.
Hearing this, everyone becomes sad, not knowing what to do now, and not knowing where they would find him.
"Would ya happen ta know where he would be?" Kazuha asks.
"Hmm... I'm not sure, but I would check Yanaka Cemetery. That is where Daichi-san was buried." Yukiko said sadly.
Having an idea of where to go, everyone rushed over to Yanaka Cemetery. Heiji pulled out his phone and quickly made a call.
-Time Skip-
As the group raced through the cemetery looking for their friend, it was Haibara who first spotted him.
"He's over there!" she called out to the others.
Running over to where Haibara was, she pointed to show Shinichi standing next to a pine tree, looking at the grave in front of him.
Getting close enough to read what was on the gravestone without Shinichi noticing, they saw what was written on the grave.
"R.I.P
Here lies Matsushita Daichi
Loving Son and Amazing Friend to many"
"He was buried under a pine tree. How fitting." Heiji said. ("Matsu" meaning "pine tree, fir tree" and "shita" meaning "under, below")
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
Taking a closer look at Shinichi, they noticed that he was carrying a bouquet of flowers. They realized that the flowers were for Daichi when Shinichi laid them down on top of his grave.
Too busy looking at Shinichi, the group didn't notice when someone walked up behind them.
Shinichi couldn't tear his eyes away from the stone that was in front of him. Remembering all the fun times he had with Daichi, he had a sad smile on his face.
"To think, only one of us would be growing up while the other was stuck as a child. Although, I guess I can kind of understand the other half too." Shinichi thought to himself.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by someone clearing their throat behind him.
Turning around, his eyes widened in surprise to see someone he hasn't seen in years.
"Mrs. Matsushita?"
Standing in front of him was a petit woman, about 5'7". She had shoulder length caramel brown hair.
She smiled at Shinichi with a nostalgic, yet sad smile.
"Hello Shinichi-kun. How are you?" She asked.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" He asked, surprised to see her.
"Well, I haven't visited my son for some time. So, I thought it was time to come see him." She said, looking at her son's grave. "I also heard that you need to hear something."
Seeing Shinichi's questioning look, she continued.
"The day that Daichi died, he told me that he was going to go see you. He was going to apologize to you about your fight." She said.
Shinichi's eyes widened in shock.
"He... He forgave me?" Shinichi thought, shocked.
Overwhelmed with relief, tears started to form in Shinichi's eyes.
Noticing this, Mrs. Matsushita smiled and reached into the bag that she was carrying.
"Also, he planned on giving this to you the next time you visited. I believe it's about time that I gave it to you." She said, handing Shinichi a scrapbook.
Looking down at the book in his hands, Shinichi opened the front cover and gasped at what was written on the first page.
"For my best friend in the entire world, Kudo Shinichi. Let's continue having adventures together, like our favorite detectives. Forever friends, my Holmes.
~Matsushita Daichi (your Watson)"
Reading the message was too much for Shinichi. He broke down crying, hugging the book close to his chest.
Mrs. Matsushita bent down to the ground, holding Shinichi as he cried.
Heiji and the others watched close by as their friend let all of the pain from the last eight years finally disappear.
-Time Skip-
(Two days later)
Shinichi is lying on his bed, smiling as he looks through the scrapbook that shows his friendship with Daichi. As he's turning the page, he hears a knock on his bedroom door.
Looking up, he sees his parents, Yukiko and Yusaku, standing in his doorway, looking at him.
"Shin-chan," his mother says, "Your friends are in the front waiting for you."
"Thanks mom." He says as he sets the book down on his bed.
As he walks past his parents and down the hallway, they smile at him.
"Our son is lucky to have friends like them." Yusaku says to his wife.
Smiling, Yukiko hums her agreement.
Looking into their son's room before closing the door, they see a page of the opened scrapbook showing a picture of two smiling seven year old boys, dressed as the ultimate duo of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.