Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan. All characters are Gosho Aoyama's.
A/N: June 3, 2008: This is version two of chapter one. Looking back, chapters one and two were the weakest out of them all, so I decided to revamp them a little. They're longer and more detailed now. If you read the first version, it's not necessary to read the new one – there aren't any significant new plot points or whatever – but I'd like it if you did so anyway. ;)
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She grunted as she slammed against the wall, and then she crumbled harmlessly to the floor. She looked up at her attackers with anguish, seeing the murderous intent in their eyes. Shakily, she got to her feet and stood to face them head on. "You won't get away with this," she hissed, clenching and unclenching her fists. "My partner will find me. I will be saved." The man with the blond hair shook his head and chuckled. Seeing his disregard for her words, the woman changed her tune. "I will be avenged."
"Jus' tell us where it is," the other man – a short, dark skinned man – said, his beady eyes hidden by dark sunglasses. "And you'll live for a little while longer. Maybe."
For a long time, she said nothing. She simply stared at the bare warehouse walls around her; her mind frantically searching for a solution. There wasn't one. She was going to die, and there wasn't anything she or anyone could do to stop it.
"I'll take that as a 'no'," Gin said, and he ushered his subordinate out of the icy cold, darkened room. The metal door shut with a reverberating bang. The woman frowned at the door for a long moment before she started pacing. There was a metallic scraping noise above her, but she ignored it in favor of the frantic jumble of her mind
"Bourbon," She whispered longingly. "Bourbon. Where are you?" The scraping noise got louder still, and she looked up. Her eyes widened in the dark, and the sound of glass breaking echoed all around her. She shouted out in pain as something heavy and metal hit her over the head, and she fell to the ground. Countless fragments of plastic and metal and shards of glass dug into her flesh, and despite her desire to constrain them, the tears began flowing.
"I'm sorry everyone," she whispered. She couldn't move now. She was paralyzed from whatever had hit her. "I'm sorry…" The darkness began spiraling around her, but she fought it off. Eri wasn't going to die just yet. Not until she could see him…
"I know you'll take care of things," she whispered with a shaky smirk. "Promise me you'll look over them… protect her, protect her…"
And then, in the dark and utterly alone, she fainted.
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"The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you're playing by somebody else's rules, while quietly playing by your own." – Michael Konda
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Don't Play by the Rules
Chapter 1: Like the Blade of a Knife
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The door slammed shut behind her. "Daddy! I'm home, daddy!"
Ran dropped her school bag by the front door and waited for her father's answering call, but there was no reply. She kicked off her shoes and looked around uncertainly. From the moment she had walked through the door, the nine year old had gotten a bad feeling. The apartment was unusually dark, despite it being in the middle of the afternoon. All the blinds were pulled closed -only a glimmer of pale yellow light from the outdoors trickling through. Surely even the hopeless Kogoro would bother to open the shades to let some light in. Ran frowned and groaned in annoyance as she spotted Kogoro's belongings strewn over the floor: his coat, his shoes, his tie. His house keys and the contents of his wallet littered the floor amongst his clothes.
'He's probably drunk', thought Ran, as she groaned again and rolled her eyes. Oh, well. Probably should wake him up and get out the aspirin.
Ran moved down the entry hall with a sigh, picking up clumps of trash and empty beer cans as she went. Approaching the kitchen, she saw a flickering blue light coming from the living room, indicating that the television was on. No surprise, there. One thing worried her, however, and that was the silence. Who turned on the TV, only to keep it muted? Nearing it, Ran was surprised to see the screen displaying nothing but static. Standing by the head of the couch, Ran stared at her father's back, his form stiff and straight as a board.
"Daddy?" Ran took small, hesitant steps toward Kogoro, frightened by his silence. She peeked over at his face. His eyes were misty and glazed as he stared at the screen, seeing nothing. He didn't blink, nor did he make any noise or action to acknowledge his daughter's presence. His dress shirt was unbuttoned and wrinkled beyond recognition. "Are you okay, Daddy?" Ran's voice was urgent, reaching a high-pitched note that only a child could accomplish. Finally, Kogoro Mouri turned towards his daughter. Ran gasped at the bloodshot, haunted look on his face. Her nose wrinkled involuntarily at the heavy stench of alcohol and cigarette smoke wafting off of his skin and clothes. She was probably becoming intoxicated just by standing there. Even so, drinking and smoking were very regular activities for the detective. Ran was still unsettled by his weird behavior, but his vices were a bit of normalcy that she grasped desperately onto.
"Daddy!" She scorned. "What have you been doing? Are you sick? Did you get a really bad hangover again? Mommy's-" Kogoro flinched slightly at the mention of his wife, "-Gonna be SO angry at you when she finds out!" Ran - in her righteous fury - pressed the back of her hand against her father's forehead, checking for a fever. His skin was slick with sweat, but his temperature was somewhat normal. With a disapproving look and a shake of her head, Ran backed away and headed back to the kitchen to fetch her father a glass of ice water.
"Ran…" Kogoro's voice was cracked from disuse, as well as from the burn of alcohol he'd been pouring down his throat. Nonetheless, Ran heard, and she turned her head to indicate that she was listening. Kogoro cleared his throat and tried again. "Ran, about your mother-"
"I was just kidding, Daddy," Ran said with a gentle smile. "I won't tell on you. Mommy would just worry too much." She frowned, pondering. "She's been really upset about something, lately."
Kogoro sucked in a breath. That was the last straw. Without his permission, tears leaked from his eyes, strangled noises emitted from his throat. He hid his head in the crook of his arm and sobbed. Ran froze, eyes widening.
At nine years old, her family was her rock. Her father was who she depended on to be strong and consistent for her. Never, in the nine years she'd been living, had she seen her father cry. Get angry, yes, and often, but sorrow was something Kogoro Mouri just did not allow himself to show. If ever there was a time when he succumbed to such emotions, he must've done it in the privacy of his room, because Ran had never known of it. She was far from being stupid – Shinichi's intelligence was contagious, it seemed – so it didn't take long for her to connect the dots. Her father had lost it at the mention of her mother. Something was wrong, and now that she thought of it, Eri should've been home hours ago.
"D-Daddy… where's Mom?"
Kogoro eyed her quietly for a moment, as if he was struggling with the right words to use while talking to her. When he did speak, his voice was raw with untold emotion. "She's gone, Ran." His hands began trembling, and pain was evident in his eyes. "Your mom… Eri is dead."
Ran's breath left her in a whoosh, and she fell to her knees in front of her father. Kogoro sobbed harder. Her lip trembled and her body surged with an infinite pain. Please, gods, let it not be true. But her dad would never lie to her; not about something like this. Ran had seen her mom just the other night, when she had sung lullabies to lull her to sleep. But a lot could happen in 24 hours.
Ran hid her face in Kogoro's lap, her hand clutching her chest. The pain had sliced through her; like the blade of a knife, digging until the wound bleeds.
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The hallway echoed with the sound of running footsteps, accented by the click of high-heels. Shouts carried off from behind as the lithe figure ran. They were gaining, and fast. But the thief didn't panic; instead, a delighted grin spread across her face, her eyes dancing with the thrill of a good challenge. She chuckled as she darted around a corner and hurried up the building's roof. She threw the door open and it banged against the brick wall.
Stepping out into the open, the cool breeze greeted the thief, sending tendrils of chocolate brown hair fluttering gently against her face. She sighed approvingly, closing her eyes to the wind as she basked in the refreshing feeling it gave her. The air was filled with the comforting scents of autumn; crisp, golden leaves and sweet, fresh pine. High above the city streets, the sounds of speeding cars and chaotic civilians barely reached her. For a moment it was just her and her alone, and she reveled in it. The peace was short lived, however.
Footsteps thundered up the staircase behind her. Yelled a very familiar and pissed-off inspector: "Damnit! Surrender already, Psiren!" She smiled briefly as she turned around. Apparently, quite a few officers had chased her up to the top of the skyscraper. At least a dozen men and women stood before her, many of them leaning over and panting from the energy it had taken to run up there. 'I wonder,' the girl thought wryly, as she felt her brows rise slightly. 'Did they even once consider using an elevator?' Inspector Megure gave the signal, and guns were pointed at her from all angles. The thief's blank expression did not change. She was confident in the fact that they wouldn't injure her. Too much to have on their conscience.
She winked and stuck her tongue out at them. "Mou… come on, Megure-keibu! You really don't think you can catch me, do you? But…" She let out a seductive purr. "I have always loved the thrill of a good chase." A rush of heat warmed the inspector's face, but whether it was from anger or lust; it was hard to tell. He quickly turned on his men. "What the hell are you waiting for, an invitation?" He pointed blatantly at the woman. "GET HER!" The burglar watched amusedly as they stumbled towards her. Wide, anxious eyes watched her from all sides. Everyone seemed unsure of what she would do next, and when she did do whatever it was, they didn't want to be the ones who got in the crossfire.It was quite pathetic, really.
"I'm terribly sorry, gentlemen," she said, and she appealed the frustrated officers with a mock-bow. "But I really must be going. I have a priceless gem and your dignity that I plan to escape off with." She flicked her wrist, showing off a small smoke bomb that had appeared out of nowhere. "Buh-bye!" She winked again and made a show out of blowing them a kiss just as the object dropped to the floor and enveloped everyone and everything in thick, dark smoke. The scene was utter chaos as the cops, in their haste to blindly chase after the thief, ran right into each other. Megure groaned as he covered his face with his hands. Idiots, the whole lot of them. He needed a drink and an officer with competence.
Of course, things down on the ground weren't too much better. At least, that's what the police would say. Having just seen their idol whiz by on a hang glider, the rabid fangirls (and boys; but they certainly weren't admiring her just for her skills…) were talking animatedly about how strong and independent the Psiren was… or, how her skintight outfit perfectly accentuated all of her curves.
And yet, a mile or so away and about ten minutes later, the woman who had stirred up so much commotion was cursing loudly to herself, having just realized that the precious gem she held in her hands was NOT the one she was so actively searching for.
"Just a little bit longer," she whispered, reaching up to pull off the mask that covered her eyes and half her face. Ethereal depths of cerulean blue shone with determination, cool air drying the beads of sweat trickling down her skin. Now that she wasn't working off of an adrenaline rush, her outfit left much to be desired in regards to keeping her warm. The skintight white leather pants worked well enough, but the white cotton halter left her shivering. "I promise," she said solemnly, with a fierceness one wouldn't suspect from someone so young and seemingly carefree. "I promise that I'll avenge you… mother."
Blue eyes stared out at the city, and just for a moment, Psiren the Phantom Thief became the ordinary high school student, Ran Mouri.
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Story Notes: Here are a list of Japanese terms that will be useful for you to know throughout this story. Please forgive me for any slight inaccuracies, as I'm only a student of the language myself.
-chan: Suffix used as a term of endearment. Usually used between close female friends or when referring to small children.
-kun: Suffix used for boys/men your age or younger that you are close to.
-niichan: Informal term for "Older brother"
-neechan: Informal term for "Older sister"
-san: Equivalent to the word "Mrs." Or "Mr." in English.
-han: Kansai (Heiji's dialect) equivalent to the word "-san".
Also, in case you're reading/watching the America version of DC/CC: Shinichi = Jimmy; Ran = Rachel; Heiji = Harley; Kazuha = Katie; Kogoro = Richard; Megure = Meguire; Kaito = er, Kaito; XD If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to leave a comment. In fact, leave a comment anyway. XDD
AN: Wow, this was predictable. Who figured out that it was Ran? Show of hands? Yup, thought so. But there shall be twists I tell you! Evil, wicked twists that will make you seethe with anger and jump for joy at the same time.
…And did anyone recognize the name I used? Psiren? That's 'cause it's from Fullmetal Alchemist – one of the bestest anime shows EVA! (Next to Detective Conan, of course) Ahem… anyway, ignoring my shameless plug for FMA... It's in episode 26, if I remember correctly. My lack of creativity has led me to borrow names from other people. Uh… huzzah? -.-