Conan bolts up on his bed. /was that a dream/ He asks himself. He disregards that thought as another scream fills his ears. Looking around he remembers where he is. /I'm with Ran and the Osakan's/ he thinks sourly. /But what was that scream/ He asks himself. /I know I didn't dream it up./ He thinks changing out of his pajamas and into his usual attire before heading cautiously out of his room and into in the hall. Creeping down the hall he looks in each and every room until he comes across a strange scene that will haunt his dreams for years to come. Ran lying dead on the floor blood seeping out of a bullet wound to the chest. Conan runs over to her.
"RAN!" He shouts trying to keep her there.
"Ne? What is it Conan-kun?" she asks sitting up.
"Ran! Are you ok?" He asks panic obvious in his voice.
"Yeah, Conan-kun. Kazuha and I were playing a game. Who could scream the loudest with the most ketchup on them." She explains letting it all soak in.
"Ketchup?" He asks in disbelief.
"Yeah…" She says her sentence trailing off at the end as Conan reaches for the ketchup on her shirt. He gets some on his fingers and looks at it quizzically.
"Ketchup…" He mumbles smelling it before tasting it. His face turns to one of shock, as he tastes the salty tomato-y taste. "Ketchup!" He exclaims looking over to Kazuha. "God, I thought someone was dieing!" He says before sighing and standing up.
"Well, it's not like she's your girlfriend, Kudo." Heji says yawning from the doorway.
"Heji? Why do you call him Kudo?" Ran asks looking over at Heji accusingly.
"Well, he looks so much like Kudo, ne?" He says before rushing out the door.
"Hey, what does Kudo look like? I've hardly ever seen him and it's only ever for a moment." Kazuha says stretching out a bit.
"Well, he looks a lot like Conan actually." Ran says before pulling out a photo from her pocket. "Here." She says handing it over to Kazuha. Conan blushes. /I can't believe she actually carries that around in her pocket/ He thinks watching Kazuha's reaction.
"WOW! He really does." She says holding the picture next to Conan's face. Conan looks annoyed before Kazuha reaches up towards his glasses. Conan pales before jerking away from her grasp. "What?" She asks. "You can't really need them that bad, can you?" She asks looking at him suspiciously.
"Yeah. I'm like totally blind without them." Conan says sweat dropping.
"Ah, well in that case I feel bad for you." She says. "Just a moment without them, PLEASE?" She begs.
"No." Conan says turning his face away from her.
"Just a moment?" She pleads. Conan growls in frustration.
"NO!" He says storming out of the room. Ran looks after him shocked.
"I-I've never seen him so upset before." Ran says staring at the door.
"Yeah, me neither." Heji replies. "Would you like me to go check on him?" He asks already halfway out the door.
"Yeah, see if you can't get him to come around." Kazuha says anxiously.
"No. Worry about calming him down first." Ran says looking worriedly as they hear a door slam.
"Alright." Heji says closing the door and making his way down the hallway.
"Shinichi?" Heji asks knocking on the door.
"What?" Conan snaps.
"What's wrong? You're usually calm and collected." Heji says from the other side of the door.
"Ai found the cure." Conan says opening the door before going back to his bed. "I want Ran to hate me so it will be easier on us both." Conan says sighing deeply.
"Really? Why don't you just tell her, your parents picked you up? You know, that would be easier on you both." Heji says ignoring Conan's depression.
"But then I would have to call her and write to her all the time. That would be annoying." He says clenching his fist.
"Well, why don't you fake your own death? That would be really easy. Go to a play of some sorts and fake your death then take the drug you brought with you." Heji says taking a seat on the bed.
"I don't want her to mourn for me, besides I don't know if it will work 100 What If I turn back? Then what, Conan just appears on her doorstep asking to be taken back in?" He says imagining it in his head. "Oh, hey Ran. Just to let you know I didn't really die and I want to come back in here and live with you." He says mimicking his thoughts.
"That would be the day." Heji says between laughs. "Here's Ran. 'Oh Conan-kun! How could you! I thought you were dead! How can you be here? You're dead!'" Heji says voice pitch higher then normal.
"Yeah, then she'd proceed to hitting me on the head like her dad." Conan says annoyed. "One lump I'd prefer NOT to have."
"Yeah, true I can see why you wouldn't want to tell her that."
-Outside the door-
"What?" Conan snaps.
"What's wrong? You're usually calm and collected." Heji's voice drifts down the hall.
"…" Conan says something but his voice is muffled slightly. Then he opens the door before going back into the room. "I want Ran to hate me so it will be easier on us both." Conan says sighing deeply.
"Really? Why don't you just tell her, your parents picked you up? You know, that would be easier on you both." Heji says lightly.
"But then I would have to call her and write to her all the time. That would be annoying." He says voice weary.
"Well, why don't you fake your own death? That would be really easy. Go to a play of some sorts and fake your death then take the drug you brought with you." Heji says seriously.
"Drug? Is Conan an addict?" Ran asks Kazuha.
"I hope not. He's a smart boy I don't think so." Kazuha says turning and leaving not wanting to hear any more.
"I don't want her to mourn for me, besides I don't know if it will work 100 What If I turn back? Then what, Conan just appears on her doorstep asking to be taken back in?" He says sarcastically. "Oh, hey Ran. Just to let you know I didn't really die and I want to come back in here and live with you." He says mimicking his thoughts.
"That would be the day." Heji says between laughs. "Here's Ran. 'Oh Conan-kun! How could you! I thought you were dead! How can you be here? You're dead!'" Heji says voice pitch higher then normal.
"Yeah, then she'd proceed to hitting me on the head like her dad." Conan says annoyed. "One lump I'd prefer NOT to have."
"Yeah, true I can see why you wouldn't want to tell her that."
Ran clenches her fist. /How dare they. They even talk like old buddies that share a secret. What does he mean 'What if I turn back'? This conversation is very strange, very strange indeed. /
"Well, I should go tell them you've cooled down...what do you want me to tell them. I can't tell them the truth, ne?" Heji says laughing wistfully.
"Tell em I'm stressed out. Say I've got a test or something coming up." Conan says sighing.
"They'll never believe that! You're always ready for a test." Heji says.
"Fine tell them that my parent's condition got worse. It's not like it's getting any better." Conan says angrily.
"True. They can't even help they're son out." Heji says. "I mean I know your rich and all but that's cold." Heji says.
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?" Conan asks changing the subject.
"Ah, fine. You don't want to talk about it. I'll be back later, I guess." Heji says walking towards the door. Ran slips away just in time to be missed by Heji. Heji goes into the room where Kazuha is.
"Hey...Wait. Where's Ran?" Heji asks looking at Kazuha suspiciously.
"She-she uh..." Kazuha stumbles.
"I had to go to the bathroom." Ran says stepping in behind Heji.
"Oh, well Conan says he got a call from his parents. They're not doing too well..." Heji says sighing sadly.
"Oh, I thought he was mad at us or something." Kazuha says lightly. "By the way...Why did it take you so long?" Kazuha asks innocently.
"Oh Ku-nan and I were just talking." Heji says faltering over his words.
"How do you know that boy so well? You never see him and yet you have a bond like siblings." Ran asks. "I can't even get him to keep promises..." Ran says dejectedly.
"It hurts." Heji says.
"Pardon?" Ran asks.
"It hurts him every time he has to break a promise or lie to you. It hurts him." Heji says going into a trance like state. He stands there eyes glazed over remembering all the times Conan called him almost in tears asking for someone to talk to. "He doesn't like to lie to you or to break your promises but...He's not the little baby you think he is..." Heji says. "That's why I can talk to him easier. And why I can get close to him." He says his eyes unfoging. "I don't see him as the child you all do but I see him as an adult. You all think it's impossible but I know, he's a lot smarter then we were at his age." He says mentally badgering himself for letting himself slip up like that. "He is a smart boy. He knows things we don't and yet he puts up a façade. It's not for me but for you and the rest of the world. He loves you Ran, more then you could ever know." Heji says turning and walking out of the room.
"Conan-kun..." Ran whispers eyes watered and hands shaking. "Who are you, really?" She whispers quieter then the last time.
"Ran...Are you ok?" Kazuha asks helping Ran to sit on the bed.
"W-what did he mean Kazuha? Tell me what he meant!" She yells at her friend.
-Outside when Heji left-
Conan pounces on Heji. "God damn you! Damn you to hell! How could you slip up THAT badly!" Conan yells angrily.
"God. It was just a little bit. They'll forget about it by tomorrow." Heji says pulling the boy off of him.
"Yeah? Well what if they don't?" Conan asks. "What then?"
"Well, we do a little improvising." He says.
"Not more lies..." Conan whispers almost in a frightened voice.
"Well, let's hope they forget then." Heji says shrugging his shoulders.
"No." Conan says stopping in the hall. "I don't want to lie anymore. It's tearing me apart. Ran too." Conan says desperation and hopelessness filling his voice.
"I know you don't but what other choice will we have?" Heji asks looking down at the 17-year-old boy trapped in a 7-year-old's body.
"I don't want to...No more lies...please." He almost begs.
"It's for they're safety." Heji says firmly. There was no way in hell he was going to change his mind.
"No...No more lies! PLEASE! I don't want to lie anymore! I'm tired of it. I just want to go back...back to normal..." Conan says collapsing Heji rushes over to him.
"Kudo? Kudo!" Heji shouts in panic.
"Just...want to...go...back..." Conan whispers before balling his eyes out in Heji's shirt.
-With Ran and Kazuha-
"Not more lies..." Conan whispers almost in a frightened voice.
"Well, let's hope they forget then." Heji says in a cool carefree voice.
"No." Conan says stopping. "I don't want to lie anymore. It's tearing me apart. Ran too." Conan says desperation and hopelessness filling his voice.
"I know you don't but what other choice will we have?" Heji asks.
"I don't want to...No more lies...please." He almost begs.
"It's for they're safety." Heji says firmly.
"No...No more lies! PLEASE! I don't want to lie anymore! I'm tired of it. I just want to go back...back to normal..." Conan says collapsing Heji rushes over to him.
"Kudo? Kudo!" Heji shouts in panic.
"Just...want to...go...back..." Conan whispers before balling his eyes out in Heji's shirt.
"Conan..." Ran whispers watching out from the door with Kazuha's head above her own.
"I wish he'd comfort me like that..." Kazuha mumbles jealousy seeping into her voice.
- Then next morning-
Ran stands at the stove cooking eggs and pancakes with Kazuha setting the table. Conan and Heji are in Conan's room sitting in a comfortable silence.
"Breakfast!" Kazuha hollers up to the boys.
"Coming!" They shout together. They enter the kitchen and take they're seats next to each other. Ran hands each of them a plate noting Conan's red baggy eyes. /looks like he was up late crying.../
"Conan-kun..." Ran says looking down at her plate sadly. "I won't hold you back...If you want to 'go back' I won't hold it agent you." she says letting the words sink in.
"Ran..." Conan whispers. "Nee-Chan" He adds as an after thought.
"I heard you crying...If you want to go back I won't stop you." She says taking a deep breath looking up at the boy. His eyes are filled with sadness, surprise and another emotion...one Ran can't quite place right away. It's the strongest emotion there. Ran thinks back to what Heji said last night. Then it clicks. /love./ she thinks eyes widening.
"Ran-nee-Chan..." Conan says his eyes locking with her's. "Who...who do you like more...Shinichi-nii-chan or me?" He asks seriously.
"I-I...Conan-kun...?" Ran asks in surprise. "wh-why does it matter...?" She asks searching his eyes.
"Ran-nee-Chan. Just answer. I won't be hurt if you chose Shinichi over me." Conan says eyes telling showing it's the truth.
"Conan-kun..." Ran whispers.
"What if I told you I could bring Shinichi back?" Conan asks eyes holding a deeper unclear meaning. "What if I could bring him back but at the cost of my life. Who would you chose?" He asks.
"Conan-kun. I couldn't ask you to do that!" Ran yells in alarm.
"You have to choose. If you chose me you'll never see Shinichi ever again." Conan says. "And you have to choose soon or they'll kill him." Conan says. "They've finally found him." He says.
"What!?" Heji asks. "They've found him? Are you serious?" He asks standing up tipping over the chair.
"Heji. Sit down." Conan says harshly. Heji blinks and blushes.
"R-right..." he says fixing his chair and sitting down.
"You have to choose soon, Ran-nee-Chan." Conan says standing up and heading towards the door before pulling on his shoes and grabbing his skateboard.
"You can't go out there!" Heji shouts shocking everyone.
"I can and I will." He says his voice mennacing. "Ran," He says turning to her. "I'll be where Shinichi-nii-chan took you that day..." Conan says turning away. "At that place. waiting for your response. You have till sundown till I leave for good." He says opening the door and leaving to Tropical Land. Ran sits in a trance not believing she has to choose between her two most precious people.
"Shinichi...or...Conan-kun..." Ran mumbles.
"It doesn't matter who you choose!" Heji snaps. "What matters is that you choose!"
"How can you say that!?" Kazuha snaps. "If she chooses Shinichi Conan dies and if she chooses Conan Shinichi dies! How can you say that!"
"Yeah? Well if she doesn't choose We ALL loose BOTH of them!" He says covering his almost slip up. /Conan didn't make it clear if he wants me to tell or not./ He thinks sourly. /Great, leave me here with them not knowing...I can't believe they found him already! It's only been 10 months! At least he has an antidote.../
"Damn...You're right..." Kazuha mumbles admitting defeat.
"Who do I choose? How can I choose...?" Ran asks standing up and heading out the door.
"Follow her?" Kazuha asks.
"My thoughts exactly." Heji says smiling.
-With Conan-
Conan sits on the ride riding it several times in a row since the park isn't crowded today. He rides it remembering the case he solved here and the men he saw. Remembering Gin and Vodka, remembering the immense pain he got shrinking to Conan. He fingers the pill in his pocket before the ride cones to a stop. He gets off and heads to 'that place' the place where he confessed his love for Ran. If only it was as Shinichi rather then Conan. He gets a cola on the way and sits in the center of the stones. Waiting he sees Ran running towards him. When she reaches the edge the water rises and she is blocked away. Conan sighs and looks up at the sky waiting for the water to go down. He sips his cola as the water lowers.
"So...Ran-nee-Chan. Have you decided?" He asks.
"I...I can't choose..." She says finally after catching her breath.
"I had a feeling you'd say that..." Conan says sighing. "I know you love me and you'll never be able to love Conan the same way. That's why I choose for you." He says taking off on his board. Ran gasps and chases after him. Conan reaches the spot it happened at. "This is where it began...so this is where it will end." He whispers changing out of his Conan clothes into his Shinichi clothes. Laughing slightly he takes the pill from his pocket drinking his cola with it. Dropping the clothes on the ground he falls to the ground in pain. Clutching his heart in pain he waits as the familiar sensation over comes his senses. He bites back screams until he passes out, his hand clutching the bag with the other pills in it.
Ran races trying to find where Conan ran off to she lost track of him a half hour ago. She reaches a spot where she remembers she saw Shinichi run off to in order to follow those men. She follows the path she remembers Shinichi taking till she reaches an area behind a building. There she sees Shinichi clutching his heart in pain a bag clutched in his other hand with Conan's clothes on the ground around him.
"Shinichi?!" She asks in shock not expecting him to be there. "Shinichi?!" She shouts trying to bring him to consciousness. He groans in pain much like he did when he collapsed at the play. "Shinichi?!" She asks desperately.
"R-ran-nee-Chan?" Shinichi asks before coming to. /shit./ Ran sits shocked. /did he just call me nee-Chan?/ She thinks to herself. "Ran. What are you doing here?" He asks. /must been my imagination.../ She thinks.
"Where's Conan-kun?" She asks looking at his clothes.
"He's gone." Shinichi says happily.
"What do you mean gone?" She asks.
"He is dead." Shinichi says. "What would you have rather had him here then me?" He asks harshly.
"W-what?" She asks.
"Would you rather have him here then me?" He growls angrily.
"Shinichi...? You're acting strange." Ran says looking down.
"Being stuck as a 7 year-old does that to ya." He snaps. "Don't tell me you forgot all of your suspicions." He says looking off into the air.
"S-shinichi...?" She asks.
"That's why he said it didn't matter which you choose. It would've been me in the end."
"Shinichi...is Conan-kun?" Ran whispers.
"If you'd rather have me die as Conan I'd happily go ask them for the poison." Shinichi says his anger subsiding into a stoic feeling.
"NO!" She says.
"Good. I'll be going now, Ran. I've got an international organization to take down." He says walking away Conan's board under his arm.
"You never left me..." She says the wind tousling her hair.
"Of course not."
"But, you could have...You could have lived with agasa, or gone back to America..." She says.
"Yeah, so what?" He asks
"Why?"
"I love you, that's why. I already told you that." He says continuing on his way.
"Shinichi!" Ran exclaims grabbing his arm. "Oh, Shinichi! I love you too!" She says pulling him into a hesitant kiss. He kisses her back before giving her a ring.
"Wait a little longer?" He asks looking down at her.
"Of course!" She says letting him put the ring on her left ring finger.
"Alright. That will be my motivation to come back alive." He says laughing slightly. He puts the watch to his mouth and presses a button.
"Kiddo, Hattori this is Kudo. It is time." He says waiting for a response.
"Kudo, I read you loud and clear." Heji's voice says thought the watch.
"Kudo, I've got your back." Kid's voice says proudly.
"Alright. Let's move out!" Shinichi says grabbing Ran's hand and pressing a button on his board. The board expands and he hops on gesturing for Ran to do the same. She gets on and they're off.