Disclaimer: I do NOT own Meitantei Conan or it's characters.

Changing Emotions

By MoonlightKagomeHimeko

The morning sun lit up the once dark sky and the air smelt of wet grass. Ran got up slowly to open her window and take in the happiness of the morning, though she, herself, wasn't very happy at all. Her eyes seemed as if she had been crying all night, and were dark from lack of sleep. She looked up into the sky and the tears began to form once more.

"Shinichi…"

Little footsteps could be heard from outside her room and the door opened. "Ran-neechan. You hungry?" questioned the little boy as he walked slowly over to her.

She turns around, quickly drying the tears off her face. "Good morning Conan. Yes I am." She responded trying to smile. Conan's smile faded as he saw a single tear that escaped her eye. He took a step closer and looked up at her.

"Ran-neechan…What's wrong?"

She stared at him for a bit, before sitting down on the edge of her bed. Her gaze moved to the ceiling of the room. "I guess, I can tell you…" she started, motioning for the boy to sit next to her, "Conan, I just don't think I can take it anymore…Shinichi's been gone for so long and I miss him so much. I've been strong for too long…truth is, I'm weak…I waited too long for him…He abandoned me! He left, and all I can do is miss him! I don't think I can go on much longer…"

Conan turned to look at his feet, dangling off the edge of the bed. He moved his hand over hers and grasped it tightly. Ran looked down at him with her teary eyes. "Don't give up…" he said slowly, "He didn't abandon you, Ran…He would never abandon you…"

"But he did! He's not here anymore! He hasn't been here since forever! He doesn't care about me—"

"He DOES care about you!" Conan said looking up at her once more, a stern look on his face. "He cares about you more than you would know. Don't give up. Don't cry anymore."

Ran stared at him in surprise as he walked out the door into the hallway.

Conan walked out into the front room and put on his tiny red shoes. He turned to look at Kogorou who was busy reading the paper. "I'm going out, Uncle. Ran will be out for breakfast in a bit." The door closes behind him and Kogorou nods without looking.

"Ran! You're staring off into space again!" exclaimed Sonoko as her best friend snapped back into reality, "Ran, I brought you out here, because your dad said that you've been acting like this all morning! I want you to cheer up!"

Ran gives a sigh and tries to smile at her friend. "I know," she says, "I just…I've been doing some thinking lately and…I don't know If I want to wait for Shinichi anymore…"

Sonoko stops dead in her tracks. "You mean, you're divorcing your husband?!" she exclaims so loudly that the people across the street turned to stare at them strangely.

"I'm giving up on him."

"Ran! This isn't like you! You've LOVED that guy since you were a child! A CHILD! That's a LONG TIME!"

Ran turns away from her friend and begins to walk towards a nearby ice-cream shop, "Sonoko, let's stop talking about him and get something to cheer us up…ok?" she says forcing another smile, though to Sonoko's dismay, accompanied by what seemed like anger and sadness in her eyes. She follows her friend into the shop regardless.

The girls take their seats. The clerk, old and perverse, checks out Sonoko with a "seductive" look. Sonoko gives a short shudder before turning away with Ran. "So…" She stops her sentence, finding it difficult to come up with a topic to bring up other than Ran's "knight in shining armor". "So?" Ran asks in return, waiting for Sonoko to come up with something.

Just as she opens her mouth, however, a man walks up to the pair. He has short, clean and dark hair, a muscular build, and a gorgeous face that Sonoko would swoon over if not for the fact that the guy is smiling at Ran. What? Why now?! She asks herself.

"Hey," the man starts, "I noticed you from across the street and it seemed like you were kind of upset. I wanted to know if you're okay." Sonoko glares. "No, we're no—" She is interrupted by Ran, staring at the man with glassy eyes. "Yeess, we're fine…" Her words came out slower than usual, as if she's in a trance. Sonoko, understanding the situation, barges in attempting to diverge the situation from proceeding further than it already has gone. "We were in a somewhat priv—" Again, she is interrupted. "Would you like to join us?" Ran asks in her trance-like state. "Alright, but the ice cream is on me," he answers. Damnit… Just when I'm comforting her about her marriage, things screw up.

"So, what're you girls up to?"

Ran smiles politely, "Nothing really. Just hanging around, you know."

He smiles back and reaches his hand out to her from across the table, "I'm Tasuki Maro. You can call me whatever you like."

She reaches to take his hand and nods, "I'm Mori Ran, nice to meet you."

Sonoko glares as this happens and then reaches her hand in between them, "I'm Suzuki Sonoko. And I'm amazing and rich." She smiles brightly, her emotions suddenly changing.

Ran is startled and a bit angry at her friend's actions, so she leans back into her chair.

Maro gets up to order the ice cream, leaving Ran and Sonoko to only glare at eachother. Ran breaks the silence, "What was all that about?" she asks sternly. Sonoko flattens her palms against the table and leans in, "You're married to Shinichi, remember?!"

"For the last time, we're not married. He left me and I don't want to think about him anymore!"

"Well, I'm trying to make you realize that you can't give up on him! I know you two better than anyone! I know he'll come back! He cares about you too much to just leave you forever!"

Ran stands up furiously, "What do you know?! What do you and Conan know?! No one knows how I've been feeling this whole time! No one! And if you're only gonna sit there and tell me that it'll be alright to still wait for him, then I don't wanna hear anything from you anymore!" she practically yells this and everyone in the shop is staring at her. Maro comes back with the ice cream and Ran snatches Sonoko's and hands it to her furiously. "Take it."

Maro stands there with a confused expression. Ran takes her ice cream and pushes Maro out of the shop with her. Sonoko watches them leave in disbelief.

Ran and Maro make their way to the park across the street and take a seat on the bench by the fountain. Ran slowly eats her ice cream as Maro watches, still confused as to what happened. "Um, Miss Mori, I'm lost. Did your friend upset you?" he asks.

"Yeah…but it's nothing." She forces a smile, "she just doesn't understand me very well sometimes."

He nods, "I know how that is."

Ran takes a look at her watch, "Oh!"

"What is it?"

"I have to get going." She stands up ready to leave.

"Ok then. " he scribbles onto a piece of paper and hands it to her, "Since It seems like your troubled, here's my number. Call me when you need help or someone to talk to."

"Thankyou Tasuki-kun." She smiles, "Thankyou for the ice cream too."

"Call me Maro, and you're welcome."

She takes off back to the Detective Agency, a new hope in her heart.

During all of this…

Conan makes his way into Agasa's house in anger. "I can't take it anymore!"

The old man peeks into the main room to see who was speaking, "Oh! Shinichi. What brings you here today?"

"I can't take it." He says again, through gritted teeth. "She's suffering so much, because of me. She's starting to try and forget me!"

"Sounds like you're in need of help…"

"Agasa, I need you and Haibara to do me a favor."

The small girl appears from the back room and makes her way towards them, "What is it?"

Moonlight: Yay! My second Detective Conan fic! Hope you guys like this one. =]