The Act of Forgiveness

Boz1310

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it."

~ Mark Twain

Warnings: I do not own DC or any of the characters in this story.

AN: This is a rant. Ignore if you wish… I chose to write this because I felt that Shinichi never reacted in the fashion that is expected of the youth when their parents hop on a plane and abandon them. Throughout the anime, he just never seemed to mind that his parents were never there for him; especially during the countless near-death experiences he faced practically every single day, including the one that turned him into an 8 year old. I don't know if I'm the only one who is fed up with how his parents treat him. I know he's 18 or whatever, but they are his parents and they have the responsibility to care for him when he's constantly in horrific situations… I have always felt that there should be some kind of angst-like resentment building up within him and this story was the result.

This is AU since I am assuming Haibara will not find the antidote for the pill.

Enjoy!

Conan Edogawa was dumbfounded when he opened the door of the Kudo mansion.

Outside of his house on his monochromatic doormat, his parents stood waving at him with smiles on their faces. As Yukiko rushed in to hug her only son, Yusaku entered the house in a breezily calm fashion.

"Wow, this is a surprise." Conan said, repeatedly blinking his eyes. "Can I get you a drink?"

Yukiko nodded rapidly and smiled while her calm husband shook his head.

Conan took this offer as a chance to escape to the kitchen. His hands shook as he grabbed the nearest bottle of wine off the rack and a couple of glasses from the cupboards. He didn't know why they were shaking. He didn't know if it was from rage or sadness. Struggling not to burst into tears he thought of how he was to ask them to go. He tried not to think about how many years they had been away. Twelve? Thirteen, maybe? He poured wine into the glasses and carried them into the den.

After a few failed attempts at conversation, Conan cut to the chase.

"Why are you here?" he asked, pinching the bridge of his nose to hide his stress and discomfort.

"Can't we visit our beloved Shin-chan?" his mother whined. Conan choked back a sob. He hadn't heard that nickname in a long time. In fact, it had been a while since anyone had called him that, not just 'Shin-chan', but his real name.

"What's wrong, Shinichi?" his father asked. "As soon as we came back to Japan, we came to see you. We've missed you, Shinichi."

But Conan knew better than that. He thought about all the times he had waited for his parents to return. He thought about all the times his heart had been broken by them, failing to return, failing to call him back and ask him if he was alright. It was too late now.

"No, my name is Conan Edogawa." He said as tears slowly trickled down his face. "It's not Shinichi Kudo."

"But, Shin-chan-"

Conan finally snapped. As he dropped his glass on the table, he noticed that both of his parents flinched. The wine spilled over and stained the carpet. Yukiko began to cry.

"What the hell are you doing?" His father asked with a confused tone.

"Your 'Shin-chan' died a long time ago." He said, yelling and sobbing at the same time. "Your beloved Shin-chan died when the two men in black knocked him out and forced fed him a poisonous capsule intending to kill him. And it might as well have."

His parents said nothing, so he continued bitterly, pausing every so often to wipe away escaping tears.

"Your Shinichi died when he waited twelve years for you, everyday wishing that his mom and dad would come home and tell him that everything would be alright." The next part was added in a deadly whisper. "I was in an eight year old body being chased by an international crime syndicate whose goal was to kill me. And boy, did they try. They tried to kill me at every second as well as trying to kill all the people I loved. I was scared at every minute of every hour, scared that a gun would be pressed to my temple or to Ran's temple. I was terrified that that had become a reality."

"Shinichi-" His father warned him and stood up. His mother continued to cry. "Listen to me-"

"No, you listen!" He screamed. "Shinichi died when Agasa-one of his dearest friends- died of a heart attack, leaving him alone. Shinichi died when Haibara- the smartest person he knew-told him that he would never get his body back. Shinichi died when Ran- the love of his life- left him for university and someone else and never answered his calls despite promising that she would keep in touch.

"Do you guys even bother to check your voice machines?" Conan asked coldly. "Or does that piece of machinery not exist in America?"

Both parents were crying. It was obviously they were terribly guilty. Strangely, Conan didn't feel sorry for them. His heart had become as cold as stone. It was a cold rock that was being grinded into the finest of sand and then blown away by the wind.

"I tried killing myself once," He murmured, ignoring the looks from his parents. He faced the opposite direction, feeling suddenly ashamed. "When I woke up at the hospital, I saw a multitude of caring faces. I felt a hand in my hand. It was Haibara, Agasa, Heiji, and even Kogoro. But, it was never you two."

It was silent. He was done talking.

"Do you want me to leave your house?" He asked darkly. "I will if you want me to because someone is going to have to leave right now."

Yukiko and Yusaku both got up. They turned and left immediately.

Before closing the door, Yukiko kissed him gently on the forehead. Conan closed his eyes and didn't respond to her goodbye. Then the car started its engine and left him again.

Conan took the glasses and drank the wine his parents hadn't touched.

He never saw them again.

Words: 1,100+

AN: That's it. Yep, pretty depressing, I know.

Please feel free to comment, review, or correct grammatical and spelling errors if need be. Also favourite/follow for more stories! Any suggestions or question can be sent to my PM box and I will respond as soon as possible!

Cheers,

BOZ1310- August 13th, 2013