Disclaimer: If I owned Detective Conan, you bet I'd use this idea for one of the episodes!
And if I were a genius like Neil Simon…. Well… heheh… fill in the blanks

The Case of the Theater of Youth

Notes: tee-hee.. I'm kinda liking this.. but you tell me..

Teaser:

"No, Conan-kun! I want it!" Her face started to deepen into a crimson red, and tears began to bawl out from her eyes, "It's mine!!"

"There comes a time when dormancy must reach its demise." A blonde haired man smirked, "And another for occurrences that are completely opposite in nature."

He pulled on a rope and gas began to move through the air.

Snow was lightly hitting the ground, adding to the already thin layer of accumulating fluff. The day was young; the morning was fresh. It was the time of day that people could easily open up their eyes and welcome another day of life. It was the perfect moment to begin anew; sunlight was reaching the senses of all humans alike, rising to their brains and up through their nerves, giving them a sense of happiness that even the cold, brisk air couldn't take away. Surrounding everyone were dense, evergreen trees, those showing some tints of gray. They appeared to have lighter greens speckled between their branches, all due to the falling snow that had latched on to the individual branches. People were lively and energetic, as the sun, underlying the clouds, managed to get its rays out into the scene to wake up all of earth's inhabitants on this lovely day. The sun was their calling, as the snow was the unknown boundary keeping everyone on their highest alert.

Two figures stood outside of an apartment complex, both seeming as if they were waiting for something important to happen. Suddenly, the snow stopped.

"Conan-kun!" Conan looked up at the young lady holding his hand. She almost appeared lost in her own thoughts, though she was speaking to him now. She didn't even look down at him; she set her sights way above even the tallest building on their block. He watched as she shook the excess snow off of her shoulders, and the tip top of her head. Each movement seemed to keep his attention, though this was unbeknownst to her, for he still loved each and every part about her. Especially after living as Conan and being with her for as long as he had.

Realizing the pause he had created due to his delay in a response, he finally spoke up.

"What is it, Ran-neechan?"

She brought her head to look down at him, as a smile crept up on her face.

"I want you to know that I'm about to take a big step in my life.. And.. when I take this step, I want you to be there right along with me, Conan" The words were meant congenially, yet they managed to hit him like ice. Suddenly his heart began to beat faster. A big step. For words like that it could only mean one thing: Ran got a boyfriend..

He was just poor paranoid Conan. Though he does deserve a large amount of credit nonetheless. It's not every day that a person gets maliciously turned into a little kid only to find out that the potential love of their life may feel exactly the same way. At this point he had been stuck as an eight year old for almost a year now, and for some reason it seemed to him as if the longer he was out of his real form the more this special girl seemed to care for what she couldn't have.

"Ran-neechan.. What is it that you're about to do?" He feared the worst; tears almost sprang to his eyes, though he fought his hardest to keep them back.

"You'll be really happy for me, Conan!" The excitement in her voice grew, leading her into a more eccentric tone, "I'm about to be in a play!!"

Conan's eyes widened. Not what I thought.. Whew. A sweat drop grew on his face. Then when it hit him what she was actually doing, a smile of pride lit up on his face.

"Wow! A play? Which one?" He asked, purposely trying to act just a tad childish, filled with excitement and wonder. "When did you get involved with that, Ran-neechan??"

She smirked.

"I'm in a play called "Fools" by Neil Simon. I auditioned for the directors last week.. right after I got off of school. But it wasn't until today that they called me up to let me know that I'd made it in! In fact, I'm one of the leads, too! The character's name is Sophia." She continued on, matter-of-fact-ly, "I actually didn't think I would get in... but it was kinda funny.. When I told them a little about myself, they seemed very interested to hear that I was taking care of you, Conan. You're only eight years old and already your name is starting to get out there!"

She suddenly dropped down to give Conan a hug, squeezing him extra tight.

"It's always been my dream to act, Conan.. I don't know that anyone else ever knew that about me.. I mean, me acting? I always put up such a different image than any of that.."

Her eyes again seemed to focus away from reality, "I just wish Shinichi were here. I bet you and him are the only two people I would ever be so willing to talk to about this.. I mean, there were certain times I put up an image in front of him, too, but I could always tell him anything... well, almost anything," She sighed, "Shinichi.. If only I had told you how much I cared about you when I had the chance.." Tears began to spring to her eyes.

"Ran-neechan, you will have the chance! He'll be back one of these days! Just don't forget about him.."

"Forget Shinichi? Never! Which is why for both of our sakes I hope he comes back soon.. I really miss him." At this point she was still clinging onto Conan. The Shinichi inside of him wanted to lash out, to reveal all that was still held concealed in his heart. He wanted to kiss away the tears of the one he so desired, to finally be himself again!

But he knew that no matter what he had to kept his true identity a secret. Sigh..

Oh, Ran... Just hold on a little longer, I'll be there for you one day! And that day I will never leave you again!

"Ran.." He finally said, "Shinichi cared for you too much to not come back for you.. I know he will." And, with a bit of hesitation, trying to act as innocent as possible, he took his sleeve and wiped the tears from her eyes.

It was a Saturday morning and what had begun as a journey to the grocery store to get food for that night, ended before it even began, right outside of Ran's home. They stayed there for hours before going anywhere else that day. She had Conan. And Conan would always have her.

Between them they held a certain, unbreakable connection.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Note: Please don't freak out on me! Unlike my last Detective Conan fic (which I will update, too, don't worry!), this one will be updated a lot more frequently... and with BETTER stuff, too! The last fic was kinda my filler... a jump starter, so to speak.. But I seriously am liking this one. I'm feeling it, lol, hehehe... and... just for the references this chapter was more or less the intro.

Comments are mucho appreciated! Criticism is my best friend!
-Chagrins