Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or any of the characters (wish I did). Everything belongs to the brilliant Gosho Aoyama. :)

Labyrinth of Love

Chapter 1:

A phone call.

A notification.

No goodbye.

Ignored Ran's worried and sad stare and walked straight out the door.

Really, what was he thinking? Ran deserved a better parting than that, after all, she wouldn't be seeing "Conan-kun" anymore.

Edogawa Conan sprinted down the dark streets as fast as his small body would allow, his breaths short and ragged, oblivious to the occasional odd glances thrown his way by the few passing people, wondering what on earth a seven year old was doing running down a street so late. He repeatedly muttered thanks and prayers silently under his breath, to Sherlock Holmes, God, his parents, Haibara and whatever mystical beings existed, as his heart swirled with a mixture of emotions; an apology to Ran too. Well, it was too late to go back and give a proper farewell.

He'd only roughly explained to Ran that his "parents" had called and would be here to pick him up by evening. Conan vaguely remembered observing Ran's worried look as he walked out of the door himself with his tiny luggage (he never came with much after all), claiming that his parents were right around the corner waiting in a car. He hadn't had much time to deal with things better, and Ran wouldn't stress much once she had Shinichi with her, right?

After almost two agonising years of watching Ran cry silently under the moonlight, he was finally going to transform back into Kudo Shinichi again, the high school detective. Well, there were tonnes of problems that came with that such as catching up and preparing for the upcoming exams, but that wasn't his biggest concern at the moment. As Conan rounded the corner, Agasa's house came into sight. Faster than ever, he rushed towards the house, the strong wind whipping his bangs against his face.

"Hakase!" Conan yelled as he slammed the door open, panting heavily. "Haibara!"

"Oh Shinichi!" Agasa exclaimed, even the old professor's face beaming like a child. "Ai-kun is waiting downstairs in the lab."

Yelling out a rushed thanks, Conan flew downstairs. Haibara was sitting at her desk as calm as ever, gazing at him coolly as he made his way in.

"Kudo-kun, you'll have to cool down before you can take the pill," she stated plainly. "If your body is overheating, who knows what will happen to you."

Conan groaned and started pacing around. "Come on Haibara! A few degrees difference doesn't matter that much does it? Now, give me the pill!"

Haibara simply uttered a "dame", and spun around to continue working on who knows what on her computer. It had always triggered Conan's curiosity, but it failed to divert his attention at this moment.

"Listen Kudo-kun, as I told you on the phone, once you take the pill, you must not perform extreme activities, run around chasing criminals or anything of that sort. There is always the risk of your body rejecting the antidote, and even shutting down. If you don't want to die, then do as I say. Understood?"

Conan slumped into a chair in defeat and sighed. "Hai, hai. I've cooled down now. Can I please take the pill?"

Reluctantly, Haibara turned around, her arm outstretched with two small capsules lying on her palm, one for Conan and one for her. Without hesitation, Conan snatched it up and rushed upstairs to the bathroom.

Mouri Ran looked out the window for the hundredth time that evening, even though she knew Conan wouldn't be coming back. He had a family after all, and he had only been temporarily staying. Still, she couldn't help it as a few tears rolled down her cheek. Conan had become one of the closest people she had since Shinichi left. He was always there for her when Shinichi wasn't, and he could always provide hope and support Ran. He even reminded her of Shinichi with the uncanny resemblance, and they even had the same expressions at times.

And now Conan was gone. Her small guardian angel was gone. Ran was alone. How long would it take for Shinichi to get back? What case was so important that it was more important than her? Ran trembled in anger, suddenly irritated at this one case which was holding Shinichi up. But then again, it wasn't like Ran was sure Shinichi even cared for her other than as a best friend, as family. Why should he value her over a case?

Shaking her head, Ran tried to push the stupid thoughts out of her head.

You have to be strong Ran! It would definitely worry Conan-kun if he knew you were being like this as soon as he left you!

Glancing around the room for something as distraction, Ran sighed as her eyes landed on her father, once again sprawled over his table drunk. Rolling her sleeves up, she tiptoed over and silently began cleaning up the empty cans scattered around the floor.

As time passed and the clock ticked, there was one haunting doubt refused to leave her mind.

Should I wait any longer for him?

Conan's larger old clothes were already there waiting for him thanks to Haibara. Looking at his eight year old self in the mirror, he couldn't help but notice the unfamiliar stranger staring back. Even though the facial structure and appearance were almost an exact copy of an eight year old Kudo Shinichi, this adolescent's mouth was set in a grim line rather than a constant smug grin. The Edogawa Conan reflected in the mirror bore dull blue eyes which no longer shone with the same brightness and arrogance, and were eyes of one who had experienced way too much. Was Kudo Shinichi still there deep down? Or had Conan completely taken over long ago? No, Conan wouldn't let these idiotic thoughts distract him.

Baka, everything's over. I can live a normal life now, so cheer up! Conan mentally instructed himself as he attempted to paste on a smile, although he just couldn't fully manage a genuine one no matter how excited he really did feel.

Turning away from the depressing reflection, Conan gulped down the pill. Almost instantly, his body started reacting, and he felt the usual extreme heat pulsing through him as the chemicals started taking effect, but this time ten times more intense. Fists clenched, he bit his lip as the pain increased every second.

After this is freedom, he repeated in his head as he slowly felt his consciousness slip away, barely registering the distant screams he heard coming from Haibara as she underwent the same torturous ordeal.

At last, it was time to relieve Ran.

Haibara had slowly trudged up the stairs as Conan rushed off to the bathroom. As she entered the other bathroom, she glanced warily at the small almost innocent-looking capsule, the key to regain not as far as her prior life, but at least her prior natural body.

Haibara's whole life had been a haze, an aimless life merely as a tool. She could hardly recall those rare treasured times from her childhood, when she still had one of those warm biological groups who lived together called a family. When her sister, her sole pillar had passed away, forever lost from her grasp, Haibara felt part of her soul torn out and thrown away. She was an empty shell, until she met him, Kudo Shinichi, the one who could somehow shine no matter thrown in how dark of a situation, whose deep blue eyes she could dive into and even feel like a person again by gazing at.

And then there were Genta, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko. Haibara smiled slightly at the thought of them; she had unexpectedly become attached to them and their innocence. With them, she experienced the childhood she should have had. She felt peaceful and happy just being able to live a new life, even if it was merely a facade to escape. The three had made her truly consider restarting life as Haibara Ai, but she knew it would always be a facade no matter how much she tried to lie to herself and blend in. And so she had eventually come to the final decision to become Miyano Shiho again, to come out of the cocoon she had been trapped in for so long as a traitor hiding in fear.

She clutched her arms and stared at the small fragile form reflected in the mirror. Could she trust this antidote though? Is this really safe? Is all of this really a good idea? What if after managing staying away from the Black Organisation's dark grasps for five years, she would be the one to kill Kudo? Haibara shivered in fear at those questions, especially the last one. It would kill her too if that ever happened.

As she swallowed the foreboding pill, her fears and doubts still lingered inside her mind. She swore she could see Kudo grinning at her as she slowly began to lose focus.

For now, she would simply focus on beginning a new life with a new determination. A new life with him as her pillar.

Sayonara, Haibara Ai.

Author's Note: Hope that was okay for my first fanfic! Sorry for any typos and mistakes too. Also, the chapter is shorter than I originally intended, but I guess I'm happy with the way it turned out ^^

I hope you are enjoying it so far, and it's purely coincidence if there are any similar stories out there already, since there are lots of DC fanfics like this :)

Also, big thank you to my awesome friend Emerald-Sparkle for helping me along the way and keeping me on this fic! XD