It hurt. It hurt all over. I couldn't move. Die. I'm going to die!
I had to think of a way. A way that they could find them. A way to leave a dying message. But I couldn't move.
I saw them. I was a witness. They tried to kill me. Her voice still rings in my ears.
"ANGEL!"
They shot her. She jumped in front and they shot her.
Then they came after me.
What was it they forced down my throat? Poison? Every cell in my body burned. I had to think of a way…
But all I could think of was his face.
His face when he found out. How it would tear him apart.
How I never got to tell him.
How I never got to tell him that I love him.
Shinichi…..
I'm sorry…
Somehow I managed to run. The whole world was a blur, everything seemed disproportional. The world towered over me. I was afraid. Shinichi! Save me!
I didn't get far though. I tripped over something, and fell into a bush a few feet away. I couldn't go any farther. I curled up, and felt myself drift to sleep.
I woke up a while later. How was I not dead? I tried to stand up. Were my clothes always this big?
The tree above me still towered above me. My body oddly fit inside this rather small bush. I examined myself. I wasn't hallucinating because of the drug. I had shrunk!
I looked to be about the age of a first-grader. I seemed mostly alright otherwise, although I still had a few cuts and bruises.
I heard a noise. It sounded vaguely like an engine.
Someone was coming.
I ducked down into the bush, and found a place where I could see them, but they couldn't see me.
"Vermouth!" a familiar voice yelled, almost accusingly, to the near-dead woman bleeding onto the pavement. That voice….
Conan-kun?
"Silver Bullet-kun," she said, coughing. Silver bullet?
"She's dying," said another voice. Ai-chan?
"What happened!?" Conan demanded.
"Angel." She coughed. "They got Angel." Angel….isn't that what she called me?
Conan's eye's widened. "Where!" he demanded again. "WHERE!"
But it was too late. The light faded from Vermouth's eyes. She was dead.
Ai spoke. "She's gone." I couldn't tell if she looked relieved or scared out of her mind.
But Conan wasn't worried about that.
It started as almost a whisper. Then it got louder. Until it was a scream.
"RAAAAAANNNNNNN!"
He pounded his fist against the ground.
"She can't be dead! NO! RAN!"
Conan-kun. I'm ok! I'm right—
"Edogawa-kun." Ai's voice was stern. "Mouri-san's body is nowhere to be found. The Organization wouldn't just lug a dead body off."
He looked up at her. Tears were forming in his eyes. Almost as if he was afraid to believe it. Conan-kun…
"She might be alive." The relief in his eyes was obviously evident.
"Most likely."
His eyes then went from relief to burning rage. He was mad.
"Edogawa-kun. Before you go rush into things, need I remind you what would happen if the Organization finds out who you really are."
Wait—who he is? What are they talking about?
"I know, I know. But—I can't just sit here and do nothing!"
"We won't! Now calm down! Let's think logically about this for a second."
"Why would they take her? It doesn't make sense. Not unless they found out about—" He stopped short. "Haibara….you don't think they found out about…."
Their eyes met. Both were frozen with fear.
Found out about what? What's going on? What do Conan-kun and Ai-chan know about the people that tried to kill me? They're elementary school students!
What is going on?
"Me. They went after her because of ME!"
"We can't assume that yet—"
"Think about it Haibara! If they found out about APTX-4869, it wouldn't be long before they found out that Kudo Shinichi isn't really dead."
At his name I jumped. Shinichi…they tried to kill him?! I shook with the thought. No….SHINICHI!
"And then they'd come after—"
"Edogawa-kun."
"Haibara! It's…"
"SHHHH!" She put her finger to her lips. "Shut up for a sec!"
I had been a little bit too loud.
Haibara had walked over to the bush and pushed away the branches.
"We have an eavesdropper."
Too shaken to run, I just sat there, frozen.
Soon Conan was there, too. His eyes stared into mine. Eyes too old for a six year old. Eyes that knew way more than a child is supposed to.
Ai stared down at me. "How much of that did you—"
"Wait."
His eyes widened.
"No way."
My eyes were locked with his. Ai seemed to know something was up, so she moved out of the way so he could get closer.
"Ran….nee-chan?" It was almost a whisper.
It was Ai's turn to be shocked.
"You're saying that this girl is Mouri-san."
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
They looked at me for confirmation, and all I could manage was a small head nod.
Ai looked curious. "Did they happen to give you a small pill, about this big?"
I nodded again.
"APTX-4879." Conan spoke. It seemed like no surprise to them that I had been shrunk to the size of a child. What's going on!?
I wanted answers, but had not the strength to ask for them. So instead I asked the one question I had to know.
"Kudo Shinichi. Where is he?"
Recognition flashed in their eyes. They knew. They both knew.
"You know don't you! Where is he! You said he isn't really dead! Are those people after him!?"
Ai gave a nervous chuckle. "More like the other way around. He's after them."
"What do you mean?"
Ai gave a loud sigh. "I suddenly realized I have somewhere to be! I'll leave this to you, Edogawa-kun." She sent him a look that only they understood. "Good luck!" she called over her shoulder as she walked away.
He sighed. "I'll need it." He turned to me. "Ran. Promise me you won't drop kick me for this one, okay?"
"That's Ran-nee-chan to you!"
"Actually, it's not."
"What are you talking about! Are you going to give me some answers or what! Who were those people! Where is Shinichi!"
He didn't answer any of these questions. "The name of the drug they fed you is APTX-4869. It is designed to kill and leave no traces. However, if a victim manages to survive, the drug has a…unique side effect. It shrinks their body to the size of a child, leaving the brain intact. In simple terms, if someone manages to survive, they would have the body of a child and the mind of an adult."
"And that's what happened to me?"
"Yes."
"But what does that have to do with Shinichi?"
"Kudo Shinichi was another unfortunate victim of APTX."
"So he…."
"Yes."
No way…
"W-where is he now?"
"You're the one who grew up surrounded by detectives, Ran. You can't even figure this one out yourself?"
His eyes met mine. Those blue eyes. I know those blue eyes.
No….
It's not possible….
Shinichi….
He was with me the whole time.
Every time I wanted to see him, he was already there.
It didn't seem possible…yet, somehow, it made complete sense. I had even suspected it at the beginning, but he always managed to somehow convince me otherwise. He had me completely fooled.
"I'm sorry Ran. I couldn't tell you. If the Organization ever found out that Kudo Shinichi was still alive, they'd come back to finish what they started. And they'd kill all my loved ones too. If you knew….I couldn't let you get hurt." He avoided my gaze. "Every time you cried…I couldn't…I'm sorry."
I didn't care about that stuff. I didn't think about how he kept about the biggest secret ever from me. I didn't think of the time that I had bathed with him, or the times that he and Conan had appeared to be in the same place at once. I didn't think about that.
He was here. He said he'd come back…and he did…in fact…he was here the whole time. He was really here…this was real. It wasn't some dream my subconscious had created to fill the gaping void in my heart. He was here!
Before I knew what I was doing, I flung my arms around him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his face turn redder then a tomato. In all honesty, my face was probably the same color. Tears began to stream down my face, drenching his signature blue tux.
I didn't care that he left and didn't tell me. I didn't care that he was chasing after an extremely dangerous crime ring. I didn't care that we were both the size of children. He was here!
A/N: Update 1/7/16: I went through this story and fixed a couple typos and things, which I should have done a long time ago. This story is really old, but I still like the concept, so I hope you enjoyed it!