Summary: A year had passed since the downfall of the Black Organization. Everything had went back to normal- or as normal as Shinichi tried to perceive, but there were always consequences.
"Oi, oi- don't tell me she's still sleeping?" a sigh escaped the lips of a young man of age 17 as he strolled into a feminine room. He stopped at the doorway, glancing at the lump underneath the covers before rolling his eyes and walked closer silently. "Ran- it's almost 7, if you don't wake up soon you'll be late" he called out, but the said girl didn't reply, sleeping away oblivious. Kudou Shinichi; the childhood friend of Ran Mouri sighed but sat at the edge of her bed, a soft smile gracing his features as he glanced at his sleeping friend. He raised his right hand, and using his index finger, he poked the middle of her eyebrows.
"Mmm" the said girl groaned as sunlight broke through the crack of her curtains- hitting her face as well as she moved away from the sunlight and his prodding finger. Shinichi chuckled, his heart swelling as he watched her sleeping figure a bit longer. She looked so peaceful.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Shinichi glanced at her alarm clock at the edge of her night-table, the annoying piercing ring breaking the comfortable silence of the room as Shinichi got off the bed putting his back to the clock, facing her while putting his hands on his hips.
"Come on Ran- up, up!" he stated. The said girl groaned heavily, slowly sitting up, rubbing her eyes like a small child. Shinichi smiled at her, watching her endearingly. She turned her attention towards him, glaring. "Oi, oi- don't look at me that way" he joked before she raised an arm, and silencing her alarm clock before peeling off the warm blanket before trudging to the washroom to freshen up.
Since childhood, Shinichi had always barged into her room without knocking- and no matter how much times she reprimanded him and used her karate skills on him, he still barged in- so she gave up trying to make him stop, usually ignoring him whenever he barged in. Shinichi rolled his eyes as he turned around, glancing at the yellow alarm clock behind him, quirking the corner of his lips at the sight of the familiar clock that had a cute face drawn on. He had given it for her present years ago since Ran had kept breaking all her clocks due to the fact that she was not a morning person and used a bit more strength than needed to shut her alarm, he had this clock specifically made from Professor Agasa so that it was indestructible, and obviously it worked as this small device had withstood Ran's brute strength for years now.
"I'll guess I'll wait downstairs" he stated aloud before leaving the room, waiting for his childhood friend downstairs.
"Morning Dad" Ran yawned as she walked down the steps, into the kitchen and grabbed a bagel to eat.
"Morning Ran" Detective Mouri replied glancing at her, studying her closely.
"Where's my morning?" Shinichi complained- but Ran ignored him as he sighed, turning his attention back to the television. Ran grabbed a cup of orange juice before taking a seat next to Shinichi, across her dad as she ate her bagel absentmindedly.
"I have to leave now- a case came up and we're all working overtime to solve it" the older Mouri stated gruffly as he put down his newspaper, finishing the rest of his sandwich before putting the plates away.
"Is it about the invisible thief?" Ran asked as he nodded.
"I'll be back for dinner" Mouri stated staring at his daughter, eyes softening. "Don't go anywhere, okay?"
"I'm fine dad- I won't go anywhere strange" Ran rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry old man- I have her back" Shinichi grinned. Mouri frowned at his direction but didn't say a word.
"Alright- oh yeah, Ran- please water the plant in the corner- it's dying" he stated before leaving the kitchen. "I'll see you later" he called out before the sound of the door opening and shutting echoed the house. Ran and Shinichi turned to the said dying plant that was taking up the corner of the kitchen- right behind Shinichi's chair.
"Wow- it is dying" Shinichi muttered, eyebrow raised chuckling at the brown plant.
"It's already dead- I'll just replace it without dad noticing" Ran stated as she finished off her bagel, shutting off the television.
"Good choice- the old man's not going to notice if you change it" Shinichi nodded as he glanced out the window. "It's going to rain later Ran- you should take an umbrella" he added looking at the cloudy sky as Ran observed outside.
"I hope it doesn't rain too hard" Ran sighed.
"Doubt it- the news said that it's going to rain at least 10 mm today" Shinichi shrugged, earning another sigh from the girl as she put away her plate and grabbed her school stuff and umbrella before leaving the house- the boy walking next to her.
And like any other average day, they would walk to school together- Shinichi ranting about the newest and latest case he solved, telling her how he solved it while she would walk in silence, letting him talk. "Ah, morning Ran" a cheery voice interrupted them as Sonoko, Ran's best friend greeted as they arrived in the classroom.
"I'll continue this later" Shinichi sighed as he left his friend's side, letting her talk to her other friend as he took a seat in his usual seat- but instead of putting his head down and taking a nap, he watched her movements. It sounded creepy- but Shinichi wasn't a creeper and this was his childhood friend- so it was fine to watch her.
"Look at this new bracelet I got from my dad" Sonoko raised her wrist- showing her friend the silver bracelet that had charms on it.
"It's adorable" Ran smiled as she looked at the charms a bit closer. "A cat charm, a girl charm- oh! The daisy charm is cute" Ran gushed.
"I know! My dad even gave me a book charm- but I don't even read! I should have just give this to Kudou since he reads Sherlock Holmes at least" she rolled her eyes before freezing, staring at her friend nervously. Ran shook her head smiling.
"I doubt Shinichi would even have a need for a charm though" she laughed as the girls turned to Shinichi who just raised a brow at them. True- he wouldn't have a need for a charm- it's not like he wore any jewelry. Ran gave a quick half-smile just in time as their teacher arrived in class.
"Sit down- let's begin class" their teacher called out as their class settled down, Shinichi casting glances to the other side of the room, where Ran was oblivious to his stares.
Ding, Dong! The bell rang, signalling the end of class. "Wow- that was so boring, I forgot school was such a waste of my time" Shinichi groaned as he walked over to Ran's desk who was laughing glancing over towards him before turning back to her classmate.
"So I told him to screw off and I scared him!" one of their classmates finished telling her story as Ran laughed more before getting up, packing her things.
"Good thing that guy didn't approach you again" Ran smiled to her classmate who nodded.
"Oh Ran- we're going to get some crepes later on, want to join us?" another of their classmate waved as they came over- 2 girls following her as Sonoko came over as well.
"Sorry, she's with me today" Shinichi replied for her grinning.
"Sorry, I'm going to Shinichi's today" Ran apologized, their classmates widening their eyes.
"It's fine! Don't apologize!" They nodded understandingly smiling softly. "We'll go another time!" Ran nodded smiling as they left.
"Sonoko, want to come?" Sonoko glanced at her.
"No, it's okay- I'll leave you two alone, I'll go with you another time" she promised, for once- her tone of voice devoid from any teasing.
"You keep saying that- but you never come" Shinichi rolled his eyes at the girl. "Oi, it's not like my place is haunted or booby-trapped" he added.
"It's probably booby-trapped to anyone other than you Ran" Sonoko joked as Shinichi rolled his eyes once more, Ran chuckling. "Oh yeah- when is Hattori-san and Kazuha-chan coming?"
"Tomorrow" Shinichi replied automatically.
"Tomorrow" Ran replied simultaneously.
"Okay, I'll go tomorrow with them" she agreed.
"Alright, I'll be going now" Ran grabbed her bag.
"Okay- be careful, it's raining" Sonoko stated as she hugged her friend, Ran nodding as she left the classroom, Shinichi waving at Sonoko who turned away, ignoring him.
"Oh wow, it is raining quite heavily" Ran muttered as she got out her umbrella as she walked out of the school ground's the rain falling on her umbrella.
"Yeah- it's supposed to rain for the entire afternoon" Shinichi commented beside her as they walked down the road.
"Oh, I should visit the flower shop"
"Are you going to buy the replacement plant now?" Shinichi raised a brow.
"It's too rainy to buy a replacement plant today- I'll just get flowers" she shrugged as they stopped by the flower shop that was along the way to Shinichi's place.
"What flowers are you going to get?" Shinichi glanced at the different flowers decorating the small but pretty shop.
"Oh, they have daisies" Ran commented, staring at the pretty white flowers, chuckling softly as it reminded her of Sonoko's daisy charm. She glanced upwards- as the curtains that separated the front of the shop and the back of the shop opened.
"How may I help you miss?" a woman appeared.
"Can I please have a bouquet of daisies?"
"Of course" the woman nodded as she gathered the said flowers. "Is it for a special occasion?" she asked.
"Yes" Ran nodded.
"I see, daisies are one of my favourite flowers" the woman stated smiling.
"Mine too" Ran nodded in agreement.
"Oh? May I ask why?" the woman inquired as she tied a ribbon around the bouquet.
"The first flower I received was a daisy from my childhood friend" she replied smiling as Shinichi looked away- slight pinkish grumbling something about 'Not needing to tell the entire world how he first gave a girl a flower'.
"That's adorable" the woman smiled warmly. "The total is 550 yen" Ran nodding, grabbing her money as she paid for it, Shinichi leaving the shop to wait for her outside.
"Should I get some fruits too?" Ran mumbled to herself glancing at the bouquet in her hands.
"Nope, flowers are enough" Shinichi shook his head smiling reassuringly as Ran sighed.
"I suppose flowers are enough" she agreed as they walked in silence down the road. Soon enough, they were walking down a small path, luscious green grass surrounding them- as their environment was well maintained. A few more minutes passed in silence as they walked down the wet path listening to the rain falling around them, before arriving at their destination. Shinichi hummed to himself as he was walking in front of her, noticing that she stopped walking. He stared at her knowing that she stopped walking for a reason and wasn't about to walk any more. He glanced around, taking a seat on moderate sized stone, watching her.
"So Ran, what's on your mind?" Shinichi asked as the said girl stared at him sorrowfully as she exhaled, crouching. "Does your stomach hurt?" Shinichi asked worriedly, but the girl didn't respond.
"You know…Shinichi" she mumbled. "You're an idiot" He scoffed.
"I am not"
"You're an idiot" she repeated. "A year has passed since you defeated the black organization" she mumbled, the boy nodding. "I always wondered why you didn't tell me you were disguising as Conan" she accused- but no malice behind her words. "I wondered if you had found it funny- watching me anguish over your disappearance and crying for you" she muttered, head hung low. Shinichi stared at her- waiting for her to finish her words.
"Never" he mumbled. "I never laughed at you"
"Did you know? Hearing your voice wasn't enough for me" her voice cracked as his heart clenched. "I wanted more than just hearing your voice" she took in a shaky breath. "I wanted to see you. Wanted to touch you and believe that you weren't in trouble" Normally Shinichi would have blushed- but he stayed quiet, his bangs covering his face.
"But I was an idiot. I didn't know that you were facing such a dangerous organization. You didn't tell me because you wanted to protect me" her voice cracked more as the bouquet dropped from her hands, landing on a stone in front of Shinichi.
"You wanted to protect me so you didn't tell me anything, leaving me oblivious to all the danger you were in" her grip on her umbrella loosened as it dropped, landing on the grass next to her as rain hit her skin, slowly wetting her clothes.
"You're going to catch a cold" Shinichi croaked out- but he knew she couldn't hear him. Not anymore. Not ever. He was never going to have another chance to protect her. He can never touch her, play with her hair, tease her. He was never going to attain his goals of marrying his childhood friend and he would never, ever get a chance to tell her that he loved her.
"I never even told you my feelings" a sob racked her body as Shinichi watched her painfully as he reached out a hand to try wipe her tears- his hand passing through her as he gritted his teeth.
"I never told you the things I wanted to say" she cried out as her knees hit the rectangle stone in front of her, ignoring the cold.
"I loved you Shinichi. I loved you so much" she whispered- barely audible as Shinichi fought his tears back, turning his head upwards- the rain falling, passing through him as it never even touched him.
"Why did you have to die?" she sobbed as she rested her forehead on the cold slab unforgiving stone. "Why did you have to go to some place where I can never reach you again?" she cried out, her body shaking.
"Can't you see how much you made everyone worried?" Shinichi closed his eyes.
"Can't you see how you much you made everyone suffer?" she clenched her teeth, sobs racking her body.
"I only wish…" she whispered, struggling to stable her voice.
"I only wish you could see how much I'm suffering"
"I can…" Shinichi replied- his voice hollow. "I see you suffer every day- and yet, I can't do anything about it." A tear escaped his eyes as he clenched his fist.
"I wish you could also see how much I'm suffering too" he whispered, his voice echoing in the silence.