One Truth, Countless Lies
by Tetra26
Story Summary: The BO has been destroyed, but any data that might lead to a cure, as well as Haibara Ai, have perished as well. With this setback, Kudo Shinichi plans to make a move that could be more painful to Ran than telling her the truth.
Everything is over.
The last showdown between Evil and Good, Villainy and Justice, Black and White.
Even though things are over, there are still fragments of shattered lives to pick up and put back together. Some of those lives, like Haibara Ai, will forever be missing. Others, like Kudo Shinichi, will forever be fragmented. But those responsible for this destruction, and countless other atrocities, will never be able to give a repeat performance. They have been taken down, for good.
Yet, it wasn't supposed to go like this. It was suppose to result in a way different than this. The Black Organization was supposed to be captured and the drug APTX-4869, or at least the data on it, was supposed to be recovered. Then, Haibara Ai and Doctor Agasa were supposed to work on it, together. The Black Organization wasn't supposed to destroy the drugs, wasn't supposed to destroy the data, and wasn't supposed to destroy Haibara. But they did, and Kudo Shinichi is back to square one – and still in a body 10 years his junior.
He has felt both victorious and defeated since the last showdown. Victorious in the sense that there is no longer a Black Organization that he has to protect his loved ones from, yet defeated since he is still stuck in the body of a 7 year old with no immediate leads on returning to himself. And, there's still Ran.
Ran... the girl he loves. The girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The one he still hasn't been completely, or even remotely, truthful to.
He hasn't even spoken to her as "Shinichi" since 3 weeks before his last stand against the Black Organization. He can't bring himself to – it hurts him too much. He sees her everyday, worrying about him, pondering out loud what he's doing, and sighing often. He doesn't have to ask what's wrong anymore, he knows. He also knows that now that there may not be a chance that he'll return to his body, he's going to have to say something to her. He can't keep up the facade anymore, nor can he keep telling her that he's off on some "big case".
Most importantly though, he can't continue to lead her on.
Now that he knows that he may never change, he can't bring himself to continue to keep the girl he loves on a string. He also can't expect her to wait until he grows up all over again – if he tells her the truth about who he is, she just may do so. It isn't fair to her. None of this has been fair to her, not this lying, not this sneaking around and pretending to be a child, none of it.
He has to make a move, be it the right one or a wrong one. He has to say something, be it the entire truth or another lie. He has to have a plan.
Well, that's the Prologue... I already have all of Chapter 1, most of Chapter 2, and half of Chapter 3 written. I'm a bit rusty, I haven't written fanfic in over a year and I've NEVER written one for a manga/anime series (I've also never posted any of my fics here, I may do so). Also, I know this prologue is short, but don't worry – most chapters will be longer. As for the so-called "last stand" against the BO, I'll leave that to your imagination as to how it went down as opposed to writing it (though, I may toss in details in later chapters). Just assume from the little I wrote that: 1) There is no more BO. 2) Haibara Ai is dead. 3) Kudo Shinichi is still in the body of a 7-year old. This story is essentially a "What if Kudo Shinichi doesn't turn back?" story. As for pairings, there aren't any planned as of this point. I'd also sincerely appreciate any constructive criticism anyone can offer, thanks. I hate how this is spaced though.
Next Chapter:
Hattori Heiji attempts to reason with his friend Kudo Shinichi, and tells him that his plan could come back to haunt him...
