M.P-chan: This is the first segment of the Within Temptations timeline. I'm not sure how long "Lies" will eventually get, so please stay with me! By the way, this is Ai x Shinichi, so if that's not our things, you may want to skip this fanfic.
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan, it belongs to Gosho Aoyama and various companies with whom I am completely unconnected. This is a FANWORK, so please don't sue me.
Lies
The young girl walked down the street in quiet contemplation. Though many of her fellow students were going the same way, she walked alone. She could feel their staring, but she didn't let it distract her from the multitudes of formulas running through her head.
The girl's name was Ai Haibara. She was 15 years old and has recently moved to this district with her older brother Kosuke Haibara, who worked as a fledging novelist. Today had been her first day at her new high school, and she had had to deal with the same whispers and questions she had when she had transfered into her elementary class in Beika 7 years ago.
It wasn't just her quiet and icy demeanor or her mature way of speaking, but her physical characteristics as well. Her auburn hair signified her mixed race and caught the attention of everyone who wasn't used to her peculiar looks.
Suddenly, a dark green car pulled over and a man stepped out of it. He was tall with dark brown hair and blue eyes. To the outside world he was Ai's older brother and legal guardian. "I'm here to pick you up Ai-chan."
Ai gave him an amused smile at the use of her first name and sat down into the passenger's seat. He closed her door for her as she replied, "Yes, Kosuke-niichan."
Returning to his seat and buckling himself in, he turned the car on and pulled into the street. "How was high school? As bad as I remember it?" He nearly ran into the car next to him.
"Same as it always is I guess, but I wouldn't know. I never attended regular high school. You know that. Your driving is as horrible as ever, I see."
He got a hold of his car and pulled out a cigarette and lighted it. "I can't help it. I haven't had a driver's license in 7 years, with no way to keep my skills sharp."
"So what has "niichan" been up to all day?"
"I've made contact with Akai. We found blue prints for the building the Black Organization is using as their temporary base. It'll come in handy if they stay still long enough."
"Oh? I thought you busy stalking Mori-san."
Shinichi gripped the steering wheel tight enough so that his knuckles turned white. "I haven't checked in on her in the last week, and I wouldn't call it 'stalking.' I'm just keeping an eye on her and making sure she's safe."
"Don't try to fool yourself, Kudo. It only makes you look pathetic." Ai rolled the window down as a subtle way of reminding him that she hated his smoking habits. He ignored it.
"You know," she continued, "that going to see her, is only making it harder on yourself. Not that I care, it's just you tend to smoke more when you're upset, and it's contaminating my clean air."
"It doesn't matter how hard it is on me. All that matters is Ran." Did she know it.
"While it's cute you're trying to pull some dignity into your obsession, it's getting old. If you really cared about her safety, or even her happiness, you'd have cut those ties a long time ago. Her intuition is really top-notch. Even if she has no idea you're around, she can feel you. It makes her miss you even more."
"Are you saying this for Ran or for yourself?"
She flinched. "It doesn't matter who I'm saying it for. It doesn't make it any less true."
Shinichi remained silent.
"Though perhaps it isn't Mori-san that has you burning your lungs out today . . . I heard about it from Dr. Agasa, you know. Your family is holding your memorial service tomorrow to keep up appearances."
Shinichi rubbed out the end of the cigarette butt and lighted another one. He knew that anyone missing for over seven years was legally declared dead.
Ai leaned forward in her seat so that her arms could reach and touched his hand. "Are you going to be ok? You might want to take the day off tomorrow."
"I can't. It's better if I stay busy. Then I won't have time to think about it." He pulled his hand away from hers, which she took as meaning, "I don't want to talk about it. Don't pity me."
They remained silent the rest of the car ride home. Shinichi poured all his concentration into driving, successfully trying to ignore everything that plagued him beneath the surface, while Ai stared absently out the window pretending the bright red rays of the setting sun were cracks the darkening sky.