Angel
Chapter 1
"Race you back home!" the young boy threw a challenge at her with a cheeky grin before dashing off.
"You cheat!" the girl yelled as she sprinted off after him.
For a while, down a few streets, the race went on. Under the glow of the street lamps, night saw a teenage girl chasing after a young child. Carefree they were, with no regard for the strange looks thrown by the few passers-by around. Then turning into the familiar street, the little boy pumped his fist into the air as a sign of victory before turning around to proclaim loudly, "Ha! I'm the winner!"
Empty words they were for there was no one else besides him to hear his exclaim of victory. Turning around cautiously at the lack of answer, the boy found himself struck dumb at the face of an empty street.
The initial steps he took were small and hesitant, these qualities reflected in his voice which called her name out repeatedly with much anxiety. The steps grew in speed, the urgency mirrored in his childish voice. Breaking into a sprint, he traced the path he had come from, all the while calling out her name as panic maintained its tight grip over his heart.
It was at the third corner that he had turned down, when a pair of hands suddenly reached out from behind and seized him. Cold and clammy they were to skin that was warm from all the exertion and panic. Arms flailing, the boy struggled as he attempted to fix his trusty wristwatch into position. Without warning, the attacker released him and suddenly spoke up.
"Race you back!"
Recovering from his ungraceful fall, Conan turned just in time to see Ran dashing down the corner. With a deep sigh of relief as panic released its icy grip on him, the little boy grinned and followed.
Up the stairs, the two went, headed towards the apartment. Still feeling the after effects of the race he had lost, Conan inhaled deeply the cool wind that greeted him, enjoying the way it cooled his flushed cheeks. Then, noticing something else, he slipped his small hand into Ran's bigger one. Cold were her hands to his touch and the pallor that pained her complexion was striking under the soft illumination from the lamps overhead.
"Are you feeling all right?"
She broke out of whatever trance she had been immersed in after his third repetition of the question and managed a cheery smile which seemed a tad forced. "I'm fine!" Then, letting go of his hand to rummage for her keys, she fished it out from her bag. With the cool metal in her hands, she stabbed forward, towards the keyhole. It would not fit in. Again she tried. The key still refused to enter. Several attempts she took, but she still missed the keyhole. Ran shook her head slightly as if attempting to clear her vision. The key fell from her trembling hands with a loud harsh jangle as she crumpled into a heap onto the floor. The world around her darkened as the color from her vision slowly drained away while the monotonous buzzing in her ears grew in volume.
"Ran! Ran!" someone called out anxiously as a face appeared dimly over her already fading vision.
A weak smile was all she could manage.
"You're back… Shinichi…"
And the world blacked out.
She had fainted. It wasn't the first time.
It had started with the pallor in her complexion, followed then, by the increasing frequency of the fainting spells and then her hallucinations. Worried, Mouri Kogoro had brought his daughter for a check up after two months of the continuous symptoms. A fortnight had dragged on in silence before they received a call from the hospital, informing them the release of Ran's medical report.
Solemnly the trio sat before the doctor. The famed detective on the edge of his seat with his knuckles clenched until they were of a disturbing bone-white. Oddly however, his daughter seemed very much at peace, seated quietly in her seat, with a look of perfect calm upon her face. The only clue to her anxiety was perhaps, her unusually tight hold over the little boy who sat in her lap. He wore an uneasy expression and was strangely silent with his brows in a close knitted position as he felt the cold hands of Ran in his warm grip.
Time seemed to stretch on forever as the doctor's hand moved in a clockwise motion repeatedly, unwinding the string on the brown envelope. Withdrawing a thick stack of papers, his eyes scanned the words across the pages. Then looking up, his eyes met the gaze of them three before he adjusted his spectacles and said gently to Ran, "Perhaps you would like to leave the room first?"
Her grip on the little boy tightened unwittingly as she replied without hesitation, "It is my condition, and I want to know what is wrong with me." And firmly she remained in her seat, her lips set in a tight grim line.
"I am very sorry to inform you that you have developed brain tumor." Pausing awhile as if to let his words sink in, the doctor then continued as he drew out films of the X-ray photographs and placed it against the harsh fluorescent background and continued his detailed explanation.
Her grip on Conan suddenly loosened as her hands fell uselessly against the sides of the chair, swaying dully in mid air, her back now slumped. With an entire change in his demeanor, the famed detective instructed the young boy to bring Ran out of the room.
Conan tugged gently at Ran, leading her out of the small office into the corridor. She did not resist and sat quietly on the plastic seat in the harshly lit corridor. But they were still within the hearing range as the cruel Fate allowed them to hear the last of the conversation.
Tersely, the familiar voice her father had asked, "Can she be cured?"
"We can perform an operation on her to remove the tumor but it will be an operation carrying many risks."
A short pause and then, "If she doesn't take up the operation… How long more?"
"Three months at most."
And that ended the visit to the doctor.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! Thank you!