Title: Welcome back (Not beta'd)

Language: English

Rating: T

Genre: Friendship/Family/Romance

Published: 28 May 2012

Revised and Updated: 11 December 2014

Words: 3734

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan.

Edogawa Conan, was the name he went by nowadays, ever since he shrunk into his child form. After all, there was no returning to his normal form, no way to be back as Kudo Shinichi... No returning to Mouri Ran.

The antidote cannot be completed.

It was unable to be completed due to the lack of knowledge of the APTX 4868, all the files were gone when they searched for it after the downfall of the Black Organisation. Along with that, the shrunken scientist responsible for its creation went missing, right after its downfall. Expected.

He vaguely remembered the time he infiltrated the Black Organisation with the Ice Queen herself. However, Conan wasn't reminiscing the infiltration, though he remembered how grotesque it was, with all the bloodshed and the smell of death hanging around the battlefield.

Instead of the battle, he thought of the night before everything happened.

That night the two shrunken teens spent their last hours together in the Professor's house.

As they got closer to defeating the Black Organisation, more time was spent together to accomplish the nearly impossible feat.

That night, Haibara Ai wanted to say her farewell (a temporary one) to her comrade, her partner...her best friend. Probably the only friend she would ever have in that lifetime.

On the other hand, Edogawa Conan wanted to spend these last hours, cherishing the normalcy (putting aside his shrunken condition) before the real battle ensues. Praying for their victory.

He have never forgotten that particular night, as it was the last time, he had talked to the shrunken scientist. His last words to his Watson, his Irene Adler. The only woman to ever outsmart him in anything.

Years had passed since that night and he still couldn't forget the strawberry blonde. She is burned into his memory. An incomplete puzzle, with the last piece missing.

He went through the night's events everyday, the memory clear and fresh like it was just yesterday.

He remembered that they made a promise to each other. A promise that he vowed to keep.

It was 8.00 p.m. on the May 23, in 2017.

Edogawa Conan skated his way to the Professor's house, meaning to spend the last hours with his Watson. He also meant to wish good luck to his comrade as both of them have their roles to play in the upcoming battle. The shrunken teen detective took his time, taking steady steps towards the door. He would've used his spare keys, but decided to knock instead.

He knocked exactly three times, before Haibara Ai opened the door. Her face expressing annoyance at his sudden presence.

He observed his partner in crime, taking in her appearance as if he had never seen her for centuries. Taking note of her soft strawberry blonde hair, her cerulean blue eyes shining with wisdom and intelligence. Definitely a beauty, a diamond hidden for too long inside the BO's grasp. A young genius, apparent through her those eyes, showing a bit of pain. Pain that has been through by all geniuses.

Conan have always thought, or maybe he has prayed, that he was never going to be those type of geniuses who went through that ever familiar pain, but his prayers were not granted as he had went through enough pain to last ten lifetimes, in a year.

The cold scientist looked at the boy with wary, but gave him entry anyway. In her own way, she welcomed him into the house. She was never one to show any affection.

They seated themselves on the sofa, opposite of the television in the living room. Silence embracing their presence.

After a while, they looked up into each other's pools of blue, reading the other's emotions like a book. Deciphering the thoughts hidden behind those glinting pools of blue.

As Conan read those cerulean blue eyes, he noticed the presence of anxiety, fear and sadness...

Meanwhile, Ai discovered determination, excitement and hope in his.

This way of communication, was the only way they talked with no one interrupting. The silence masked the silent arguments and debates they ever had with those penetrating pairs of eyes.

A bond formed through their level of intelligence, their situation and their empathy. Reading each other's mind, invading the other's thoughts without the other knowing. A friendship too complicated to even explain. A friendship that has no beginning and knows no end.

"Kudo, before everything begins. I just want you to know something, just in case I...couldn't say this to you... You...are probably the only one I trust, with my life. My only friend in this lifetime and the other. So please, promise me this..."

"...What is it Haibara?"

"If we succeed or fail in this mission, in this...war. Don't look for me. Ever. Don't try. Please... Even if you know, that I'm alive out there. Don't look for me... Do this...and move on with your life... I apologise for the nonexistent antidote. I really am sorry that I couldn't find it, no matter how hard I've tried... But please...Just move on. Not for anyone's sake but only yours... Don't find me as I'll surely find you when the time is right...Alright?" said Haibara, her voice gentle, but firm.

Conan did not like what he just heard. Not at all.

Despite this, he bit his retort and decided to trust her. After all, she trusted him and the least he could do was to trust her on this one. No matter how much he wanted to disagree with her, but then again, there was never a time they agreed on anything, but for just this one time, he will give in for her sake.

"Fine... I-I'll do as you say...but what do I get in return for turning my back against my own friend?"

"If the reaper hadn't taken my soul, I'll come back. On my own, in my own time. That's a promise."

"Just this once Haibara, I... I will let you do this...I hope you don't take this chance to do anything stupid."

"That sounds a lot like you rather than me, Tantei-kun."

She smirked at him with that infamous smirk of hers. He couldn't help but sigh in defeat.

"Although that's true, but I know you are capable of such stupidity, so don't try me."

"Whatever you say Kudo," replied Haibara in a playful tone, teasing the shrunken detective.

Conan looked at her, his eyes looking at that infamous smirk. He could his own lips smirking at the sight of it.

It's weird on how everything turned out. The way he just happened to cross paths with the Hell Angel's daughter. Does that make her a fallen angel? Probably does. An angel fallen into the grasp of the BO. The thought of this angel being trapped with them for far too long, never failed to make his blood boil.

Haibara Ai, a friend sent from the depths of hell, coming to his aid. Only then, he realised how blessed he was to have her by his side.

That night, for the first time ever, they hugged each other without feeling awkward, not even a bit. The hug was warm and fulfilling. It was what they needed after all they have been through.

Conan couldn't help but think, 'Why have we never done this before?'

It felt good and it felt right.

When they part, it felt as if someone has taken a piece of themselves. The feeling of being incomplete, but they had to. There will be a war to fight tomorrow.

At 10.00 p.m., Conan reached the agency, home of Mouri Ran and her father, both fast asleep, unaware of the horrors that was about to begin when the clock struck five.

Presently, on a Monday morning, Conan was in a cafe owned by an old friend of his, Anna. She owed him a favour after he saved her boyfriend from being executed for murder, Kitsuneme was his name. It was a close call, as Kitsuneme was the only suspect that had the time and motive to do the murder whilst the others only had motive with no window of opportunity. Thankfully, Conan managed to see through the smoke screen held by the real murderer. With no further ado, he explained his deduction and succeeded to make the murderer confess to his crime.

Till this day, the happy couple was forever in debt with the detective. He was always welcome in the cafe. Anna would give some pastries, on the house, from time to time as a form of gratitude. Her boyfriend was rarely there when the detective comes for his visits, but when they do meet, they tend to discuss on recent matters for quite a length of time.

Back to the present, he was currently sipping coffee from his mug, ignoring the stares of gawking customers or the glances the waitresses gave him, when they passed by. It was a normalcy. After all, who wouldn't be interested in a famous or infamous, some might say, detective who had single-handedly solved tons of cases that baffles the police. Not to mention his good looks, and who would ever resist those big cobalt blue eyes of his.

Conan had graduated from university after acing his courses, Criminology and Forensic Science (to make his sarcastic partner proud, when she does come back, but who knows when that'll be).

To this day, he has never forgotten his promise and kept it till this very moment. He never searched for her, just like he promised. Nevertheless, he had never seen the end of this promise, just yet.

It was an off day, no cases turned up out of the blue or clients calling up his cell.

He picked up a book from a nearby shelf in the cafe, a book filled with poems as it seemed to be. He was not exactly interested in poems, he preferred mysteries (no surprise there), but he decided to give it a flick of a read. One page wouldn't hurt.

Suddenly, his ears picked up the jingling sound of bells as the door to the cafe opened to yet, another customer. He was accustomed to this sound of bells, however, something pulled him to look at the door. It was like fate was telling him to look up from his crappy poem book, to witness something life-changing.

Oh, was it life-changing indeed.

His eyes landed on a customer, a girl around his age. Her face framed with shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair, her features were fine and delicate as of a porcelain doll. Her lips were full with pink tint and eyes, cool cerulean blue that seems to be blank of thought, but he knows better.

Conan decided to look at her for just a bit more, noticing her body, slim and willowy, covered with a simple apparel of white and shades of blue, flattering her snow white skin which glowed with health. She walked with grace and poise of a model, her hips swaying just slightly as she moved.

Maybe it was a sixth sense that she noticed him, sitting at the corner near the window.

It was strange, seeing her again, in that form. They stared for some time, not moving an inch of their body, too stunned at the turn of events.

Inhaling deeply, he felt rejuvenated as he finally get to meet her. Finally, he knows for sure, that she was walking and talking.

Haibara Ai blinked out of her reverie as the customer behind her told her that it was her turn to order. Ordering a large cup of hot chocolate, a new favourite of hers, she took it to Conan's table. She noticed that eyes were on her being, as she slid into the opposite seat of the detective.

Taking a sip of her hot chocolate, she couldn't help but feel a lot lighter than she had ever felt before. Her promise has been fulfilled after years of hiding, in attempt to escape several of the ever dangerous BO members. Only recently, they have been apprehended after years of looking.

True that they have brought down the BO to their knees. However, some members, mostly higher-ups have managed to escape the clutches of the FBI. Now, they are truly dealt with and the two shrunken teens (now all grown up, yet again) can live peacefully without the worry of shadows lurking in the dark.

Haibara Ai knew she was going to be interrogated if she doesn't start explaining at that moment. Taking another sip, she looked at him in the eye. Oh how she missed looking into those pools of blue.

Conan sighed but said gently, "Welcome Back Haibara..."

His eyes were smiling at her and she couldn't help but let out a giggle, before responding with a simple, "Hi."

Her smile is sincere and gorgeous, as rare as the blue moon. Conan can't help but feel warmth spreading in his chest at the sight of it. Seeing her again was indeed a relief, as it was torturous not to look for her when she went missing. It was like someone took his oxygen away, and he couldn't even enjoy their victory as much as he thought he would. It sucks when your partner in crime disappeared after the victory they have obtained.

Despite the years that passed after that night, some things never changed.

The same comfortable silence embraced them yet again, but at last he asked,

"How are you? Like you asked... I never even tried to look for you... So, where have you been? I..We...missed you, you know. The kids-all of them graduated already, the professor, Detective Takagi and his wife, Detective Sato, my parents, Ran, Sonoko and well...me. Why did you have to go after we won?"

"...Well...it's a long story but, to simplify things, I ran because I needed to hide from Gin and Vermouth. You know as well as I do, they didn't die or even got captured during the battle."

"B-"

Haibara raised her hand, gesturing him to let her finish.

"I know...that I could be safe here...But there's always a chance that I wouldn't be and it's not just me that'll get hurt, if they do find me here. Everyone near me might have been killed, for just being near me. Do you think I would've let a slaughter happen on my account? No. Not in a million years Kudo. Never."

"I get that...But you could've told me where-"

"...And if I did, you would've been the first name on their killing list. Killing you, after they interrogated you and torture you. Kudo, I know Gin and Vermouth. They're killing machines, they would've stopped at nothing to get me down on my knees, before killing me with a single shot to the head. They'd probably even record it, just to send it to everyone I care about, to scare them and to show their power."

Conan didn't say anything as he knew she was right though he hate to admit her rationality on the subject.

"It was only a few years back...When I knew for sure, they were caught and executed. It was...amazing to be a free man Conan. It felt so good..."

"I know... I wished you could've felt it sooner..."

"...Well at least I did. Anyway, after that I got into a private university in London. I travelled a lot to hide from Vermouth and Gin...but, I liked London best. It felt like my roots were calling me back home, where my mother came from. I guess I couldn't be away from it...Moving on, the university had little students and some of them were from the BO. Traitors who got away. They went there due to its small number of students and its privacy. I'd have to admit, the university really knew how to protect one's privacy. There was one time, my friend, Mark, wanted to hack its system. Back in the days, Mark was a hacker in the BO. One of the finest and yet, he couldn't hack into it at all. The others tried as well, no such luck."

"Whoah...Which university is this?"

"It's called the University of Green Lock."

"...Green Lock?"

"Yeah... I get that a lot, most people never even heard of it. Example A, you, the know-it-all detective."

"Shut the fuck up."

"No more story telling-"

"Just continue. Haibara."

"Hmmmm..."

"Please."

"Much better. So, I graduated early and went back...here. I wanted to see the professor, it's been too long after all... So I took a flight here, and I'd arrived a couple of days ago. The professor is still the same, fatherly as always... I was going to go back to London you know...but, he managed to persuade me to stay here. To tell the truth, I just got back from a job interview..."

"What...? A job interview where?"

"Don't laugh."

"Why would I laugh...?"

"Perfect Face Cosmetic Company."

"Oh shit, a make-up company? Oh shit. HAHAHAHAHAHA Fuck Haibara, never knew you were the type to even consider...working in a make-up company, like fuck man."

Conan was still bursting with mirth at the thought of Haibara working in a cosmetic company. Former dangerous drug creator working as a make-up manufacturer.

Goddamn, it takes all kind to make a world after all.

"Okay, okay. I'm stopping...So, did you get it?"

"Tch, of course I did. Gave it to me immediately after the interview was done."

"Not bad, Haibara."

"Make up is nothing when you know how to make a pill that shrinks you to your child form."

"...Well said," said Conan as he held up his mug for a toast, Ai held hers up as well.

"What should we toast to?"

"Our future."

"Our future," they said as their mugs were raised and clinked in contact.

"So, Edogawa, how about you?"

"What about me?"

"What do you do these days?"

"Same old, same old. Solving cases and attracting corpses."

"Ah finally you come to terms to your ability in attracting corpses."

"Yes, Haibara. Yes, I did."

"How's the kids...?"

"Like I said, they've finished their studies. Genta went into culinary, Ayumi became a flight attendant and Mitsuhiko became a lecturer."

"Wow...Everyone found their own path huh?"

"Yeah, I guess they did...Though at times, I wished one of them would become a detective or a police officer, but meh, it doesn't matter as long as they're happy with their decisions."

"Someone misses them."

"It's not like I'm the only one."

"Touché."

They laughed a bit, feeling happy at the presence of the other.

"Well, Edogawa-kun, I think I have to go... See you soon?"

"You have to go already? Hmmm... Wait! Ran's birthday is this Sunday. Join us? It'll be such a surprise for everybody..."

"I... We'll see Edogawa-kun."

Conan did not like the answer, he wanted a real answer.

"Haibara... C'mon, it's been too long."

"I..I'll try to come, I'll try to make time for it," said Ai, a bit exasperated at the detective for being pushy at the subject.

"Well, I'll be seeing you, on Sunday. Don't be late Haibara."

"Yes, Edogawa. I'm not tardy like you."

"Oi, I'm not even in the least, tardy."

"Says you."

"Anyway here," said Conan while handing her an envelope. It was the invitation to Ran's Birthday party. It seems fancy.

"If you do come, tell me and do me a favour, tick that box that says 'plus one'. You're coming as my date."

"Your date."

"Yes, my date."

Haibara Ai scrunched her delicate nose, trying to look disgusted by the idea.

"Oh please, most girls would be jump at the chance to be my date."

"Obviously, I'm not most girls."

"Yes, yes you aren't," chuckled Conan. "Which is why I invited you to be my date, logical enough for you?"

"Hmph."

"Haha, see you Haibara."

"See you..." was her soft reply as she sipped her hot chocolate.

"Wait! Fuck, I almost forgot. Haibara, I don't have your number..."

"Oh yeah, here..."

"Your office too."

Haibara smiled at his little demands. It was endearing on how he wanted to keep in touch with her, she was touched by his effort at it... Her smile widened a bit more at the thought of it.

"You smiled...so many times today," said Conan with his famous smirk that could swoon most girls in exception of his Watson.

"So...Do you have a problem with me smiling tantei-kun?" asked Ai playfully, her eyes shining with tease.

"No, not at all, I like it, it suits you," was his simply reply. Ai raised an eyebrow at his answer, smirking at the revelation.

"Anyway, I'll be off, see you this Sunday Haibara and wear a dress, it's formal."

"We'll see," said Haibara with a twinkle in her cool blue eyes.

Conan stood up and went out of the door, leaving the cream coloured envelope on the table.

Ai picked it up, and opened it. Being careful not to tear anything.

She took in every detail of the invitation and smiled at the thought of Ran's birthday slash wedding. What a surprise indeed. Ran was going to get married to that doctor, a charming man worthy of her love and time. Not bad of match at all. She looked at the invitation, noticing the boxes that would be ticked.

Taking out her pen, she ticked the box has 'Plus One' stated beside it and wrote her name in the blank space.

Haibara Ai.

Her name, her one and only name now. No more Miyano Shiho. She even changed her kanji for Ai, from sorrow to love.

It's time. Time for a change and she will take this chance at second life, to cherish every moment of her life from that moment on.

She began to reminisce the old times. The times she spent with all of them, making her second childhood happy and almost...normal.

Weirdly enough, Haibara who've wanted to go just moments ago, just sat there, sipping her hot chocolate, thinking of the past, her second childhood. Oh what great memories they were.

Meanwhile, Conan was out on the streets, walking around the place. He was on his journey to another case that was probably awaiting his presence. Grown up yet again, he is still the corpse magnet that everyone grown to love.

-The End-