I wrote this out of boredom. Hope you enjoy.
Summary: During a case involving the FBI, Conan's identity is mistakenly revealed in front of everyone. What is our little detective going to do? (One-shot)
"Mouri-kun! Perhaps you have solved the case?" Inspector Megure had excitedly said as he caught glimpse of Kogoro's now limp body. Takagi, Jodie, Camel, Satou, Sera, and Ran had all gathered around the sleeping detective, eager to hear his deduction. One of the four suspects had begun to break out in a nervous sweat. Unknowingly to them, however, a certain shrunken detective had been sitting behind the red couch Kogoro had fallen on after being knocked out. His signature cocky smirk stretched across his face as he began to explain in vivid detail who the culprit was and the reasons for his conclusion.
Surely, he knew this was all risky. He tended to avoid the whole Sleeping Kogoro act when he was around too many people, especially those related to the FBI. Unfortunately for Conan, he had no choice in this matter. Not even Sera knew who the culprit was. If he hadn't stepped up, then who knows if they would have suspected the correct person.
Everything was going perfectly fine as usual….that is, until a certain bumbling detective had decided to wake up at the wrong moment. He yawned loudly and stood up in the midst of Conan's explanation, hence creating an awkward situation. Megure raised his eyebrow, appearing confused at his sudden change in demeanor
"Mouri-kun? Are you going to continue?"
"Eh? What are you talking about?" The detective in question had appeared just as oblivious as Megure. His eyes wandered around the room before widening in a sudden realization. "Oh! My deduction! Yes, it's you!" He then proceeded to lift up his arm, pointing at one of the four suspects. This action caused the sweating boy behind the couch to nearly faint.
"What? That's not what you said earlier." It was now Takagi who spoke. As the scene unfolded, Ran's eyes narrowed. She knew something was up. Where had Conan run off to, anyway? Now that she thought about it, Conan was always quiet when her father had went into his sleeping Kogoro mode. Most of the time, he wasn't even around...
And that's when it hit her. All of the pieces of this endless puzzle finally came together.
Following her hunch, she marched over to where the red couch was and literally kicked it down, much to the shock of the occupants in the room. Conan, not wanting to get crushed by the couch, hurriedly scurried out of its range, now in full view of everyone. To make things worse, his Voice Changing Bowtie was in his right hand, the mechanical side faced upwards for all eyes to see.
"Huh? What are you doing, you stupid brat?" Kogoro had inquired with clear annoyance present in his voice.
"You…" The chilling voice of Ran sent shivers down everyone's spine. Her voice was quivering with a mixture of sorrow, anger, and somewhat relief. "Shinichi…You…You are Shinichi…You've always been…" With this revelation, the previously calm room was sent into pure chaos.
"What? Kudo-kun?" Megure's jaw fell to the floor at Ran's insane accusation.
"The Detective Brat?!" Kogoro's expression mirrored Megure's, not believing her.
"What do you mean?" Jodie brought a hand up to her chin, trying to make sense of this whole scenario. Now that she thought about, how in the world had he gotten so smart? Vermouth did call him cool guy once...and Vermouth also has never aged in the past 20 years... Perhaps this is connected to him as well?
"Eh?! Conan-kun is Kudo? Have you gone insane?" Takagi's eyes grew wide as he realized how much sense it made, despite how he seemed to not believe it. Conan had a vast knowledge on various subjects, so being a well known teenage detective would explain everything. The part that made it all a stupid accusation was that he was 7 years old and the Kudo he remembered was 17.
"Impossible!" Satou just couldn't believe it...a teenager reverting 10 years younger? What a ludicrous thought. She would've laughed if she didn't realize Ran was being dead serious. Whatever Ran was smoking, she didn't want any of it.
Camel couldn't contain the laughter that escaped his lips. "You're joking, right?."
All eyes were on the said boy, who struggled to keep a cool façade on. He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head out of habit.
"W...What? What are you talking about, Ran-neechan!" Conan attempted in his childish voice, determined to try to conceal his identity despite already being called out. "That's not even possible! Isn't he like, 10 years older than me?" A few became at ease at Conan's words, believing his act, while others, like Jodie and Takagi, became suspicious at how nervous he was about it.
Ran saw straight through his lie, unlike the some of the occupants in the room who had refused to believe that such a thing was possible. Her glare intensified. "Shinichi! Stop lying already!" Her fists clenched. "I'm tired of your lies…Can't you just be honest, for one time in your life?!" The attention shifted back to the boy, who now had his hair shadowing his face. The glare of his glasses made it impossible to read his expression.
Conan realized how much he was hurting Ran. He had two choices. He could continue acting like a kid, which would likely fail miserably. Doing so would just set him up for disaster in the future. Not only would Ran know he is lying straight to her face, but he would already be under suspicion. The other option…
"Alright." He lifted his head up, allowing for everyone to see his troubled expression. His childish voice was no more. In its place was now a mature tone beyond his years. It was hard to believe that a child's demeanor could change so drastically in seconds. He bit his lip, eyes closing hopelessly. "You got me."
"WHAT?!" Kogoro and Takagi shrieked in unison that this was actually real. Sera had remained calm during the whole scene, in contrast to the shock stricken looks on everyone else's face. She had known for quite a while who Conan really was. Ever since she had seen him in the act herself, she figured it out. Not to mention, she had recognized his face from her childhood days. It was kind of obvious. To see him actually admitting it though was quite surprising, to say the least. Sera knew the consequences of everyone knowing…she too was just as worried as Conan. The knowledge of his identity could very well endanger the lives of every single person in this room.
There was a brief moment of silence, due to no one knowing what to say.
"How?" Ran began, breaking the silence. " At least tell how you ended up like that rather than refusing to explain anything else!" Once again, Ran appeared hurt. She couldn't even look Conan in the eye. "You can't just say you're Shinichi and not enlighten us at all on how it happened and why you didn't tell anyone…"
"Ran…" He could feel her pain…every last bit of it. Shinichi gritted his teeth together, completely lost on what to say. He didn't want to hurt Ran anymore. Seeing her like this was equally as painful as being shot through the heart. 'Damn it…what have I gotten myself into?' Shinichi thought in distress.
"I…I'm sorry…" His fists clenched tightly, his voice holding an undertone of guilt and sorrow.
"No you aren't!" She barked back. "Don't act like you're sorry, Shinichi!" The others watched the two's feud, not wanting to interrupt.
It really hurt…Every time Ran spoke to him in such a hateful manner, it was ruining him. He needed to fix this. The problem was…if he told everyone the full truth, they'd surely become targets. Would knowing his identity alone already have made them targets? He needed to decide quickly whether to tell them or not the full story. He internally shook his head, realizing that the Black Organization does not leave any lose ends. He needed to tell them. At this point, they deserved to know.
Conan gestured for Megure to take the suspects out of the room for now so that he didn't have to involve them further. He then took a deep breath after Megure did as ordered.
"Before I start…you should know that this information will ensure that your life will be targeted…" This news brought about nervous reactions.
"Is it really that crucial?" Satou questioned with a stern expression. Conan nodded. She was a cop; therefore she was prepared for anything. Her determined eyes showed Conan that she was more than willing to listen, even after his confirmation. Everyone else had seemed this way as well.
He proceeded to tell them everything. All about APTX-4869, how he got shrunk from the drug, and who the Black Organization was. Jodie had helped with explaining the last part since she already knew about it and pitied the boy for his current dilemma. He also told them who Haibara was as well, deciding it wouldn't really change things if they knew. After all, just knowing even the smallest detail about them would ensure death.
After Conan finished his story, tears were visible in the corner of Ran's eyes. "All this time…you were in this much trouble and you still didn't tell me?"
"I couldn't let you get hurt-"
"Bullshit, Shinichi! You should know I could care less about that!" Once again, Ran snapped back. Then, all of a sudden, Ran kneeled down to meet Conan's height and embraced him. "I missed you so much…" A blush formed on the boy's features. From the corner of his eye, he could see the piercing glare directed at him.
"Pervy brat…" Kogoro muttered, loud enough for a few to hear. Sera couldn't help but snicker at this. Irritation was visible in his features, although he decided not to say much. He didn't want to remind everyone how it had been Shinichi the whole time during his deductions.
"Sorry to interrupt your…ahem, lover's quarrel, but I have a question." The inspector chimed in, earning the attention of Conan. Ran let go of Conan, allowing him space.
"Yeah?" Conan turned to Megure. The inspector didn't miss the hint of irritation in the boy's eyes at being forced to let go of Ran. He decided to ignore this and continue on with his inquiry, though.
"We have seen you in two places at once multiple times before. For instance, during that one case at your high school's play." Megure frowned, clearly confused.
"I either made Hattori disguise as myself or had Haibara disguise as Conan. Rarely, I'll take a temporary antidote to return to my original body. Ran was suspicious of my identity at multiple times, so I had no choice but to deceive her."
"It certainly worked…" Ran's voice clearly revealed that she was not happy about this at all.
"At any rate, we don't have all the time in the world to be loitering around in here." Megure had taken a few steps to the door, followed by Takagi and Satou. "After all, we have a case to finish. We'll see you later, Kudo-kun."
"Also, we expect an in depth explanation of the Organization. Don't miss a single detail." Satou added before the officers took their leave.
"Well, cool guy, this was quite the shock!" Jodie commented with a smile. "I would have never expected you to be a student in my class! No wonder you always seemed so smart!"
Conan returned the smile. "I hope this doesn't change things. I wish to continue working with you…as Edogawa Conan." A wink followed his words.
"Of course!" Soon enough, everyone besides him and Ran left the room. The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Ran resumed her embrace with the small boy, much to his pleasure.
Just now, Ran realized all of the times Shinichi had seen her naked and how she admitted some of her secrets to him. Conan seemed to notice a visible dark aura emerging from the angered teenage girl. He backed away, now cowering in fear.
"Shinichi…YOU ARE SO DEAD!"
And with that, Conan had bolted out the door, faster than he had ever moved his small legs ever before.
