When Memories Live

Eleven years ago-September 23, 1992

"Shit."

My mouth went dry when I found myself standing naked, aged at eighteen, in front of a gaping seven year old girl who was at the moment playing with doll that she dropped in shock as her eyes traveled down my body and stayed fixated on the lower section of my pelvis. Making a quick move behind a large stationary turtle for kids to clamber all over on the playground I appeared on, I was able to hide my revealing self from the little girl as I smiled apologetically at her as she continued to stare at me wide eyed.

"H-Hey there Ran!" I greeted in a friendly voice trying to not scare her any further. I'm pretty sure I have already scarred her enough just now with my genitals hanging out in the open for her to see.

"Who are you? Where did you come from? And why are you naked?" the small Ran interrogated with her eye brows furrowed together in caution.

At an age like hers at the moment, the truth of the situation could actually pass by as valid….at least in child's state of mind. Otherwise, when asked that same question, and in several accounts I have before, I usually make up a lie or head for the hills. It doesn't matter, she is the only one later in life that seems to believe me and eventually the one to surprise me with more knowledge about myself than even I know.

"How do I put this for you…..I kind of time traveled and when I do, and I honestly don't know why, I end up naked. I think it's because when I travel so fast it kind of rips my clothes off and anything else I have on me from the present time being."

"What…..?"

"You don't believe me?"

Taking a few small careful steps towards me, some creepy naked man hiding behind a sandlot turtle statue, Ran narrowed her eyes as she focused her eyes on my face. Studying me for a moment and rolling the idea of time travel around in her mind, it seemed Ran simply gave up trying to figure out the logistics of it and shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I believe you…..it kind of explains the weird smoke and you popping out from it… but…"

"But?" I inquired, an eyebrow slowing rising on my face as she took another step towards me her eyes once again studying me.

" You just look a lot like my best friend Shinichi….."

I couldn't help but to smile.

"Really?"

Eleven Years to the present- October 19th 2003 Shinichi (age 18) Ran (age 18)

"Ouch! Dammint!"

Standing up too quickly I rammed my head into the closet rail where I am pretty sure my cranium has acquired a good number of bumps by Kami knows how many times I have hit my head on or into things coming back from the past to the present.

"Shinichi?!"

"W-wait Ran no!"

Before even listening even to what I had even said Ran swung open the closet door where I happened to reappear into to see my hands in mid air standing completely butt naked.

"Oops!" Ran squeaked quickly spinning around with her back to me as I stood completely flustered. This has probably been the third time she has seen me naked ever when this kind of stuff has happened. Usually she isn't around or doesn't even realize when I come back to the present.

"Oops is right! Didn't you hear me say not to come in!?" I was a little bit embarrassed and frustrated because of the fact I appeared undressed in front of her. Stomping out from the closet I headed towards the nearest bathroom and swung the door closed.

"Well sorry!" Ran bit out back to me "What am I suppose to do when I hear a sudden slam and a scream of anger in my own bedroom closet while I am studying?!"

Unlocking the bathroom door I walked out with a towel borrowed from the bathroom around my waist "Your room?"

"Yes. My room." Ran glared at me, her face still flushed red from seeing me naked…again.

My hand wondered to my chin as I dwelled on this thought for a second. I reappeared from the past to the present this time in Ran's room. Weird. The last place I was in was my house where I usually travel to and from. Yet, this time I not only left from my house but came back in a different location which was quite abnormal.

"Hell-oo?" Ran was growing more irritated as I stood ignoring her mindlessly lost thinking about my recent predicament. It wasn't until Ran stabbed her finger into my forehead to snap me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You're not listening-again! What time did you just come back from?"

I smiled at the question and it made Ran's growing anger slowly dissipate.

"I came back from the time where we first met…well at least when you met the future me. Eleven years ago."

Her eyes lighting up, Ran smiled broadly as she traveled back to the memory of it.

"I definitely remember that time…and how you were naked as you are now." Ran smiled slyly as her eyes traveled up down my body making me feel increasingly warm.

"Yeah…well, I felt like I kind of scarred you from that. I don't like flinging my naked body in front of children you know."

Ran giggled as she pressed her hand against my flushed cheek. "Well, it didn't. At age seven when you see some random naked man explode out from a cloud of smoke it becomes an amusing memory to go back on. It was never the same from that day on and as you said….."

Ran leaned in closer to my face as her hand traveled down from my cheek to my chest, her touch burning my skin.

"….it was our little secret!"

Before I could even react to what to do by how close her face was towards mine she pushed me back to where I almost stumbled over my feet and slammed the door in my face.

"Now go get dressed! Don't you know how inappropriate it is to stand naked in a girl's room? There are some cleaned clothes in my father's closet."

Arching an eyebrow at the slammed door I grinned again."What are you talking about, I think its perfectly normal for a boyfriend to be naked in his girlfriend's room!"

There was a moment of silence until Ran creaked the door open where I could only see a side of her obviously flushed face. "Go get dressed Shinichi-now."

When I was finally able to find a suitable pair of her dad's slacks that were a little loose on me and a button down white shirt that I rolled up to my forearms I walked back into Ran's room to find her sitting on her bed reading a purple colored notebook.

"What's that?" I pointed towards the book making her look up smiling over the journal towards me.

"Well Shinichi, it happens to be my well hidden diary that I have had since I was seven years old writing down all the encounters I have had with you until I was fifteen."

With raised eyebrows I nodded my head as I took a seat next to Ran on her bed and leaned over to peer over her shoulder to see a scribbled date of 1992 written on the top left corner on one page in the notebook.

"You don't say!" I responded amused with the idea that she journaled down each time I saw her in the past. Something I didn't know was going to happen to me until I was seventeen.

Staring at the filled pages Ran smiled flipping through each marked memory. " It really was from that day on you changed everything. You made life a little more exciting for you as I waited weeks or months and even years for you to reappear."

Ran laughed as she closed her book and slid it back under her pillow. "It was so hard for me to keep the secret that I was spending time with your future self for eight years from you. Something you didn't even know about yet all along I knew but had to hide from you!"

I laughed at the thought too. It was true- I didn't even know about her encounters with me from the future until I was seventeen and I ran into those damn men that knocked me out and gave me some weird drug that mutated some gene of mine that suddenly had me flying to and from the present and past.

"Yeah…crazy huh?" I replied as I stared absent mindly at the ground smiling.

"I mean it Shinichi, I think it was something great because not only did you help me when I was kid, I can now help you as you start all over meeting me in my childhood..and…" Ran laid her hand on mine and squeezed as she turned her head so her violet blue eyes could look into mine.

"..help you get through this. I know it's hard for you and I can imagine how frightening it is."

I let out an exasperated sigh and then straightened up my back squeezing her hand back harder as my other hand cupped her chin.

" Thank you." I said sincerely before bringing her face towards mine and at first softly kissing her lips. I did it again when she slipped her arms around my neck and then again as her lips to further the kiss when I snaked my arms around her waist.

When I pulled back momentarily to say something I felt my chest tighten and my heart race and pound against my chest.

Oh no…not now.

And just like that I was gone to somewhere not even I knew yet.

To be continued…..

Yes! During the time of finals in college when I should be studying I found time to be able to write. Good ol' procrastination. This is soooooo heavily inspired from after reading the Time Traveler's Wife-such a GREAT book- and I thought I would add some Conan to it. It will work you will see in the upcoming chapters if you review and tell me your thoughts! Peace ya'll-Detectivegirl2005