The small drinking glass he held was full with a liquid of a dull yellow color. He brought the glass beneath his nose and inhaled lightly, finding it odorless. He looked up as a voice began speaking to him, that of the man who had handed him the glass. He needed to turn his head up to see the man's face, one of the unavoidable necessities of being in the body of an eight year old child.
The boy's name was Shinichi Kudo, an eighteen year old high school student, though no one would believe it because of his appearance. Anyone who looked at him would see an eight year old boy wearing wide, wire rimmed glasses. But it was true that he was eighteen year old Shinichi Kudo, but thanks to an incident, his body had been shrunk down to the size of a child.
Despite his age, Shinichi had made a name for himself as a genius detective as early as age fifteen. He'd been extremely bright and curious growing up and was fascinated with mysteries. He also had a talent for noticing small details in normal everyday things that most people usually overlooked or would have never noticed. This talent made him wish to be a detective, which he strove to be as he grew up. He spent a lot of his free time reading, usually one of the many books in the library of his large home, which taught him many facts and details about almost every subject. His good memory allowed him to keep track of everything he read and learned, putting it to practice and good use when solving mysteries, in addition to impressing many people with his vast knowledge of just about everything.
Outside his interest in mysteries, he also enjoyed playing soccer. He joined the school soccer team in elementary school and continued playing till his first year of high school. His talents as a player were almost matched with his genius as a detective, earning him the role of team captain starting in middle school. He'd even been scouted to join a professional soccer team when he was thirteen, but refused as he only played soccer for fun and to hone his reflexes and exercise his body to be physically fit enough to be a better detective. By the time he entered the eleventh grade he'd decided he'd gotten everything he needed from the sport, so he quit and put all of his focus on becoming a detective.
By age seventeen, Shinichi had become well known around his home town of Beika as a genius high school detective. He'd first stumbled upon a murder investigation when he was fifteen and helped the police solve it. This happened on numerous occasions after that, and Shinichi's ability to solve cases single handedly impressed the police to the point where they actually came to him for help when investigating a tough case. These things led to his name appearing in newspaper articles reporting the murders and magazine journalists coming to him for interviews, gradually leading to his popularity and fame as the genius high school detective Shinichi Kudo. This of course earned him a lot of attention from his classmates, some of them even asking for his autograph.
But despite his fame, his friendships weren't numerous. Being so easily able to see what most others couldn't made him find it slightly annoying when others couldn't see what he found so obvious. He usually explained what the person couldn't see or understand, but sometimes it would seem so obvious to him that he would become irritated it and be a bit rude in his explanation. He also tended to tell things like they were and say how he really felt about something without thinking about how it would affect the person he spoke to. He had no intention of hurting anyone when doing this, but he had a habit of pointing out what he saw, sometimes without thinking. Most people didn't understand these things about him, so though he was popular, he also had a reputation for being arrogant and rude. Because of this, he really never had many friends.
Except one.
Her name was Ran Mouri, seventeen years old and in the same grade as Shinichi. She wasn't just his best friend, but his only friend. As a matter of fact, they'd grown up together. They'd know each other since before preschool thanks to the friendship between their mothers. Appearance wise, she was a few inches shorter than Shinichi with soft blue eyes and long, medium brown hair down to the middle of her back. She was slim and physically fit, thanks to her position on the school karate team. She'd taken karate lessons in her last year of elementary school, then joined the school team in middle school. Her talent in the martial arts eventually earned her a black belt as well as the role of team captain. Despite her talent in the harsh physical activity, she was a very gentle and sensitive person. One might call it a blessing to have a heart as soft as Ran's. She genuinely and deeply cared for other people, especially her family and friends. Her caring heart even extended to people she didn't know. She was always ready to lend a helping hand to someone in need. She was very polite and pleasant to talk to, making it easy for her to get along with other people. This made it easy for her to tolerate the faults of others, which was one of the reasons she got along so well with Shinichi. She understood him and knew that, even though he knew he was clever and he enjoyed being in the spotlight, he wasn't as arrogant as everyone saw him. He was a caring person, always ready to defend others and never let an injustice pass. He just didn't show it the same way other people did, partially because he didn't like showing the sensitive side of himself, and also because he sometimes didn't know how.
But that was ok, because he didn't have to pretend around Ran. He could be himself with her, but he still hadn't properly shown her any affection, other than a comforting smile and reassuring comments when she was down. But those things weren't enough for him anymore. He was too shy to show any signs of affection to her because, even though he wanted to, he didn't want her to find out that he no longer considered her strictly a friend.
He was trying to find the right way and the right time to tell her that he was in love with her.
He'd had those feelings for Ran for a very long time, but never found the right time, or the courage to tell her. Despite his keen eye for detail and ability to read peoples' emotions, he couldn't tell how Ran felt about him. He knew her better than anyone else, but she was such an emotional person that, even though he always knew how she felt, he could never tell if she felt that way about him.
Being unable to tell her how he felt was difficult in many ways. Not only did he tire of hiding his feelings and wish to just be with her, but he became very agitated when their classmates casually flirted with her. It was no secret that she was very beautiful, though she never truly realized that herself. This, along with her warm and friendly personality, made her a target for a lot of male classmates. Shinichi knew he had no reason to worry however, because Ran was always oblivious to the advances. Her innocence led her to believe that the ones who talked to her were only doing so because they were friendly. It wasn't until later when a friend pointed it out to her that she realized she was being flirted with. Though these flirtations toward her only happened when Shinichi wasn't with her, which was rare. The main reason for this was that they were widely teased for constantly being with each other. Everyone knew that the pair was practically inseparable, and told that they couldn't seem to stay away from their "boyfriend" if they were talking to Ran or "girlfriend if they were talking to Shinichi. Those were the only times that Ran was aware of herself being paired with someone, and she would blush and nervously say that they were just friends. Shinichi would just give them an irritated look and say that it wasn't like that, though he would be blushing as deeply as Ran, while secretly wishing that it really was like that. Whenever this happened, Shinichi would wonder if Ran's nervous reaction was a clue to her feelings for him, but he still never found the courage to ask her.
That was what Shinichi's life generally consisted of.
Until that day.
Shinichi had promised Ran that he'd take her to Tropical Land, a local amusement park, if she won the karate school championship. And with no surprise to anyone, she won. While there, a ride on the roller coaster turned deadly when a murder occurred. After the police came and Shinichi began helping with the investigation, he noticed two men dressed in black trench coats, bowlers and dark sunglasses. Though they would appear suspicious to anyone dressed like that, Shinichi found them suspicious for a different reason. In addition to asking the police why they had to stay during the investigation, they periodically peered at their watches, indicating that they were anxious to get somewhere on time. He temporarily forgot about them while he was investigating, and eventually solved the case by himself, once again impressing the police and the bystanders watching the crime scene. While leaving with Ran, he saw the men again as they walked away and remembered his earlier suspicions. Telling Ran that he'd catch up with her later, he followed them.
Remaining far enough behind that they wouldn't see him, Shinichi eventually followed the men to the side of the park. It was evening by now and dark, but the moon and the lights from the park in the distance lit everything enough to see what was happening. Hiding behind one of the walls of the buildings that housed the parks many electrical boxes, Shinichi watched as one of the suspicious, darkly dressed men spoke with a man holding a briefcase. He heard a short conversation involving blackmail of a roll of film that would expose embezzlement, followed by an exchange of a roll of film given to the man in the brown suit and the briefcase of cash passed to the man in black. The man in the brown suit left shortly after that.
That was when Shinichi heard the soft sound of footsteps disturbing the grass behind him. Startled, he turned his head just in time to see the second man in black, who'd been nowhere to be seen during the exchange, raise a wooden plank above his head and strike him on the head. The blow was sharp and swift, and sent Shinichi to the ground, where he lay on his stomach, half conscious and dazed from the pain resounding from the now bleeding wound on the back of his head. Through the haze, he heard the suspicious men talking to one another, discussing what to do with him. They decided he'd seen too much and had to be disposed of, where they afterward agreed to poison him. He then felt a hand grab the hair on his head and turn his face upwards. Though he was conscious enough to hear them, his body wouldn't respond and he couldn't defend himself. He felt a small pill be laced into his mouth, followed by small amount of water that carried the pill down his throat, some of the droplets of water trickling down his chin. The man dropped his head back to face the ground, and Shinichi lay unable to move as he listened to a pair of footsteps hastily make a getaway.
Time was lost as he lay there, trying to regain full consciousness. The wound on his head pulsed painfully as warm blood trickled down his forehead. The haze cloaking his mind slowly faded, and he eventually regained control of his body. He put his hands flat against the ground in preparation to hoist himself up, but was stopped by a new sensation.
A sudden, sharp jolt stabbed his chest, causing his breath to catch. The sensation spread, like his entire chest was being filled with something, causing great pressure and severe pain. He grasped the blades of grass between his palms and squeezed as the pain intensified, spreading like fire thought the rest of his body. His skin felt unnaturally hot, like he was burning, and his limbs became suddenly weak as it felt like his bones were disappearing. The sharp pain in his chest kept him from breathing, so he couldn't cry out. All he could do was lay there, frantically trying to understand what was happening.
And just as suddenly as it started, the sensations all quickly faded and ceased altogether. The bubble in his chest disappeared, allowing him to breathe again. He panted, his body sore, the only pain remaining that of the wound on his head.
Am I dead? Was all he could think. He was trying to catch his breath and hadn't found the strength to try and move.
He suddenly became aware of a sound above his head. He quickly identified it as a male voice, but it wasn't one that belonged to one of the men in black that had just left. Shinichi tried opening his eyes, and was greeted by a fuzzy vision of the grass underneath him. He blinked slowly, his vision gradually becoming more clear and revealing a more detailed picture before him. He heard the voice again, now realizing that it was speaking to him, asking him if he was alright.
I'm alive. He was suddenly relieved to find that he wasn't dead. The poison didn't work? He turned his head slowly up, wincing at the resonating pain it cause the wound on his head, and his eyes fell on the face of a man kneeling before him, a flashlight in hand. Upon closer inspection, he saw the blue uniform and cap worn by the security officers of the amusement park.
Shinichi placed his hands on the ground and pushed himself up, wincing as the wound on his head pounded achingly. He hoisted himself into a sitting position and sat till the pounding faded away. He then looked up at the guard, now realizing that there was a second one standing behind him, shining a flashlight in his direction and looking on with concern.
The kneeling guard smiled reassuringly and held out his hand to Shinichi, saying, "Don't worry, little boy. We're here to help."
Boy? Shinichi was puzzled by the remark. Looking at the guard's face told him that he couldn't be more than a few years older than Shinichi, so he shouldn't address him in such a way.
While the kneeling officer waited patiently for Shinichi's response, the second guard grabbed his radio and spoke into it. "We found a little boy, about elementary school age. He has a head wound, possible concussion."
What? Shinichi was completely taken aback. Why would they say that? One look at him should tell them that he was much older than an elementary school student.
Instinctively looking down, Shinichi's eyes saw something they hadn't noticed before. For some unexplained reason, his pants were much too long for him. In addition to his confusion, a sensation of panic began to slowly rise in his chest. He lifted his arms and stared when he found that his sleeves were too long for him too. He could no longer hear either of the guards as panic slowly began setting in.
What happened to me?
A sudden need to escape overtook him, and he stood up. He quickly rolled his pant legs up till they matched the length of his legs and pulled his sleeves up to his wrists before turning away from the guards and running away.
After taking the exit at the front of the park, Shinichi ran down the sidewalk towards his house, the same route he'd taken when he walked here earlier. It was late and the sky was dark, the deserted sidewalk barely lit up by the occasional streetlight. Rain began falling when he was at about the half way mark of his route.
His mind was clear enough to think, but he couldn't find a reason for what was happening. No matter what idea he came up with, he couldn't make sense of what was going on. He couldn't find any logical reason for someone to call him a little boy or why his clothes were suddenly too big.
Sometime while he ran, one of the legs of his pants slipped down and caught underneath his foot. He tripped and, unable to catch himself when he put his hands in front of him, landed on his belly on the wet sidewalk.
Slowly, he pushed himself up, panting heavily and steadying himself by placing his hand on the glass door of a public building next to him. Why am I so out of breath? He hadn't been running long enough to be so exhausted, which just added to the mysteries of what was wrong with him. He subconsciously turned his eyes towards the glass door he was leaning against, his reflection a dim picture in the stormy, barely lit sidewalk.
But no matter how dim the reflection was, there was no way to mistake what he saw.
He looked like himself, there was no mistaking that. But what was wrong was that he didn't look like he should. Rather, he looked exactly like he did when he was eight years old. Shocked, he placed both hands against the glass and leaned his face closer, gasping as he stared at himself. "I've been shrunk!" Were the words that came out of his lips, but not in his own voice. Rather, the voice he had when he was a child.
He spun around, leaning his back against the door, panting. Now he understood. Everything that was wrong with him suddenly made sense. He was perceived as a child by others and his clothes were too big because his body had shrunk. But what he still didn't understand was how it happened. The only possibility was the poison he'd been given. It was meant to kill him, but instead, it shrunk him.
He'd figured out what happened, but didn't know what to do. In the meantime, he knew he had to get home.
Finishing the trek in the storming night, Shinichi finally stood in front of the gate to his house, a small homey mansion. As was normal, the latch was closed and needed to be opened to get in. But it was halfway up the tall gates, and no matter how hard he reached, he couldn't reach it.
Frustrated, he decided to try climbing the gates just enough to reach the latch. He'd always been good at climbing and thought he could do it. Stepping on the bar on the bottom of the gate, he reached up toward the latch. His fingers just barely brushed against it, and he became frustrated that he was so close and still couldn't do it. But determination was one of his traits, and he continued to try.
A loud sound interrupted his task, and he turned his head to the right in time to see the tall stone fence to his next door neighbor's house crumble a little ways down the sidewalk. Shortly after, an elderly man stumbled over the rubble and tripped face first onto the sidewalk.
The man was fifty two year old Doctor Agasa, a longtime family friend of Shinichi's family. The old man was pleasantly plump, with short, gray hair growing below the bald dome of his head and round glasses resting atop his round nose. He was a doctor of science, specializing in gadgetry and experimentation. Being on close terms with Shinichi's parents and living right next door led to a good friendship between the Doctor and Shinichi.
Upon seeing the old man, Shinichi jumped down from the gates and ran over. "Doctor Agasa!" He called out as he ran. Shinichi stopped and looked up at the old man as he picked himself up from the rubble and looked down at Shinichi.
Agasa raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" It wasn't surprising that he was confused; he wouldn't immediately believe that the little boy in front of him was his next door neighbor's seventeen year old son.
"Doc, it's me, Shinichi!" Shinichi said, clenching his fists and staring desperately, hoping his words would be believed.
"Shinichi, huh?" Agasa pointed to Shinichi's house and said, "If you're looking for Shinichi, he lives in that house over there."
"No, I'm Shinichi, and I can prove it. Your name is Doctor Agasa, fifty two years old, and you're a scientist that makes lots of unique and crazy gadgets, but most of them don't work right. You also have a mole on your rear end with a hair growing out of it!" Recalling the private detail about the Doc that Shinichi wished he never heard, he hoped it would help his story seem more believable.
The Doc's eyes grew wide. "I never told anyone but Shinichi about that!" His brow furrowed as if irritated and he said, mostly to himself, "That scoundrel's revealing all my secrets."
"No, I'm Shinichi!" He was becoming desperate. Nothing he said was convincing the Doctor. "Some men gave me a poison and it made me shrink!"
Agasa forgot about the previous statements and raised his eyebrows. "It made you shrink?"
"Yes!"
Agasa appeared confused for only a second more before he became agitated. He frowned and, grabbing Shinichi's arm he said, "I don't know what kind of prank you're trying to pull little boy, but maybe I can find a policeman who can find out!" He then began pulling Shinichi down the sidewalk.
"No, wait!" Shinichi said desperately. Revealing private information wasn't working, so he decided to prove his identity by do something he knew only he could do.
"You just got back from having dinner at your favorite restaurant Colombo's Bistro, didn't you?"
The Doc stopped walking and turned to look at him, releasing Shinichi's arm with shock apparent on his face. "How did you know that? Have you been following me?"
"No, I just read the clues. For starters, your clothes are wetter in the front than they are in the back, indicating you were just running in the rain." He pointed at the bottom of the doc's pant legs, and the doc followed with his eyes. "And the bottom of your pant legs are muddy from walking through the construction site in front of the restaurant." He then pointed at the Doc's face. "And you have sauce from your favorite dish on your mustache."
Agasa looked down at Shinichi, surprise apparent by his black face. "That's… amazing."
Then Shinichi smiled, a knowing, half smile that was his trademark. "Only one truth prevails."
Agasa eyes slowly widened as realization set in. "Shinichi?"
Shinichi was relieved to have his identity proven. They decided to go inside Shinichi's house to discuss what to do and find something more fitting for Shinichi to wear. Agasa waited in the library in the back of the house while Shinichi went to his parent's room. In their closet he found a box with his name on it. Inside were a few outfits he'd worn when he was a child. He rummaged through it until he found one that fit. It was a pair of light blue shorts with a white long sleeve, button up shirt, a blue jacket and a red bowtie. He was always so embarrassed when his mother talked about saving the clothes he wore when he was a kid, but now he was grateful. It was thanks to her sentimentality that he had something to wear.
He met Agasa in the library after he dressed, and they began discussing what happened. After giving Agasa the whole story, Shinichi asked if the doc could make him an antidote for the poison to change his body back to normal. Agasa said he could, but not without knowing what poison he was given. Shinichi became determined after knowing he could simply find the men that poisoned him to get his body back, but Agasa warned him that it wouldn't be that simple. If these men were trying to kill Shinichi, then they would know doubt try to kill him again if they found out he was still alive. And dangerous criminals would be sure to finish off anyone who knew that Shinichi was still alive to protect themselves. Therefore, the only way to keep himself and everyone he cared about safe, he had to hide his identity and tell no one who he really was.
"Do you understand?" Agasa placed his hands on Shinichi's arms, looking him straight in the face to indicate the seriousness of what he said. "You can't tell anyone who you are, not even Ran. Understand?"
Shinichi had no time to respond before a voice could be heard out in the hallway, somewhere by the front of the house. Shinichi felt his stomach leap into his throat when he recognized the voice as Ran's.
He wasn't surprised she was here. When he left earlier, she undoubtedly went home and waited for him to call, as he did every night and after every time he left abruptly so she would know everything was ok. She worried very easily, especially about him, and considering the time of night it was, she must have been concerned that he hadn't called and came to check on him. But now he had to hide from her so she wouldn't find out what happened to him. He didn't like it, but it was for her own safety.
He began to panic by her sudden arrival, trying to figure out what to do while the Doc whispered loudly at him to hide. Shinichi ran behind the desk that sat in the back of the room, shielding himself from the sight of the door. No sooner had he hidden did he hear Ran's voice grow louder as she entered the room.
"Oh, Doctor Agasa." Needless to say, she was surprised to see him.
Agasa smiled warmly. "Hello Ran. What brings you here?" Shinichi tensed when he noticed the waver in the Doc's voice. If he didn't stay calm, Ran would know something was up.
"I was looking for Shinichi." Though her voice was normal, Shinichi could tell by her quiet tone that she was worried. "We were at Tropical Land earlier and I haven't heard from him."
"Oh, He was just here, but he left." Agasa laughed nervously as he said that. Shinichi groaned. If he kept this up Ran would know something was going on. He needed to do something to hide his identity better just in case. Even though his body had been shrunk, Ran knew him well and there was a good chance she would recognize him.
Remembering an old pair of prescription glasses his father kept in the desk drawer next to him, Shinichi slowly opened it. The glasses sat on top of the folders inside the drawer, so he picked them up and placed them on his face. But his healthy eyes couldn't see properly with the glasses, and everything blurred so deep that he could barely see. He turned his head and bumped into the desk, which made a loud sound that echoed in the room.
Ran looked around the Doc and towards the desk. "What was that?"
"Oh, it was nothing!" Agasa tried to reassure, lifting his hands and shaking his head. Ran was sure she heard something, so she walked past him and towards the desk.
Unaware of Ran's approach, Shinichi pulled the glasses off and popped the lenses out with his thumbs before placing them back on, satisfied that he could see. No sooner did he place them did he hear Ran's voice behind him.
"Oh, hi there," she said warmly. Startled, Shinichi spun around only to find Ran kneeling on the floor, looking at him with a smile.
When Ran saw his face, her smile faded and she stared. "Hey, you're…" Shinichi's breath caught and he just stared, terrified of what would happen if she realized it was him.
Suddenly, Ran reached out and hugged him tightly, exclaiming, "You're adorable!"
Shinichi just blinked, surprised by her reaction. He started blushing when he realized how close he was to her, not being accustomed to such close contact with her. She backed away from him, keeping her hands gently on his arms and smiling brightly at him. Though his face was still warm from the closeness with her, he was relieved that the disguise had fooled her.
"He's a distant relative of mine." Agasa appeared behind Ran. His voice was more composed now, and Ran turned to look at him as he spoke. "He's staying with me for a while."
"Oh, how nice." Ran turned to look at Shinichi. "So, what's your name?"
"Uh, it's Shini-" Shinichi stopped himself just in time once he realized he'd been about to answer naturally with his real name. He had to come up with something else right away.
"It's, uh…" Shinichi began to panic as Ran looked at him expectantly, smiling warmly. Remembering the row of books behind him, he glanced backwards, making up a name out of the first two he saw.
"It's Conan. Conan Edogawa."
Ran's expression turned curious. "Conan?" There was no surprise that the uncommon name surprised her.
"Yeah, well, my Dad's a big fan of Conan Doyle." Shinichi smiled nervously as he explained.
"Oh," Ran appeared thoughtful, like she was recalling something. "That's a lot like Shinichi."
Shinichi gulped. Whoops…
"Anyway, Ran I was going to ask if maybe he could stay with you for a while," Agasa said.
Shinichi's eyes widened and he gaped at the Doc, completely unaware that he was going to suggest such a thing. Shinichi ran over to him and shook his hands around in refusal. Agasa grabbed Shinichi and put his hand over his mouth. "You see," Agasa continued, "His parents were in an accident and their both in the hospital. He was going to stay with me, but my house if full of ongoing experiments and really isn't suitable for a child. What do you say?" Ran stared curiously at the struggling Conan while she listened to the request. "Well, that sounds good to me, but I'll have to ask my Dad," she smiled. Agasa released Shinichi, who immediately glared up at him.
"That's great!" The Doc turned away from Ran and knelt down to Shinichi's level.
"Are you crazy!?" Shinichi whispered, exasperated. "I can't live with Ran! What if she finds out who I am?" Though that wasn't the only reason he was panicking. Just thinking about living with Ran made the heat rise in his face. Though he found the idea nice and thought about it on occasion, he didn't think it would happen for a while and was scared to think of it happening right now. She had no idea what he felt about her, yet and he was going to live with her? It didn't matter that she didn't know it was him; it still didn't feel right.
"Think about it," Agasa whispered. "Ran's Dad is a private detective. If you live there, you get to see every case he works on, and one of them might lead to the men that shrunk you!"
Shinichi calmed down when he realized that it was a logical idea. "Oh, right." But that didn't make him any less nervous. He would still be living with Ran. He pictured living in the same house with her many times, hoping that it would be something in their future one day. He hadn't pictured it being under these kinds of circumstances. There's no way he could have predicted something like this was going to happen to him.
Agasa suddenly began gently pushing Shinichi and Ran towards the door. "Well, I need to get back to my work, so please take good care of Conan."
"Oh, o-ok," Ran stuttered as Agasa ushered everyone out of the house. Once they exited the front gate, he waved and walked back to his house.
Once he was out of sight, Ran looked down at Shinichi and smiled brightly. "Well, ready to go?"
Shinichi looked up at her. Everything still felt a bit unreal, as so much happened so quickly. Before he had any time to come to terms with what happened to his body, he had to face the mixed and messy emotions that came with knowing he was going to live with her. His stomach filled with nervous butterflies at the thought.
He exhaled, then nodded.
"Good, then let's go," she said warmly, then gently grasped Shinichi's hand and began leading him down the sidewalk.
Shinichi's legs carried him along, but his mind was focused on their hands. He stared at them, heat rising in his face and his pulse gradually quickening. In all the time he'd known her, he'd only held her hand when they were children. After he'd fallen in love with her, he'd become too shy to have any physical contact with her. Sure, he placed his hand on her shoulder sometimes when she needed a reassuring gesture, but that was about it. And she usually wore something that kept her shoulders covered, so his hand never came in contact with her skin whenever he did. He always wanted to do more than that, but he couldn't bring himself to. He knew the wrong gesture could alert her of his feelings and he didn't want her to find out that way. True that she was usually oblivious to any advance that involved flirtations or emotions from those of the opposite gender, but she would certainly notice an out of the ordinary physical contact from Shinichi.
It had been Ran who initiated this contact and even though she didn't know it was Shinichi's hand she was holding, it didn't change the fact that that's what they were doing.
He was holding her hand.
Her skin was soft, her slim fingers wrapped around his smaller hand in a gentle grasp. He'd pictured this before, walking along while holding her hand. True that he didn't picture himself as a child, but that still didn't take away from the wondrous feelings he was getting from this. But never did he think it would be so nice. He was only able to revel in it for a minute when he remembered that his body had shrunk down to the size of a child. He became a bit off put, wondering why something he'd been desiring so much had to happen when she didn't know it was him.
Ran kept the walk to her apartment lively with conversation. She asked Shinichi many questions so she could get to know 'Conan.' Shinichi didn't have much trouble coming up with answers. Most of the questions were pretty basic, like how old he was and what he liked to do. He knew what most children would say and used that as his basis for the answers.
"So what else?" Ran asked. She appeared to be out of normal questions and was taking a moment to think of something else. She smiled when she thought of something. "Is there a girl you like?"
Shinichi looked up at her. This would be a bit harder to answer than the other questions she'd asked. It was more personal and required a bit more thought before he could come up with an answer. Of course, the truth was the first thing that popped into his head.
Yeah, you.
But like was certainly the wrong word.
Since his appearance in this body made him look to be about eight years old, he easily figured what the safest and most realistic answer would be. He wrinkled his nose at her and said, "No way, girls are gross." He mentally hit himself. It disgusted him to say such a childish and immature thing. Did he really have to act the age that he appeared? If he had to say anything similar to what he just had on a regular basis, he was sure to make himself ill.
Ran smiled, giggling at his response. "You won't always feel that way." Shinichi didn't answer, looking ahead and rolling his eyes at himself.
He looked back up at her, finding her looking ahead instead of at him like she had been a moment ago. Her expression had also changed. She was still smiling, but in a different way. It was small, and blissful, like she was thinking of something that made her feel contented. Her eyes had become soft and distant, like she was thinking of something outside the vicinity of here. "Actually, there's a boy I like."
Shinichi's heart jumped and he stared at her with his eyes widened. What? He was completely surprised by this. Not once had he ever seen her show any indication, emotionally or verbally, that she liked anyone in that way. Shock was almost instantantly replaced with bitter jealousy. He frowned and gritted his teeth.
"Who?" He said the word loudly, and his tone was angrier than he'd meant it to be. He forgot about what was going on at that moment and what he was supposed to be pretending to be. All he could think of was Ran's confession and finding out who this person was that she liked. And he would be damned if he didn't get the answer now.
Thankfully the harshness of his tone was masked by his childlike voice, and Ran had failed to notice any anger in his tone as she was still preoccupied with whoever she was thinking about.
She looked down at him. She was smiling softly, and he was frowning deeply. She didn't seem to notice his expression, either because she was still thinking blissfully about the one she liked, or because of the darkness of the evening, he wasn't sure. He just wanted an answer before his jealousy got the better of him and he said something to her about this that would blow his cover.
Of course, he never would have been prepared for what she said next.
"His name's Shinichi. Shinichi Kudo."
All of his anger suddenly disappeared, and his face smoothed into a blank one of shock.
What?
Ran smiled wider, then looked forward. Her eyes were sparkling joyfully as she talked. "Actually, we've been best friends since we were kids. He's a little bit cocky sometimes, but he's really smart and he's always been there for me. He's kind and caring, and really handsome…" She turned her eyes toward the pavement, her eyes shining and a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "I… I really love him."
A warmth in the middle of Shinichi's chest spread so fast it almost felt like a fire burst inside him. His skin heated to the point that he almost began sweating. His heart began racing and pounded fiercely against his ribs. He forgot how to breathe. All he could do was stare at her face.
Ran looked down at him and smiled, putting a finger to her lips. "But that's our little secret ok?"
Shinichi was too distracted by her confession to answer her or acknowledge that he'd heard her. Despite the current situation he found himself in, he still couldn't believe that she felt the same way about him that he felt about her. She loved him.
And he loved her.
The warmth in his chest suddenly fell uncomfortably into his stomach as he thought about what he was doing. It didn't matter that she had no idea that it was Shinichi moving in with her. After hearing her confession and the fact that she wished to keep it a secret from him, could he really invade her privacy by living in her comfort zone, her home?
"Well, this is it." Ran stopped in front of a three story building. The bottom floor was the only part that her father didn't rent; it was a small restaurant. The middle floor had large glass windows covering the entire front of the street side wall. Across the windows in big letters were the words 'Mouri Detective Agency.' This was Kogoro's office. And the top floor was the two bedroom apartment Ran and her father called home. Stairs built into the right side of the building led to the second and third floors.
"Come on in," Ran smiled at Shinichi as she tried to lead him to the stairs. Shinichi dropped her hand and looked at the pavement at his feet, the uncomfortable thought of invading on her turning to guilt.
"Wait, Ran." Ran turned to him, her face questioning his sudden mood change. Could he rally do this? He was sure he couldn't. Wouldn't it be better to tell her what was going on? That way, it would be her choice to let him live with her rather than doing it without her knowledge or permission.
Just as he opened his mouth to tell her the truth, the door upstairs slammed shut and hurried footsteps rushed down the stairs. Kogoro was suddenly before them, panting and looking at them with wide eyes, like he'd heard something unbelievable.
"My First case in six months!" He exclaimed loudly. Just then, a taxi that he'd called beforehand pulled up next to them, and before anyone knew anything more, all three of them were on their way to a crime scene.
And that was the first case of many to come.
Living with Ran worked out better than Shinichi thought. He still felt guilty for living with Ran without her knowledge, but he decided that it was for the best in the long run. He would tell her everything when his body was back to normal. After Shinichi had lived with Ran for a month, Kogoro began thinking of Conan as a freeloader and started asking when his parents would come and get him. Shinichi knew this was bound to happen sooner or later, given that Kogoro was not very fond of him from the day he moved in, and Ran had taken over full responsibility of caring for Conan. Since no leads on the men in black had been found, he needed to continue living with them, so Doctor Agasa contacted Kogoro to tell him that Conan's parents were out of the hospital and had gone overseas to find work to pay for their hospital bills. They later sent a generous check that they said Kogoro could take a payment for caring for Conan. The check turned out to come from Shinichi's real parents. He learned that Doctor Agasa had informed them of what happened and sent the money to help convince Kogoro to let him stay.
Shinichi's real parents currently lived in another country. When Shinichi was thirteen, they decided that they wanted to travel and were of course going to bring Shinichi with them. When he vehemently refused to leave the country, many discussions were had about what to do. Though he didn't tell them, the reason he refused to leave was because he didn't want to leave Ran. They would never force him into something that he didn't want to do, but were able to find a happy medium to allow him to stay home and still travel. Shinichi was already very responsible, cooking for himself and cleaning the house on his own, which led them to decide that he was responsible enough to be alone while they traveled. Also if he ever needed anything, Doctor Agasa, whom he was already friends with, lived right next door. They would give him a generous allowance each month to pay for whatever he wanted or needed and come back to visit twice a year, as well as have him come overseas to visit them once every summer. After all, they could easily afford this lifestyle.
Shinichi's father, Yusaku Kudo, was a famous mystery author. Shinichi had inherited his deductive talents from him, as well as his facial features. Shinichi was often told that he was the spitting image of his father, in looks and brains. Though Yusaku was a bit more laid back in personality and matter of fact in speaking. Shinichi's mother, Yukiko Kudo, was a semi-retired actress. Before she married Yusaku, she was one of the top actors in the country, but decided to retire to have a family after marrying Shinichi's father. She now traveled with her husband and did minor acting here and there. She was very friendly and easy to talk to, always ranting about how wonderful Shinichi was to everyone she met.
Shinichi was grateful that they were giving him support while he waited for the lead he needed to get his body back to normal.
Many cases came and went, but never one that led to anything on the men in black.
However, Shinichi's parents learning of the incident that had shrunken him ended up being the crux that brought the lead that they needed. Using his connections with various important individuals, the men in black were eventually found and captured. Shinichi's father managed to find out about the poison that was given to Shinichi and pulled in a favor to have a sample sent to Doctor Agasa. One week after he received it, he came up with the antidote.
And after a long eight months as Conan Edogawa, here he stood, in the foyer of his own home, holding the glass with the antidote that would change him back to Shinichi Kudo.
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Story takes place after the first one hundred and thirty episodes of the anime. Shinichi was gone for eight months, disappearing in November and coming back in July of the following year. May 4th has passed, so he is eighteen years old.
