Chapter 2: I tried for a more emotional chapter… let's see if I succeeded…

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito characters, settings, etc. they belong to Gosho Aoyama the wonderful creator of both series!

Ran hummed quietly, a smile adorning her face; the sound crisp and clear as she continued sweeping the dust bunnies away from the corner of the room. Sonoko, who was with her, frowned in annoyance as she used a duster on one of the many bookshelves in the house.

"Ran… do we really need to clean up for that idiot detective? Especially since Subaru-kun is here?" Sonoko stated glancing over at her best friend.

Ran looked up, "Well, he said he was going to be away for a while and wanted me to keep the house tidy while he was away, just in case Shinichi does come back during that time." She stopped sweeping as Sonoko rolled her eyes.

"Jeez, that idiot detective better appreciate all the work you put into this, sometimes I really think he doesn't deserve you."

"Sonoko!"

"Ring Ring Ring" The two jumped as the phone went off, cutting into their conversation. Sonoko watched as Ran hurried to pick it up.

"Hello, Shi- Kudo's house, whose calling?" the girl spoke a smile on her face.

Sonoko watched in silent trepidation as Ran face started to grow pale and the smile slowly disappeared.

"Th… That can't be…" the girl whispered, her body trembling with suppressed emotions, the smile gone.

"What's wrong?" Sonoko asked warily, not sure whether to even interrupt the conversation at all. Ran put one hand over the phone then looked at her. Tears prickling at the corner of her eyes as a distressed look crossed her face. She whispered quietly to the other girl, pain evident in her voice. Sonoko froze, eyes widening as she listened. She blinked and then ran forward hugging the other girl tightly. She looked down at her best friend and thought,

'That idiot… he better be alright…'

"Shin-chan! Are you alright? You're not in the hospital or anything right?" Conan sighed as he listened to his mother pester him. Really he loved his mom but sometimes she was a bit over the top incessant.

"Yes mom, as I've told you about 15 times already, I'm fine, I'm not in a hospital and I'm not going to even need to go to one."

"But… but Mommy's worried about you…" Conan rolled his eyes as he heard a slight chuckle from behind him.

"Like I said, I'm fine. And anyways, why would I be in the hospital? I'm still Conan remember?" He responded, frowning, "It was probably just a mean prank call, you shouldn't worry about it."

"Oh… fine. But make sure to tell us what's going on… we haven't heard from you in ages and were really worried…"

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you if anything comes up. Anyways I have to go; Agasa-Hakase said he is going to bring us out for lunch. Bye!"

"Shin-cha-"he hung up and sighed. Really, his mom could be quite a handful.

He glanced back, glaring at the young girl behind him who was suppressing a chuckle. The young girl stopped and walked forward.

"So, Kudo-kun, what was your mom saying?"

Conan just glanced at her again and then looked away. "She was asking whether I was really in the hospital or not. She said she got a call from Ekoda hospital saying that I was shot and in critical condition…"

Haibara raised her eyebrow slightly, glancing at the boy. "How is that even possible… your right here?"

"That's what I would like to know… That's why I'm going to ask Agasa-Hakase to see if he can drive me there. Maybe I can find out more at the hospital." Conan stated turning to the door, he reached up to open the door as Haibara nodded.

"That makes sen-"

"Hakase!" Conan jumped back just in time as the door swung open. He stared up to see Ran, anger and worry contorting her face; tear streaks were still evident on her pale cheeks.

Agasa blinked and looked up as Conan asked, "Ran-nee-chan… what's wrong?"

Ran blinked and looked down, "Conan-kun…"

Sonoko, who was behind the girl walked in and glared down at the boy saying, "That's none of your business brat!" Conan glared up at her as she looked at Agasa and continued. "Ran wants to go to Ekoda hospital, I would take her but she is in a hurry and doesn't want to wait for my driver…" Ran nodded, not in the mood to contradict the other girl.

Agasa glanced at Conan who looked back at him with a slight tilt of the head.

The professor turned to the two girls and nodded, "I can take you, if you don't mind squeezing into my beetle..."

"Ne Ne~ Ran-nee-chan can I come too? I want to see Shinichi-nii-chan." Ran nodded not really paying attention as she responded with a hurried "Thank you." Conan frowned, staring worriedly up at the girl. Her face was drawn and her foot was tapping impatiently on the ground as Agasa got up. The professor quickly walked outside, noticing the girl's mood. The others followed close behind piling into the car with Conan in the front and the two girls in the back.

Haibara just watched as the car pulled out, a slight frown adorning her face; her thoughts hidden behind a poker face of her own.

"Which Room is Kudo Shinichi in?" Ran stated glaring at the receptionist, who just looked up from her paper work.

"Room 201…" before she could even continue the girl was off running, like the devil was chasing her. The receptionist blinked as the other girl, who was with her, ran after her. The little boy, who had followed behind them at a slower pace, bowed and said "thank you." The women nodded and looked back at her paper work; she still had a lot to do for the day.

The boy left taking his time to examine the hospital itself, since it was his first time in Ekoda. Not to mention he wasn't really keen on the idea of meeting himself, especially in a hospital bed… he sighed as he noticed Ran and Sonoko had disappeared up a flight of stairs.

Not wanting to get separated from the two he ran up the stairs two at a time and finally slowed down when he reached the top.

"Now where is Room 201…"

"How is he doctor?"

"He'll survive, but it was touch and go for a while, if the bullet to the heart had been a little lower or the one to his gut a little more to the left we would have had no way to save him, he was a lucky kid considering the circumstances... however…" The two boys looked at the doctor who hesitated slightly before continuing, "He…"

The two boy's eyes widened in shock as the doctor finished what he had to say. One bit his lip while the other simply nodded, unable to say anything. They looked through the window at the boy, sleeping quietly on the hospital bed.

"Where is room 201." A voice stated, not quite shouting. The doctor and the other two turned to see a girl running towards them.

"This is 201… you do know that it's not visiting hours…" the doctor stated looking at the girl who was panting slightly.

"Please, just tell me he's okay!" She stated looking him straight in the eye.

The doctor frowned, "I can only give information to authorized people, I'm sorry that's the rul-"

"I am Mouri Ran, I was at Shinichi's house when it was called and they told me that he was shot, what I want to know is if he's alright, don't I at least get to hear the results if I was contacted in the first place!" The doctor blinked as the girl fumed, ranting at him. He looked around, as if hoping someone would intervene, he sighed and went to explain.

Suddenly one of the two interrupted, stating, "Ran-kun! I didn't expect to see you here..."

"… Hakuba-kun! What are you doing here!" the girl stated wide-eyed, she glanced at the blonde haired detective then at the other boy who was beside him. "And who is that?" she asked noticing the uncanny resemblance between the boy and Shinichi. Before the blonde could even respond the other stepped forward and bowed. When he came back up he had a rose in his hand and a smile on his face.

"Kaito Kuroba, at your service my beautiful lady." Ran's mouth twitched suppressing a smile. She took the rose and nodded to the boy.

"Thank you." The boy nodded and smiled even wider.

Hakuba watched in bemusment then looked back at the girl, answering her original question "I was one of the one's who found him… This... boy is another… actually he was the one who got crushed as the body fell on him."

"Mou~ Do you really have to bring that up." The boy stated with a slight pout. Ran watched as emotions flashed through his eyes, to quick to distinguish, unnoticed by the detective.

"Fell?..." Ran stated in shock.

"Oh sorry, it wasn't really fell, the boy in there just sort of surprised him, causing him to fall over, almost making it look like he had fallen on him." the blonde stated, nonchalantly.

Sonoko, who had been right behind Ran, finally caught up. She put her hands on her knees and panted slightly.

"And who do we have here? " Kuroba grinned as the other girl blushed slightly from the run. The girl then glanced at her friend and rolled her eyes.

"Ran, I know you're worried, but you could have killed somebody at the speed you were going." She stated after she finally got her breath back. Ran blushed slightly, pursing her lips; as Sonoko looked at the two boys. "And who might you two be? Fans of the detective idiot in there?" She stated thrusting her thumb in the direction of the hospital room.

Hakuba gave them a deadpan look as Kaito suppressed a small chuckle. "No we are not, I am a detective, just like the boy in there, and while I am fascinated by his prowess and intellect that is not the reason why I am here." Hakuba stated, pulling a pocket watch out of one of his pockets to check the time.

"Nope~ we are here because we happened to be the ones who found him!" Kaito grinned. Then the boy turned and shouted, "Oi, doctor! Don't you have some explaining to do?" everyone blinked then looked around the boy to see the doctor from earlier jump. He had been moving steadily away from the crowd.

The doctor sighed realizing that he had been caught.

Ran turned towards the doctor who had finally rejoined them, "So… will he be alright?" the girl asked worry and concern showing through. The man frowned slightly, as if silently debating with himself. Ran watched the man quietly as Sonoko's eyes flickered between the man and the two boys.

The two boys had tightened their lips almost imperceptibly, the blonde frowned as the doctor took a deep breath. The two girls watched respectively, anxiety building with every passing second. As they waited, the lull between the conversations caused the atmosphere to grow tense, the silence that enveloped the area was almost deafening, causing some to fidget slightly in place. Finally the doctor let out his breath and looked at the two girls, right in the eye. "We got a call yesterday about a wounded boy in the Ekoda high school…"

Ran blinked slowly; she was silent as she took in what the man had to say, everything from picking up the boy, to the surgery and afterwards.

"That's ridiculous!" Sonoko shouted once he was done; worry and pain lancing through her voice. The girl tried to sound angry, threatening even, but her voice shook, belaying what she felt.

Ran simply turned her head and looked in the window the two had been peeking through earlier. Her eyes were blank as she stared at the boy sleeping peacefully on the bed; an oxygen mask covered his face as wires and an IV drip sat next to the bed. There was a heart monitor sitting on the other side of the boy, showing a steady pulse. The blanket was up to his chest keeping him warm. From the window she could just barely see the fresh bandages that were peeking above the blanket, wrapped around his upper chest and shoulder.

She bit her lip wanting desperately to go to his side.

"I haven't seen you in ages and when you appear you're like this…" She whispered to herself, tears threatening to overflow again. She looked down and breathed in, slowly… steadily…

"BAKA!" She shouted pounding one hand against the door, almost breaking it off its hinges. The group jumped in surprise but she didn't notice. That one, simple word had wrenched open the floodgates; her body shook as she collapsed to the floor, tears overflowing down her ashen cheeks.

"Ran-nee-chan…" Everyone turned, surprised to hear the young boys voice. Ran looked over, startled. She tried smiling, but it was a watery, almost desperate smile; one that made the young boys heart tear in two. Ran reached forward and pulled the boy into a hug, holding him tightly. The tears cascaded down, unrelenting. "That deduction freak! Why… why is it that whenever I see him he just seems to be farther away…why can't he stop doing this stupid, dangerous case and come back… Why… why do I have to keep finding him like this…?"

The others looked away not sure what to even say to the girl. The doctor bowed his head and left, saying he'll be back. The girl didn't hear him, she just continued crying, holding on to the boy. "Why!... why…" The girl choked as the boy soothingly rubbed her back; another bout of sobs racking her frail frame, "Why… when I finally found him, when I can finally talk to him face to face… why does he…. have to be…" She swallowed, the words faltering, not wanting to come out. She trembled and whispered quietly. The words she spoke, layered with fear and pain. A simple question that hung in the air with heartwrenching clarity. One that no one could answer...

"Why... does he have to be in a coma?..."

TBC

...

A/N: Did I succeed?

It took forever, I had lost the original plot line and everything so I had to rethink it up, at least now I have an idea and a way to continue, hopefully I can update a bit more regularly...

Anyways, I know Ran can tell when a person is an imposter or not, concerning Shinichi; however for this I will explain the reason for it later in the story, at this point I just ask you to go along with it, since I can't explain right now without ruining some of the mystery of the story.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope I didn't fail too epically when portraying the emotions and characters… anyways… Please review! I love reviews! They are always an encouragement, and I really appreciate you guys taking the time to write them!

See you next time!