Chapter Four

Conan quickly opened his eyes in shock, no longer caring about his cover. "I have… pneumonia?" he asked quietly. "Why didn't you…?" He lurched to the side away from Ran and vomited, leaving him pale and trembling.

Ran quickly cleaned up the mess and sat next to Conan, gently rubbing his back.

Conan smiled, the glint of amusement in his eyes seeming just like Shinichi. "You said you couldn't take care of me, Ran-neechan," he said. "And yet, it seems that you always know exactly what to do to make someone feel better." He looked Ran directly in the eye, growing serious. "Thank you…Ran-san." He closed his eyes and drifted off.

Tears glinted in Ran's eyes as she adjusted Conan's pillow before leaving the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

"So… how was Shinichi?" a voice asked. It was Professor Agasa, who had just returned from the inspector's headquarters in Beika City.

Ran sighed and leaned back against the door. "There's no doubt he has pneumonia…" She paused for a moment. "But… he believes that he will be just fine; that there is nothing wrong with him except a little cold. He thinks that he can get back to investigating in a few days…"

Professor Agasa laughed. "He never changes…" he thought aloud. "Is he asleep already? I need to tell him the information on that murder in Shinjuku."

Ran smiled a little and nodded. "I can pass it onto him when he wakes up if you want."

Professor Agasa agreed and sat down in a chair in the hallway. "The girl that was killed was called Rika Izumi, daughter of Tamaki Izumi, current president of Izumi Electronics, the top electronic company in Japan as of now. At first, they thought it was a stab wound in her right arm, but they later found cyanide in her body, showing it was poison that slowly killed her."

"Was there… anything else? I know Shinichi is the kind of person that wants to know everything, especially the easily-missed parts."

Professor Agasa thought for a moment. "Well… they did say they found a note written by Rika. The only problem… she was only three, so she does not know how to write properly. Most of it was meaningless scribbles, but she was somehow taught how to write her name. I copied it down in my notebook, so you can let Shinichi see it when he wakes up later." He handed it to Ran and went downstairs to his lab.

Ran returned to Conan's room, where he was sleeping soundly. She looked closer and noticed something odd about his expression; was it… sadness?

Conan found himself back in his elementary class with Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi. They were talking about Kamen Yaiba again… normal for them. Apparently, a new movie was going to come out the next day, and they all bought theatre tickets.

'Hey, hey!' he told himself. 'Can't you act… mature?'

"Hey, Conan!" Genta's voice boomed, surprising Conan. "Whatcha doing? Are you solving a case alone again? You can't forget we are the Detective Boys!"

Conan sighed, rolling his eyes. "No" was all he said before pulling out a textbook… or so the other students thought. It was actually an invention given to Conan as an early birthday gift by Professor Agasa. It would appear that he was studying, but he would actually be reading any mystery novel in his father's large collection.

Ayumi suddenly started giggling. "I know someone's secret…" she started chanting.

Conan eyed her, growing slightly nervous. "What do you mean, Ayumi-chan?"

Ayumi grinned mischievously. "Someone told me a secret… Someone has an alias…" she sang to herself.

Conan jolted awake, feeling his fear slowly resurface. He turned toward the door and saw Ran in a chair at his bedside, asleep. He smiled and sat up, ignoring all of the pain and nausea.

I owe you one, Ran… He quickly kissed her on the cheek and slowly made his way downstairs, using the wall as support. He thought he was the only one up, but he quickly found out he wasn't when he saw Professor Agasa at the foot of the stairs.

"Shinichi!" he cried. "What are you doing? You should be in bed!"

Conan sat down on the stairs, feeling very light-headed. "Tell me… what did the inspector say about the case?"

Professor Agasa sighed, carefully picking up Conan. "I'll tell you when you can stay conscious… I can tell you're fighting it, aren't you? Just rest; Ran and I can take care of you."

Conan started to protest. "You don't even know what's wrong with me!" he exclaimed as loud as he could. "It could be a side-effect of the pill…" His eyes widened as he slowly realized he said too much.

Professor Agasa's expression frowned with concern. "What do you mean, Shinichi?" He looked back, but Conan had lost consciousness. He shook his head and placed him back in bed. Apparently, all of the commotion woke Ran.

"What… is going on?" she yawned and opened her eyes. She gasped as she saw Professor Agasa placing Conan back in bed. "Did he leave bed? What happened?"

Professor Agasa sat down on the edge of the bed. "Yes, he left immediately after waking up," he began slowly. "I tried to get him to go back here to rest, but he protested and… and said that this illness may be a side-effect of the pill that syndicate gave him."

Ran was not surprised. "Anything's possible," she whispered. "With a drug as mysterious as that, we don't know what it will do, how it will affect, or when it will affect. I have a feeling that this will get far worse, however…"

Over the next week, Conan was in and out of consciousness. He wanted to research the Shinjuku murder case, but he could only stay conscious for about ten minutes each time. All Professor Agasa could tell his school was that he had caught the flu and that he would be back soon. Ayumi had come over to visit on the seventh day after school to bring his homework and was shocked when she saw how bad Conan looked. He had hardly eaten anything during the whole week, so he had lost a lot of weight; he was paler than paper, yet had flushed cheeks; it was difficult for him to even sit up because of his trembling.

"H-hi, Ayumi-chan," he whispered, faking a smile. "T-thanks for b-bringing m-my homework…" He started to cough, warning him of a vomiting spell. He quickly leaned over to the well-placed bucket and retched, but nothing came out.

Ayumi's eyes widened and she rushed toward Conan. "Conan-kun!" she cried. "You don't have anything in your tummy! Are you sure you're okay? Do you need anything?" She helped Conan lay back down, and he passed out in her arms.

"How is he doing…?" Ran started to ask, but gasped when she saw the scene. "Is he okay? What happened?"

Ayumi started to cry as she explained everything to Ran. "He's really hurting!" she sobbed. "I want to help him get better, but he'll just get worse!"

Ran hugged her and smiled. "He will be fine as long as I take care of him," she assured. "You should get home before your mother starts to worry." She led Ayumi out of the room before her emotions slipped and she began to cry.

"What… is wrong, Ran?" Conan whispered, barely conscious. "Why are you crying? Are you still worried about me?"

Ran sniffed and nodded, stroking Conan's hair.

Conan sighed. "I will be fine, Ran," he said before losing consciousness again.

Ran bit her lip, considering a thought. Eventually, she stood up and went downstairs to Professor Agasa's lab, where he was making something for Conan.

"Um… can I talk to you for a moment, Professor?" she whispered.

Professor Agasa put down the gadget and sat next to her, an expression of concern on his face. "What's wrong, Ran-san?"

Ran put her head in her hands, hiding her tears. "He's dying, Professor!" she sobbed. "He's dying, and there's nothing I can do to help him!"

Professor Agasa slowly approached Ran and hugged her tightly. "You can be there for him," he said quietly. "That alone makes Shinichi feel a lot better. Right now, I am trying to make a device that can tell me what exactly is wrong with him. In the meanwhile, you can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't try to leave again."

Ran laughed a little, feeling better. She thanked the professor and returned upstairs. Conan was still asleep, but he had shadows under his eyes that were almost black, as well as pale skin and a nervous expression.

Ran placed Conan's small, clenched fists in her hands. "Please, Shinichi… don't die!"