Thank you everybody! I now officially have 10 reviews for this story. It makes me happy to see that people like it. So I will keep trying my best. So... here is the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own, the characters belong to Gosho Aoyama.
Warning: Possible OOCness and grammar mistakes.
He closed his eyes and after thinking up a few plans for the next heist, he fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next day, the two groups woke up with differing stages of attentiveness. Kaito was quite hyper resulting in waking up a, very, moody Conan.
"Will you Shut. Up." Conan groaned, grabbing a pillow and thrusting it over his head, trying to grab a few more minutes of sleep. Kaito, who had noticed the movement, grinned.
"Okay!" Kaito stated loudly. He was used to not sleeping much, so he was already wide awake.
"Go away, you're annoying."
The boy continued to grin and left, letting the other boy continue sleeping. He looked over to see both Aoko and Ran leaving the girls room, Sonoko came out a moment later, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Kaito-kun, did you sleep well?... You didn't keep Conan-kun up too late did you?" Ran stated, eyeing the boy suspiciously.
Kaito looked at her in confusion. "Who me? Of course not! Why would I ever do such a thing?" He quickly changed the emotion to another grin. "No, we only stayed up until about 2 am."
Ran pursed her lips in a frown, but it was Aoko who said something.
"Bakaito! That's too late for a boy his age! He should have been asleep HOURS before that, are you an idiot?!"
"Of course I'm not Ahoko, he wanted to stay up, so I let him. That's what you're supposed to do on sleepovers, isn't it?"
"That's for teenagers! For a seven year old he should have been to bed at a decent hour!"
"BREAKFAST!" a voice shouted, interrupting the two people's argument. Kaito blinked and looked down stairs to see his mom on the bottom of the steps, cupping her hands around her mouth.
She was wearing a frilly blue apron.
"Come on, it'll get cold." She stated, turning away from the group at the top of the stairs. The group shrugged and descended; with Aoko and Kaito bickering in the lead, and Sonoko right behind. Ran, who was in the back, looked over towards Kaito's room. After a moment she walked over and entered. On the floor she could see Conan sleeping peacefully; his glasses were still on his face. Ran shook her head and stepped in. Softly she reached over the boys head, quickly tousling his hair. A moment later she reached for the boys glasses. The boy woke up and, noticing the hands, kicked upwards, rolling away with the movement. Ran just sat there, her hand still extended as Conan looked over at her, a frightened look passed through his features for a split second, before it was pushed away.
"Ran-nee-chan… what are you doing in here?" He asked, trying to recollect himself after the… spaz attack. Ran looked at him for a second, worry etched into her features.
"Conan-kun… are you okay?"
"…Yep!"
Ran looked at him for a moment longer then spoke, "Chikage-san, finished making breakfast, so I wanted to see if you were awake…"
"Oh! Thanks!" Conan stated, a wide, cute smile adorning his face. Ran nodded and stood up.
"Well, we best not keep them waiting right?" She smiled, reached down, and took his small hand in hers. Conan nodded, gripping the girls hand tightly. They walked downstairs and into the kitchen to see Aoko chasing Kaito around the room with a… broom. Sonoko was watching in a mixture of horror and amusement, while Chikage was just shaking her head; a smile on her face. The two newcomers watched in confusion as the two did one more revolution around the room, Kaito dodging left and right. A moment later both froze, noticing the new audience. Remembering yesterday they both stopped and obediently sat down; Aoko, glaring at Kaito, who was just grinning in return.
"So… was there a reason for that?..." Ran asked pulling Conan onto one of the open chairs.
"Oh nothing… just talking." Kaito grinned turning to the food. "Uwah! It looks delicious!" He stated, digging in. A moment later the others followed. Ran just shrugged and ate, praising Chikage once again for her wonderful cooking. They finished quickly and Ran once again called her father to tell him that she was fine and that she was going to be at the hospital till closing time. Mouri had argued but Ran had argued right back, making the man pause. In the end she won.
"So… you are going to 'Shinichi' again today?" Kaito asked once he had gotten changed. Ran nodded.
"Yeah…" Kaito looked at her for a moment then smiled, "okay, then I'm joining you! I hear the hospital is always in the need for magicians… and entertainers." Ran looked at him for a second then softly smiled.
"Thank you."
"Then I'm coming too! I can't leave just Kaito with you!" Aoko stated, raising her hand as if she was in school.
"You don't need to come Ahoko, don't you have to take care of your dad?"
"He can wait!" Aoko stated then rounded on Ran.
"I can come right?" Ran blinked then nodded, meanwhile Sonoko smirked, amusement playing across her features as she watched the scene. Conan just deadpanned.
"I guess I will come too." Chikage stated, "I want to see Shin-chan anyways." Ran and Conan glanced at her for a moment, looking at her for two completely different reasons. She smiled then looked out the door. "So are we going?" Ran nodded and walked out, followed by the others.
Upon arriving at the hospital they asked to talk to the doctor they had meet yesterday. The doctor told them that the boy was recovering surprisingly fast, however he would probably be unconscious for a while longer. The group had nodded in understanding and walked in. This time they were allowed into the patient's room.
When they entered Ran instantly went to the boy's side and sat down. She reached forward, stopped then continued, lightly touching one of the boy's hands. She gripped it, hoping that the touch would wake the boy. Instead he continued to sleep, breathing in and out slowly. The rest watched awkwardly, not sure what to do with themselves. Conan yawned, tired from staying up so late the night before and upset because he didn't have any coffee.
They stayed there throughout the day, Ran staying planted besides Shinichi's side, with Sonoko coming and going to give her drinks and comfort. Conan used the time to wake up and examine the 'Shinichi' lying on the bed while the others did whatever they wanted.
At one point Chikage joined him; picking him up, much to the young boy's annoyance.
"So… that's what your mother meant… quite interesting, wouldn't you say Shin-chan?" The woman whispered quietly, hugging the boy tightly. Conan sighed, giving up on struggling out of the older woman's arms; she was as stubborn as his own mother in that regard.
"… It is… It just… It makes no sense… I can't make heads or tails of the situation. The clues point to an impossible situation, no matter how you look at it, and logically, all that occurred at the scene of the crime is… impossible."
"Well then… how about thinking illogically? Not everything in the world is supposed to be rational, there are wonders that science has yet to understand… yet the universe has been doing those things for millennia. It's not always the rational, who understand, but the irrational. If you think of it like this you might be able to see what the logical side of you can't." The woman smiled cryptically, looking down at the young boy, who stared up at her in a mixture of confusion and thought. The woman gave Conan one more squeeze then set him down.
"Well, I've got to get going, I want to have a date with Kai-chan, since this is the first I've seen him in a while! Take care of Ran-chan for me okay Shin-chan!" Chikage stated, waving good-bye as she left. Kaito, who happened to enter the room right at that moment, blinked in surprise when he met his mother at the doorway.
"Kai-chan! Let's go! I heard that a new restaurant opened up recently! I want to see it!" She grabbed the boys arm and practically dragged him out the door. Kaito's protests rang down the hallway all the way until the two were down the stairs and out the door. Conan glanced over then tilted his head back down, trying to understand what the woman had said.
'Thinking about it illogically… rational and irrational… seeing what the logical side can't… what does she mean?...' Conan put a hand to his chin in thought; staring off into space. Meanwhile Ran yawned, still holding onto Shinichi's hand lightly; Sonoko stood next to her, a hand comfortingly touching the girls shoulder.
"Ran…"
Ran looked up and smiled softly, "I'm fine… don't worry about it Sonoko." The girl closed her eyes and let her smile widen slightly. A moment later she looked back down at the boy, dropping the smile in the process. She gripped his hand tightly, letting her slight trembling show through. Sonoko tightened her hold on the girls shoulder in silent understanding. She smiled, yet, surprisingly, didn't say a word. Aoko watched, sitting quietly in a corner, she seemed to be busy; she was on her phone, quietly yelling. A moment later the girl hung up and stood.
"I'm sorry, but I will be going now, I need to get something for my dad, he forgot it at home and he needs it for work." She bowed and waved. The two girls smiled and Sonoko enthusiastically waved good-bye back. Aoko smiled, nodded and left, leaving the room in a semi-peaceful silence.
A little while later, while Sonoko was out grabbing a drink for Ran, Hakuba came by.
He walked in, glancing around quickly. He spotted the young boy who was looking at 'Shinichi' as if only half seeing him. His legs were crossed and his hand was under his chin in silent consideration. Ran was lying next to 'Shinichi'; she had fallen asleep a few moments after Sonoko had left. Hakuba sighed then stepped forward, glancing to the boy on the bed for a split second before turning to the young boy that was wide awake. Hakuba hesitated, debating with himself.
His debate ended when he heard a young voice quietly ask, "What's up Hakuba-nii-san?"
Hakuba looked pointedly at the boy who was looking back at him. The two held their gazes, giving off the impression of two teens, staring each other down; the boy's posture added to the fact.
After a moment Hakuba gave in, "Nothing much really. The police have already examined the area, but there were no signs of a gun fight or any damage to the building at all… except for a few scuff marks from when Aoko-san hit one of the walls with her broom… besides that, there is no sign that someone used a trick or that anyone besides us even saw what happened… The school is on break so they can fix up any problems before the students come back…"
"Once the students are back, if someone missed something, it would be long gone… it wasn't any of the students correct?" Conan asked, subconsciously becoming his 17 year old self.
"No, it wasn't, our class has an alibi and there are no other people who fit into the crime scene." Hakuba stated, glancing once again at 'Shinichi' and Ran, who were both sleeping peacefully.
"Well… I have to get going; I just came by to check on him, and to notify you about the situation." Hakuba turned, nodding his farewell. He left a moment before Sonoko entered, holding two cans.
"Was that Hakuba-kun?" Sonoko stated, glancing over her shoulder.
"Yep!" Conan piped up, back to his seven year old façade. Sonoko nodded and turned.
"So brat, what did he have to say?"
'Brat?' Conan's eye twitched, yet he ignored it, plastering on a childish grin. "Oh! Not much, he just wanted to say that the investigation is going on and that there is no new news, that's all. Oh! And he wanted to check on Shinichi-nii-chan!" Sonoko raised an eyebrow then shrugged. She glanced at Ran and smiled. Her smile turned into a grin as she took both cans and placed them on both the girls' cheeks. The girl woke with a start causing Sonoko to laugh.
"Mou~ Sonoko!" Ran whined glaring at the other girl who began laughing even harder as she handed the can to Ran. The girl took it then opened it, pouting at the other girl's laughter. A moment later she quietly began chuckling, joining in with the other girl's infectious mirth. Conan glanced over and softly smiled, happily watching Ran's face light up slightly from the laugh. A while later they calmed down and sat back, getting comfortable. They stayed like that for as long as they could. Once the nurse came in telling them to leave they did, Conan leaving last. The boy glanced back as the door shut, once again thinking about what Chikage had to say.
They walked out; Sonoko was leisurely stretching, reaching for the warm, sunny sky. Ran, yawning beside her, smiled.
"Honk!" The girls jumped then looked forward seeing an irritated Mouri glaring at them from a rental car window.
"Father!" Ran exclaimed in surprise.
"Ran! Where have you been! You should have been home hours ago!"
"Father! I already told you! I was taking care of Shinichi!"
"That detective brat." Mouri glowered, he sighed and looked forward. "Come on, get in, we should be heading home, it's quite a drive." The two girls glanced at each other than piled in, quickly followed by Conan.
"Oh yeah, did Hakase make it home?" Conan asked curiously, just remembering that they had left him to fend for himself yesterday.
"Yeah." Mouri stated simply, watching the road in front of them as they pulled out of the hospital.
Once they got on the main road, Mouri glanced over at his daughter and looked at her pointedly. "You really shouldn't stay with people you barely know, and with a BOY no less." The man looked forward, quickly pulling into the right lane as they came upon a slow driving car.
"Father, I know, however you talked with his mother and there was another girl, we were perfectly safe, and anyways it's nice to be able to stay out with friends once in a while!' Ran stated back, a determined and stubborn look firmly placed on her features. Mouri glanced at her through the rear view mirror then sighed.
"Fine, just promise you won't do it again, okay?" He quickly glanced at the girl then looked back at the road. Ran smiled widely.
"Of course!"
They continued on. About an hour or two later they arrived in front of one of Sonoko's residents. The girl smiled and hopped out of the car, waving good-bye to Ran as she went up the steps. The Trio said their good-byes and left. A little while later Mouri dropped the rental car off. It was a short distance from the rental place, so they decided to walk home.
"Oi! Where 're they! They shoulda been he'e!" Conan deadpanned, walking up the stairs to find Hattori knocking on the door with all his might, Kazuha was right next to him rolling her eyes. She was the one who noticed the trio come up the stairs.
"Kazuha-chan! What are you doing here?" Ran asked surprised to see the Osakan girl.
"Heiji said he wanted ta come over, wanted ta see ya guys again."
"Ya were the 'ne who advised tha' we go!" The osakan stated glancing with a frown at the other girl. Then he shrugged and bent down to Conan's level. He smiled and messed up the young boy's hair much to the mini sleauths chagrin. "Whateve' at least I get ta see Kudo!"
"Hattori!" the young boy seethed under his breath, glaring at the other, who just grinned; luckily the girls didn't seem to hear and Kogoro had just kept moving to open the door, leaving the two osakans alone.
"Ran-chan where were ya?" Kazuha asked coming up to the other girl. Ran looked down, hair covering her eyes. The change in mood alerted the two, who glanced at her in worry. "Ran-chan! What is it! Did something happen?!" Hattori looked their way, frowning as Ran started shaking.
"It's… Sh… Shinichi… he was shot." Ran stated bangs covering her expression. Kazuha's eyes widened as Hattori's head whipped around to stare at Conan in confusion and shock.
"How the 'ell were ya shot?!" Conan just shook his head, sighing.
"I'll explain later." He replied knowing there really was no getting out of it, and ignoring the fact that the osakan had just given a- somewhat- idiotic claim.
Kazuha went up to the shaking girl and gave her a tight hug, comforting the girl who had started to cry again. "Come on Ran-chan, let's get inside. Then ya can tell me what 'appened, 'kay?" Ran nodded and they walked in. Hattori turned to Conan and looked at him, confusion obvious in his eyes.
"Oi, Kudo, what the 'ell is going on?!"
"Honestly, Hattori? I don't really know." Hattori looked at him, shock on his face.
Then he smirked, "So the 'Great Detective' can't figure out a simple little case!"
"Shut up Hattori, and anyways I don't think you would be able to figure it out either… unless you believe in magic." This caught the other boy's attention.
"Magic?... Where did that come from… you've never believed it before…" Hattori stated no longer smiling.
Conan looked at him then shook his head, "Here let me explain, then maybe you'll understand why I am stumped."
A little while later,
"Ya kidding me… that's all we know?!" Hattori said sitting on the floor; about half way through the conversation they had decided to move to one of the rooms, away from the girls and kogoro who was watching Okino Yoko on T.V.
"Yeah… see why I'm confused?"
"… If it was anyone else I would say they probably just saw it all wrong, and/or missed something… but… even though tha' stuck-up brat is annoying, 'e still has a decent 'nough eye." The Osakan grudgingly stated, looking like he would rather do anything else besides give the British boy a complement… even swim through sewage.
Shinichi suppressed a roll of his eyes. "Hattori…"
"What! That brat is a prick and ya know it just as much as I do." Hattori stated frowning, spreading his arms out in defense. Shinichi just shook his head.
"So all we know is that someone shot… 'Shinichi' who isn't ya. We know he arrived wit' a scream and a flash of red light, landing on top of this kid named Kaito, who later said th' scream sounded like himself, th' scream was 'Shinichi's' name, thus it's very possible tha' the 'ne who screamed saw what happened. Only problem is tha' they were inside a classroom, no glass was broken, nothing happened besides those two things, yet he fell enough where he knocked Kaito on the floor and we have yet ta find th' screamer… Is tha' about everything?" Hattori stated looking at the young boy incredulously. Shinichi nodded.
"Is it a fake, someone trying ta act like ya and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Shinichi shook his head.
"I honestly don't know. Like I said, if I didn't know that I was me, I would think that the person in that hospital WAS me, Remember the case where someone decided to copy my face and ruin my reputation? The time when you mixed up the cold medicine with the aptoxin cure?"
"Oh… ah… yeah" Hattori stated looking away and scratching a corner of his cheek.
"Well if you remember… Ran didn't cry when she saw the imposter… but this time… She cried when she saw 'shinichi'…" The young boys voice was pained causing Hattori to look at the other sympathetically, a frown on his face.
"but… how is that possible, ya two just seem linked, there is no way she would mix up ya wit' an imposter…"
"So… 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth.'"
"Wait… 're ya saying ya actually think that person is ya?!"
"How would you explain it Hattori? If someone suddenly showed up who looked exactly like you in every way… even down to the minute details, and Kazuha actually believed they were you?" Hattori went to argue then paused, looking at the other, understanding dawning on his face.
"Is that why ya talked about magic earlier?..."
Shinichi nodded pursing his lips, he had a hand on his chin, "Though, I'll admit, The main reason that I thought of this is because someone told me, 'Well… then how about thinking illogically? Not everything in the world is supposed to be rational, there are wonders that science has yet to understand… yet the universe has been doing those things for millennia, It's not always the rational, who understand, but the irrational. If you think of it like this you might be able to see what the logical side of you can't.'"
"… Holy, talk about random mumbo jumbo; I can't believe ya actually understand tha'…"
"Yeah, well it's simple once you think about it. Basically they were saying that I should try to think of it, quite literally, outside the box. That I should try to think about it as if it was something that can't be explained. There are only a few things now in days that we cannot explain, and one of them… is magic."
"Wow… now tha' ya mention it… huh… if you think of it that way… maybe it was… or maybe it could be a sideaffect of th' apotoxin… like… I don't know… Ya got split and you' older form is still walking around?" Shinichi turned to the osakan with a deadpan look.
"You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding."
Hattori shrugged, "Hey, we have a pill tha' shrinks ya ta a seven year old, theirs bound ta be other strange things out there. Just the pill by itself sounds like magic."
"Good point… though I hate to admit it…" Shinichi sighed pulling his hair in annoyance.
"Heiji?" The osakan looked up to see Kazuha in the doorway, hands on her hips. "We're staying he'e tonight, right?" She looked pointedly at the boy, her tone of voice indicating that it was more of a statement then a question. Heiji looked at her, confusion evident on his face.
"Uh... yes, but why? I thought ya wanted ta go 'ome?"
"I want ta stay with Ran-chan, just for tonight. We can go in the morning." Heiji glanced over to Conan who just shrugged, not really knowing what to say to the determined girl. Kazuha smiled, letting her hands fall to her sides limply, as she turned and left.
"Well... I guess we're bothering ya for a little longer!" Heiji grinned, slapping conan lightheartedly on the back.
Conan pursed his lips in annoyance. "Great..." he stated, sarcasm dripping from the word like honey.
Heiji smiled, either ignoring or not noticing the sarcasm. "Great!"
Conan rolled his eyes, shaking his head.
'This is going to be a long night.' He thought tiredly, realizing how little sleep he was bound to get, and had gotten.
Heiji noticed the look and grinned, "You know... recently I had this really interesting case, want to hear about it?"
"What happened?" Conan asked, perking up slightly.
Heiji's grin widened, "Well it began with..." As Heiji continued, Conan became more and more absorbed in the case, trying to figure it out before heiji said who it was. After that they moved on, exchanging stories back and forth until it was once again well into the morning. After breakfast the two said there good-byes. Kazuha promising to come back to see Ran as soon as possible.
Ran just smiled, letting her arm wave back and forth gently.
"Well... It's time for school." Ran stated looking down on Conan, with her hands clasped lightly behind her back. Conan yawned and nodded, still half asleep.
Ran smiled gently and bent down. She pulled the boy into a hug, holding his in a gentle and comforting manner.
"Thank you Conan... for being there." She whispered. All Conan could do was nod.
"I'm sorry... Ran."
Another chapter finished. Not much to say except that Heiji's accent is... interesting to write...
Well I hope you enjoyed and I hope you, (yes YOU) review. :D It would make me very happy. :)
(and I maybe, just might, be able to write faster. ;)
Ja ne~