Disclaimer: As always I do not own Detective Conan, it belongs to Gosho Aoyama.
The Love between Two: Chapter Four
Flashback
"What's wrong kaa-san?" Sakura questioned, seeing her mother in distress.
"Shinichi is in the hospital, we're going to check on him," Shiho replied.
"What happened to him," she whispered.
"There's no time to explain. We have to leave immediately," Shiho rushed the young girl.
End of flashback
"Where's Shinichi?" Ran asked a nurse desperately.
"He's right down the hall to your left," the nurse responded.
With that said, Ran followed the directions to the room.
'I should have never said those words to him. That foolish detective better not die on me,' Shiho thought as she and Sakura went through the hospital doors.
Before Shiho could ask the nurse where Shinichi was located, Sakura said, "I want Uncle Shinichi," tears falling down her face.
"I'm sorry but I'm here to see Kudo Shinichi." Shiho said.
The nurse pointed down the hall, "He's to the left."
"Thank you," she went to the room.
When Shiho and Sakura arrived at the door, Shiho peeked inside.
'Mouri-san is here. The nurse must've called her.' She moved away form the door, 'Should I go in?'
Making her decision, Shiho turned the knob.
Ran turned her head around as she heard the door open, "Miyano-san, what are you doing here?" She said, not noticing the hostile tone in her voice.
"I'm here for the same reason as you, to check on Shinichi," Shiho replied tonelessly, ignoring Ran's tone.
Ran frowned a little when Shiho called the unconscious detective by his first name but then noticed the small girl behind Shiho's legs. 'Who is she? I never saw her before.'
At that moment Sonoko bust through the door, "I got your text. I came here as soon as possible."
"Umm…Sonoko, can I talk to you in the hallway please?" Ran asked.
"Sure," Sonoko stared at Shiho, "Nice to see you again Miyano," she muttered.
Sakura glared at Sonoko, 'She's so rude to kaa-san.'
"Hey, who's the brat?"
"Let's go Sonoko," Ran pushed her friend out the room.
Sakura went around Shiho and stood beside Shinichi's bed. "He looks dead," she whispered.
'He's battered up,' Shiho thought as she sat down on a chair.
She inspected him. His head was bandaged, left arm in a cast, and a couple of bruises around his neck and arms. Her eyes traveled lower. His right leg was also in a cast.
'It's going to take weeks or months before he can move his arm and leg.'
"I think he's cheating on me, Sonoko." Ran quivered.
"So did you get his cell phone from the room?" Sonoko asked.
"Yes and I saw Miyano's number in his contacts. That's funny because her number was never in the phone."
"Have you seen Shinichi today at all before the wreck?"
"No, when I spoke to him, he was in a rush to go somewhere and after our conversation I told him 'I love you'." Ran said.
"And…what else?"
"He didn't say it back; he just said 'Yeah, uh, I'll call you back'."
'You have to wake up Shinichi. We're waiting on you,' Shiho thought while softly stroking Shinichi's pale cheek.
Dream
"Where am I?" Shinichi questioned. "Am I dead?"
A chuckle broke the silence.
"No, you're not dead. It's a dream Kudo Shinichi," a voice said.
"Who are you? You don't sound familiar." He walked around in the darkness.
White smoke suddenly appeared along with a figure. Shinichi squint his eyes to get a closer look. It was a woman, about Shiho's height. She was a brunette with aquamarine eyes with a slight touch of gray and she was smiling.
"I'm Miyano Akemi, Shiho's older sister."
"Shiho told me about you. She would always smile as she told the stories. I'm sorry about your death, Shiho really misses you."
"I know. I watch over her. But that's not what I came to talk about," Akemi touched Shinichi's shoulder. "Now, what's going on between you and my sister? That argument was uncalled for, you love each other."
"But I have a daughter that I didn't know about. Why did she keep it a secret?" He said as the heartache came back.
"Shiho was scared at the time. A couple of days later, after you left, she went to the doctor because of the morning sickness. That was when you called up everyone to find her. During that week, Shiho moved out of the country to New York. The two of you never spoke to each other ever since. Shinichi…Shiho just wanted you to have a better life without her," Akemi said, giving a slight justification of what happened.
"That pessimistic woman. I was already happy with her, even when I was secretly in love with her. I missed her so much. I want to be with her." He poured out his emotions that were held in for so long.
"It's okay…its okay," she soothed the boy. "Then why did you start a relationship with another girl?"
"Ran was in love with me for a long time, so I decided to give her a chance. It was going well for a couple of months but it went downhill from there. She doesn't want me to leave her to solve cases because it interferes with our alone time."
"Did you attend those cases?"
"Of course, I'm a detective," Shinichi said proudly.
Akemi chuckled, "You're a cocky young fellow. But let's get back to the topic. Who's the girl that you want to spend the rest of your life with?" She smirked.
"I want to be with Shiho and our daughter," he answered without hesitation.
"I knew it," she squealed, "You better take care of my little sister and niece. If you hurt them then I'll personally send you to hell. That also means if you cheat on Shiho," she said menacingly.
Shinichi gulped, "I'm an honest and truthful man. I promise."
"Good answer. I guess it's time for you to wake up, good luck Shinichi," Akemi soon disappeared.
End of dream
Shiho continued to stare at the face before her.
"Will he ever wake up," Sakura's soft voice came in.
Shiho was about to answer when she caught a glimpse of Shinichi shifting in the bed.
"Okaa-san, Uncle Shinichi moved," Sakura said joyfully.
Shinichi groaned, 'My body aches.'
"Ah so he awakens," he heard a familiar satirical voice.
"Still sarcastic as ever, huh, Shiho," Shinichi chuckled weakly.
"Uncle Shinichi! You're awake," Sakura gasped.
"Hehe, yeah, I'm okay."
"You should go back to sleep, Kudo," Shiho advised.
Shinichi delicately took Shiho's hand into his, "Nah, I'm fine. I want to confess something to you," he kissed her hand tenderly. "I…"
"Look whose up," Sonoko barged in with Ran.
'Damn Sonoko,' Shinichi frowned.
Entering the room, Ran saw Shinichi's hand entwined with Shiho's, "What's going on," she blurted out.
"Uh, what are you talking about?" Shinichi asked innocently.
"She's talking about why you are holding Miyano's hand," Sonoko said angrily.
"I needed comfort because of the pain," he lied.
"That's no excuse, you weren't complaining a while ago. Ran was by your side," she countered.
"I should probably leave," Shiho made a move to release her hand from Shinichi's grasp but he held on and tightens his grip on her.
"Stay with me, don't leave," he pleaded silently.
"I don't wanna go kaa-san. I wanna stay with Uncle Shinichi," Sakura ran next to her mother.
'Okaa-san! Miyano has a child? Who's the father?' Ran and Sonoko thought.
"Yeah, Shiho let her stay," Shinichi grinned.
Ran felt a pang of jealousy, 'They're just friends.' She repeated in her mind.
"What's your name?" Ran asked.
"Miyano Sakura," she said, her voice becoming cold. 'I don't trust her.'
'Like mother, like daughter,' Ran thought.
"Hey Kudo, why does Sakura-chan calls you 'Uncle Shinichi,' Sonoko harassed the man. "You're not related to her."
'How ironic.' Shinichi slowly pulled himself up, "Ahh," he hissed.
Shiho, who was still beside him, pushed him back down on the bed gently. "Don't cause any more injuries to yourself. Try to find a safer way to sit up," she smirked.
Shinichi was confused for a moment but finally saw what she meant. He took the remote that controlled the bed and elevated it until he was in an upright position.
Ran's jealousy spiked a little.
"Kudo, answer my question?" Sonoko demanded.
"Alright, geez, we met each other at the café." He explained.
"What does that have to do with her calling you 'uncle'?"
Shinichi looked at Shiho and she gave him a curt nod.
"Okay, I went to the café to grab a bite to eat. That was when Shiho and Sakura came in. I asked Shiho was that her niece and that was when she announced that Sakura was her daughter. I wandered who was the father and Sakura said that she doesn't have one. She asked could I be her otou-san but Shiho suggested that I become her 'uncle'."
"But she looks like you in some weird way," Sonoko pointed out.
Immediately Ran stared at the girl. 'Her face resembles Miyano but she does have some of Shinichi's features. But it can't be.'
Unknowingly she stepped closer to the child and looked into her eyes. A disturbing chill went down her spine. 'Is she Shinichi's daughter?'
Sakura glared at the woman in front of her.
Shinichi and Shiho sensed something from Ran. 'We have to tell her the truth,' Shiho thought. She glanced at Shinichi and he nodded, agreeing to what she was thinking.
"Shinichi," Ran paused as her heartbeat sped up, "Are you the father of Sakura-chan." Tears stung her eyes.
Sonoko looked expectantly at him.
He was quiet for a while before looking at her, "Yes," he answered, "I'm Sakura's father."
Sakura was startled, "You're my otou-san?" She asked on a verge of crying.
Shinichi gave her a warm smile, "Looks like you finally have a tou-san, Sakura."
"Is it true kaa-san?"
"Hai, he's your otou-san," Shiho confirmed.
"How could you Shinichi? I love you and you off and sleep around with that…tramp," Ran screeched.
Shiho wasn't surprised at her outburst, 'She's a wreck.'
"Cool down Ran," Shinichi warned. "This happened before you and I started dating."
"Tell me the whole truth," she requested.
'This is going to be bad turnout.' Shiho held on to Shinichi's hand.
"It was four years ago and Shiho and I was working on our research papers. We were drinking and the next thing we know, we were in bed together. I woke up before her thinking that I violated her. I was scared so I left."
"After waking up to an empty bed, I didn't feel well. A couple of days later, I went to the doctor and found out that I was pregnant. I decided to move away to avoid Shinichi." Shiho clarified, picking up Sakura and placing her on her lap.
Ran, once again, was shocked, "So you're not involved with each other?"
"Actually we…" Shiho was interrupted, "Kinda, it's not official though," Shinichi said.
"What?" Sonoko bellowed. "You two-timer, you can't go out with two girls, stupid!"
"I know that already. That's why I'm choosing to be with Shiho," Shinichi growled out in agitation, feeling weaker by the movement.
Obviously not liking Shinichi's answer, Ran cried. "How could you pick HER? When did you find out that you're the father?"
Shinichi stayed quiet.
"Answer the QUESTION!"
"Today," he mumbled, taking Sakura from Shiho.
"Unbelievable! Miyano kept it a secret and you found out today? Kudo Shinichi, you are one dumb stupid idiot," Sonoko said rudely.
"Shut up! Stop instigating so much. It's not Shiho's fault, it's mine and I'm going to make things better," Shinichi declared, holding Shiho's hand for comfort, knowing that she felt uncomfortable.
"Were you happy when you found out?" Ran questioned.
"I was shocked; I mean I never thought of being a dad. I yelled at her and we argued. After the argument I drove off and crashed." Shinichi confessed.
"That's ridiculous! And you still want her after this," Ran complained.
"Is that a problem Mouri-san?" Shiho asked calmly, her eyes turning into frost.
"Yes, it is," she whispered, anger taking over, "Why did you have to come back?"
"That's enough, Ran!" Shinichi shouted.
Everyone went silent.
"It's over," he said. "I want to break up Ran, we're through."
'Wha-what? He wants to break up with me after all these years. Did you even love me, Shinichi?' Ran thought desperately, but Sonoko beat her to the punch.
"Did you even love Ran, Shinichi?" Sonoko asked, a little calmer than before.
Shinichi was surprised by this question, "To be truthful it was an infatuation. I thought it was real love but things change."
"But my love for you was real." Ran said.
Guilt crept over Shinichi, 'I'm sorry Ran but I love Shiho. I can't lead you on anymore.'
"Ran," his voice deepened, "you have to move on. There are other guys that could treat you better than me."
"You're right Shinichi," she tried to smile but failed, "but it's going to take a while because I still can't let you go. Let's go Sonoko," Ran rushed out the room.
"This is not over Kudo," Sonoko threatened, then left the room.
"That was amusing," Shiho grimaced.
"Will you leave kaa-san for that woman, otou-san?" Sakura asked after the whole fiasco, burying her head into Shinichi's chest.
"No, never in my life," he responded, running his hands through her soft hair.
Shiho was surprised by Shinichi's answer and smiled at the sight of her daughter reuniting with her father.
Shinichi spotted the smile on Shiho's face, "I apologize for all the commotion and the argument. It must've been irritating for you." He kissed her cheek.
"Yeah, but what about you? All that stress and yelling made you exhausted," she said, caressing his warm cheek. "You're getting warm. We should go; you need to rest since you can barely move. C'mon Sakura, we'll see Shinichi tomorrow."
Sakura hugged Shinichi, "I love you tou-san."
He ruffled her hair, "I love you too, Sakura."
Shiho bent down and kissed Shinichi tenderly on the lips, "See you later tantei-kun."
"Love you," he mumbled before dozing off.
"Me too," she whispered in his ear then left.
"I can't believe that senseless detective blew you off in front of Miyano." Sonoko nagged.
"It hurts so much but I still love him," Ran cried.
They were in Ran's room.
"You want him back, don't you," Sonoko asked.
"Yeah," she replied without thinking.
"I bet that he was bluffing about loving Miyano and that girl was a product between their drunken encounter. Miyano is just using him to take him away from you," Sonoko said with a smug look on her face.
"Are you sure?" Ran questioned, all rational thoughts leaving her.
"Of course, it's obvious," Sonoko snorted while crossing her arms.
'I'm coming back for you Shinichi.' Ran thought. 'You don't deserve him Miyano, he's mine.'
So Ran has become a little insane after the breakup. Will she do something that she will regret? Happy New Year's and please REVIEW!
To be continued…