This chapter is a tad long. Sorry! I didn't want to cut the chapter off in the middle of the deduction show, because that would be unfair to the story itself and also to you wonderful readers. So I opted for a longer chapter. I hope everyone likes the conclusion to this mystery! This is not the end though! There is still more delicious, mysterious plot to come! Oh gosh, did I just say delicious? I must sleep now. Midterms have fried my brain.

And thank you Out-Of-Control-Authoress, Gamer AlchemistZ, blue-espeon, Anonymous Reader #2, Pu7o, Roseanni, Anonymous Reader #1, and AngelOfTheHealingLight for your extensive reviews! It made me so happy to read them, and helped me get started on this chapter that much sooner.


Yuuta knelt down and closed his bag hurriedly. He turned to face Conan and Ran. "Please don't tell anyone," he whispered quickly. "It- It isn't connected to the case, so nobody needs to know, right?"

Ran looked down at Conan. There was a reason he had opened that bag and revealed its contents. If Conan wanted the contents known, she would help make them known. If Conan maintained silence on the matter, then Ran would also be silent. She waited for Conan's decision.

Conan smiled up at Yuuta. "I won't tell a soul," he promised. His smile dissolved into a grave expression. "Ultimately, it shall be your own decision whether or not you choose to reveal this."

Yuuta glanced down at Conan with uncertainty.

"I won't tell anyone either," Ran affirmed quickly.

Conan's eyes darted toward Ran. She had been awfully quiet this entire time. Could it be she suspected him? Conan bit his lip. Usually he was free to conduct his investigations subtly, but today Ran had observed everything. He hadn't openly revealed anything in front of Ran; he had only asked a few simple questions of each suspect. But was it enough for Ran to suspect him?

Of course, when Ran had suspected him in the past, she had always been very expressive and overt about it. So wouldn't her current silence indicate that everything was fine? Ran was normally silent on cases anyway. The dead bodies were always a source of grief for her, so Ran was typically a silent observer throughout the investigations. But… There was something different about Ran today…

Ran smiled sweetly at Conan, and then quickly glanced across the room. "I wonder if Sonoko has figured out the case yet," she pondered aloud.

Conan cast a sideways glance at Sonoko, who seemed to be locked in a bewildering investigation with Maeda-san. Takagi and Megure continued to argue together in huddled whispers. "She probably has," Conan replied unconvincingly. "Let's go talk to her. Maybe she can tell us who the culprit is!"

Ran nodded, and the two made their way back across the bathroom toward Sonoko. Either way, Conan thought, I'm going to need to use Sonoko. But he obviously couldn't put Sonoko to sleep in front of Ran. Conan eyed his hand in Ran's, and let out a heavy sigh. He knew how to free himself. The only occasion on which Ran would drop his hand… And he could easily accomplish it.

But… With his thumb, Conan lightly stroked Ran's hand. He would be leaving Ran to solve the mystery. Not only that, but tricking her as well. How many times would he abandon or deceive Ran to reveal the truth of a case? Would this be the extent of his relationship with Ran? Months of secrecy, lies, deception… Was he so different from the culprit?

He knows, Ran thought, stealing a glance at Conan. Every question he had asked was relevant to the case. He had carefully conducted his investigation under the guise of childish curiosity, and he now knew the culprit's identity and trick.

It was the brief flicker of a smirk on Conan's face, when he had opened Yuuta's bag, that had given him away. That smirk was enough to convince Ran of Conan's deduction. That self-satisfied smirk, that Shinichi had so often worn upon solving a case. Conan had clearly arrived at a conclusion. But… how? How could a child in primary school be capable of that?

Conan had admitted before that Shinichi taught him many of the things he knew. But there was no way a child could use this knowledge to make such complex deductions AND intentionally disguise his investigation. So who was Conan really?

Shinichi, Ran found herself thinking. In the past, Ran had often thought that Conan was Shinichi. Everything about Conan reminded her of Shinichi. But that was ridiculous! How could something like that happen? Shinichi had always upheld that the most logical explanation was usually the correct one. The idea of Shinichi shrinking to the size of a six-year-old clearly held no weight in the realm of logic. Right?

But what then, could be the answer? The mystery behind Conan, and the mystery behind Shinichi. The two who were constantly on Ran's mind. Shinichi, who had suddenly disappeared into anonymity, and Conan, who had just as suddenly appeared in her life. But they couldn't be the same. They were the same. But they couldn't be. Ran took a quick, decisive breath. Okay. She needed some sort of confirmation that the two were truly separate. Perhaps she could call Shinichi? Ran moved her right hand toward the keitai in her pocket, but stopped quickly. Her right hand still firmly grasped Conan's left hand. In order to call Shinichi, she would have to let go of Conan's hand. And then Conan was sure to hide himself from her and somehow solve the mystery from the shadows.

"Sonoko-neechan!" Conan announced loudly, alerting everyone in the restroom, "I'm glad you've solved the case! I really want to see your deduction show now!" Conan reached his right hand into his pocket.

Megure and Takagi rushed over to Sonoko, Conan, and Ran, beckoning to Ito-san's friends to follow. Hashimoto silently reentered the bathroom and approached the group. Yuuta, Hiromi, and Maeda-san looked glumly at the floor as they approached.

"Is it true?" Megure asked expectantly. "You've solved the case?"

Sonoko looked perplexed. "Well," she began nervously, "I don't think I'm completely sure yet. That is to say-"

Ran's phone began ringing noisily, and everyone turned, momentarily distracted, toward the noise. The ringtone was a special song Ran had chosen specifically for one of her contacts – Shinichi.

Ran froze, surprised by this sudden call. She looked down at Conan, who returned her gaze with a guiltless, seemingly oblivious expression. Shinichi was calling her, and Conan was right here. So… They were indeed separate, right? Well, not necessarily… The phone continued to ring. Should she answer?

"Ran-neechan," Conan prompted in a childish voice, "Who is calling you?"

Ran released Conan's hand and reached into her front pocket. She flipped open her phone slowly and pressed the answer button. "Sh-Shinichi?" she stammered.

Inspector Megure's face lit up. "Ah, is Shinichi-kun working on this case?"

Ran listened for a reply on her phone, but she was answered only by an eerie ping, some sleepy moaning, and then a thud. Silence followed.

"Shinichi…" she repeated weakly, her heart sinking.

"Shinichi's deductions are unnecessary at this point," Sonoko's voice suddenly called out, "for I have already solved the details of this murder, as well as the straightforward trick the culprit has employed."

Everyone turned from Ran toward Sonoko's voice. Sonoko was seated against the wall beside the last sink, in front of the thirtieth stall. Her head drooped as if she were sleeping, with her chin on her chest and her eyes closed.

"How exciting," Hashimoto whispered to Takagi. "This is my first time seeing one of your famous sleeping detectives."

Takagi nodded enthusiastically. "It is always quite a spectacle," he agreed. "Mouri Kogoro-san works with us more frequently, but this girl has had her share of sleeping deductions as well."

Hashimoto raised his eyebrows. "I see," he mused, his dark eyes flashing. "Would it be alright if I wrote a report on the subject? You know I'm a big fan of Mouri-san's work. And of course, I'll have to dig through some of the past sleeping detective cases for reference…"

"I'm sure that will be fine," Takagi said dismissively. "Chief Matsumoto is always thrilled with your thorough reports, so he'll definitely grant you clearance to go through those files."

Hashimoto nodded happily.

"I'm not sure you can call this a trick," Megure said dryly, standing before the seated Sonoko. "The culprit knocked Ito-san unconscious with a bat, administered an injection that killed him, hid the bat 2.5km away, and returned to his group. The only trick here was the attempt to make this look like a suicide. But once that fell away, everything the murderer did was pretty straightforward."

"And that is where the murderer has fooled you as well, Megure-keibu," Sonoko's voice replied, her lips unmoving. "The murder you just described omits several crucial details."

Megure raised an eyebrow. "Such as-?"

"The location of the murder," Sonoko quickly responded. "A theme park bathroom is used by hundreds of people each day. The murderer clearly chose this specific location to generate as many suspects as possible while maintaining a relatively private cover within the locked stall. If the culprit had not been accompanied by a detective from the beginning, it would be nearly impossible to gather every suspect who had used the bathroom. In that case, the murder would easily have been blamed on an anonymous guest who had already left the park, rather than the true murderer."

"Ah, but Suzuki-san," Takagi cut in, "wasn't it Conan-kun who had taken the pictures? Are you saying Conan-kun is a detective?"

"Wh-Ah- No!" Sonoko countered uneasily. "I am the detective, and of course I told the brat in glasses to take the pictures."

"If we could move on," Megure interrupted, shooting a glare at Takagi, "Everything you say is true. We were certainly lucky that you were accompanying the culprit today. But how is that a crucial detail?"

"It tells us that this murder was carefully planned out," Sonoko replied, "and much more intricate than it initially appears. In viewing this murder as a straightforward one, we overlook the smaller, more important details."


Ran looked sadly at her keitai one last time before placing it back into her front pocket. She looked to her right. Left. Toward Sonoko. Where had Conan gone? Ran looked all around the bathroom. He was nowhere to be seen. He had disappeared, just like Shinichi.

Ran fought to force down the panic that was rising in her heart. The police are here, she thought, attempting to reassure herself. They would surely notice a child abduction, or… No, thinking of that wasn't helping! Ran's eyes fell on Hashimoto. He seemed like a very competent officer, and Sonoko had already solved the case, so surely the police force could spare an officer to help find a missing child.

"Ano, Officer Hashimoto-san," Ran entreated nervously.

Hashimoto turned to Ran, silently noting the dread in her voice. "Can I help you, Ran-san?" he asked politely.

"C-Conan-kun's gone missing," she said quietly. "Would you be able to help me find him?" Ran looked at Hashimoto hopefully.

Hashimoto smiled smoothly. "Of course I can," he answered kindly. As he turned fully from Sonoko, Ran noticed a small digital camera in his hand. "Hey Takagi-san," Hashimoto whispered, "could you finish recording this for me?" He held the camera out toward Takagi.

"Ah, yes," Takagi replied quickly, gingerly taking the camera in hand.


"But the culprit seems fairly careless," Megure pointed out. "He administered a lethal injection in a room through which many people would be passing. Even if the murder was hidden from sight because of the stall doors, there would be no way to hide the sounds Ito-san might make as he died, or prevent the possible convulsions of Ito-san's body as the poison attacked his body. How can this murder be carefully planned if the culprit counted on so many wild cards?"

"Ah, but there were no wild cards," Sonoko announced confidently. "Once you analyze the poison in Ito-san's body, I think you'll find this to be the work of the barbiturate known as sodium thiopental, otherwise known as truth serum."

"T-truth serum?" Takagi repeated in confusion.

"Sodium thiopental was originally used in criminal investigations," Sonoko explained. "As a fast-acting depressant, it helped to make suspects more compliant and forthcoming. It was dubbed "truth serum" for its apparent ability to help bring forth the truth. In reality, the truth that the drugs elicited was unreliable, and its use has since been discontinued. This falsely named serum of truth has been used today for a case in which the truth itself is clouded."

"But how does that account for the possibility of Ito-san's moaning or convulsing as he died?" Yuuta asked plainly.

A smug expression crept onto Conan's face. "This compound affects the body rapidly," Sonoko's voice continued. "In fact, for this very reason, it is used today for anesthetizing patients, medically inducing comas, and in the rare cases of euthanizing individuals. Sodium thiopental induces unconsciousness within seconds, rapidly shutting down the bodily systems. Ito-san died in a matter of minutes due to his heart and lungs ceasing to function, as evidenced by his hypotensive and hypoxic symptoms." Conan paused for a moment. "In other words," Sonoko finally concluded, "this compound was selected specifically to accomplish a swift, silent death in a crowded public area."


Hashimoto smiled at Sonoko's deduction as he searched the fourth stall for Conan. "Your friend is quite intelligent," he remarked to Ran calmly. "I honestly would have never guessed she'd be capable of such thorough reasoning."

Ran glanced toward Sonoko. "That's true," she agreed thoughtfully. She had often considered it herself. How had Sonoko become so competent at deductions this past year? Her mind snapped back to Conan, and with it her concern for him. "Are you sure he's in here?" she asked anxiously.

Hashimoto nodded. "The officers outside informed me that no one has left the bathroom," he assured Ran. "The little rascal was probably bored of hanging around here for so long, so my best guess is that he is hiding somewhere in here."

Ran nodded silently, continuing to ponder over her suspicions.


"So let me get this straight," Megure began, addressing the details Sonoko had presented, "you're saying the crucial details of this case are Yuuta's skill at running, the mud on Yuuta and Hiromi's shoes, the torn suicide letter, and…" Megure cleared his throat. "And Hiromi's flat chest?"

"Precisely," Sonoko said proudly.

"Alright then," Megure prompted. "What does any of this have to do with our case?"

"Yuuta-kun," Sonoko called out, you are one of the top runners in the region, am I right?

Yuuta nodded.

"And you could easily run five kilometers in fifteen minutes?" Sonoko questioned.

Yuuta nodded again.

"Yuuta went running on muddy trails this morning," Sonoko's voice continued. "When you run on muddy trails, the mud ends up caked to the bottom of your shoes. Throughout the day, the mud will dry up and fall off as you walk around in the shoes. Accordingly, Yuuta had mud caked to the bottom of his shoes when the day began, but the mud is now gone. The only mud that remains is on top of his shoes."

Takagi and Megure exchanged confused glances.

"Yuuta-kun," Sonoko persisted, "As an experienced runner, I'm sure you are aware of how mud ends up on top of your shoes?"

Yuuta's eyes widened, but he looked down quickly. "I- I don't know," he muttered quietly, his voice faltering.

"I'm sorry to destroy this special day that lingers in your memory, Yuuta-kun," Sonoko offered sincerely. "But when dirt gets on top of your shoes, it's because someone is running directly in front of you, isn't it? The mud that they kick up when pushing off the ground immediately splashes onto your shoes behind them."

Yuuta nodded slowly, continuing to watch the floor.

"Hiromi-chan began the day with mud similarly caked to her shoes," Sonoko stated pointedly. "She had mud all over the bottom of her shoes, but none on top of them. Hiromi had also been running on muddy trails this morning, but there was clearly no one in front of her when she ran. Hiromi-chan, you were running in front of Yuuta-kun, weren't you?"

Hiromi's eyes widened. She looked down at her shoes, and then back at Sonoko.

"That's ridiculous," Maeda-san interrupted. "I was just telling that little boy earlier that Yuuta never runs slower than three and a half minutes per kilometer, even during long-distance practices. There's no way Hiromi-san, who isn't even on the Track team, could keep up with him."

"Oh, but Hiromi-chan was the Japan Regional Track Champion for women," Sonoko countered.

Maeda-san cocked his head to the side. "Eh?"

Conan smiled knowingly. "You can tell that Hiromi-chan is a well-trained runner from her flat chest. Champion distance runners have very little fat on their bodies due to the the metabolic constraints of distance running, so female distance runners tend to have very modest chests. Did you ever notice," Sonoko continued, "that Yuuta and Hiromi have matching Track bags?"

Maeda-san glanced from one bag to the other. He had noticed before, but had never thought anything of it.

"When Yuuta opened his bag earlier," Sonoko continued, "I caught a glimpse of sewed lettering within the bag. The lettering read: Japan Regional Track Champion." Conan paused as the police processed the information. "One bag is given to the best male and female high school Track runners of Japan. Yuuta-kun was the top male, and Hiromi-chan was the top female."

Maeda-san stepped forward angrily. "I've had enough of going around in circles like this. I'll admit I didn't know about truth serum, and I've only just recently been hired, so I didn't know Hiromi was a champion runner, but if you know who the culprit is, then just tell us!"

"The murderer," Sonoko began slowly, her face continuing to droop into her chest, "is Kuroki Hiromi!"

Everyone stood frozen in disbelief.

Megure was the first to speak. "I understand you're eager to help us, Suzuki-san, but I'm afraid that doesn't make much sense."

Takagi nodded. "And Hiromi was only away from the group for fifteen minutes. She would have to be running very f…" Takagi paused for a moment. "Wait!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Since Kuroki-san is a champion Track runner, this may indeed be possible. Normal people take twenty to thirty minutes to run five kilometers, but elite runners have gone as low as a mere twelve minutes."

"I see," Megure remarked pensively. "Kuroki-san, who had set up this intricate murder, further removed blame from herself by establishing a perceived alibi. We had been ready to write Kuroki-san off as a suspect because we had lumped her abilities in with the general population."

"But Hiromi had gone to the bathroom before Ito-san," Yuuta pointed out. "How could she have known he was going to be in the bathroom?"

"You said it yourself," Sonoko replied quickly. "Ito-san always visited the bathroom fifty minutes before the show. Hiromi-chan purposefully spilled ice cream on herself just before the time Ito-san would go to the bathroom. She went to the bathroom to wash off the ice cream, where she waited for Ito-san. Once he entered the room, Hiromi-chan approached him from behind and knocked him out with the bat."

Yuuta studied Hiromi's shoes, and then quickly turned back to Sonoko. "But my shoes were covered in mud before, and now they aren't because I was running around a lot," he explained. "Hiromi still has mud caked to the bottom of her shoes, meaning that she couldn't have moved around much at all since this morning. She couldn't have run five kilometers and kept all that mud on her shoes."

"If Hiromi-chan had truly done nothing," Sonoko replied, "the mud on her shoes would have dried naturally and fallen off by simply walking around. Mud remains on her shoes at this time because she ran along a muddy trail just this afternoon to hide the murder weapon. The dirt trail that provides the most direct route across the park, where no guests would notice a suspicious runner, and with which only previous or current employees of the park are familiar. I am referring, of course, to the 'Employees Only' path."

Takagi slapped his fist down onto his palm excitedly. "Ah!" he exclaimed. "And Kuroki-san used to work at the auditorium here as a stagehand!"

Hiromi sank to her knees.

"But this is still speculation," Yuuta objected, eying Hiromi uneasily. "Hiromi could have been using the 'Employees Only' path to get to the best ice cream stand. You still can't prove that Hiromi is the murderer."

Hiromi slowly opened her Track bag, and drew from it her stack of roller coaster pictures. She flipped through the photos until a scrap of paper fell out. She placed the photos gently back in her bag, and then held up the scrap of paper. On the paper was scribbled "Hiromi-san,".

"There's your evidence," Hiromi said weakly. "I killed Ito-san."

Yuuta looked at the paper. "This says nothing," he mumbled, his voice faltering. "It-It's only your name, sweetie. You didn't kill Ito-san."

Takagi took the paper from Hiromi's outstretched hands. He examined the paper for a moment, and then looked toward Ito-san's torn "suicide note" that Megure still held after he had reclaimed it from Conan. Takagi silently took the note from Megure, and placed the scrap of paper on top. The two papers fit together perfectly. The note now read: "Hiromi-san, I am truly sorry for what I did to you."

"I found that note on him after he was dead," Hiromi admitted. "I hadn't planned on that note being there, so I tried hiding my name and leaving the rest as a suicide note." Hiromi smiled weakly. "After all he had done, that man thought he could gain my forgiveness with a mere note, scribbled on paper…"

Everyone continued to stare dumbfounded at Hiromi, the murderer of Ito-san.

"He had ruined everything," Hiromi continued, her voice wavering. "Yuuta and I had always shared everything together. Our pictures, our food, our sorrows, our joys. We even shared the title as Champion Track Runner together." Hiromi swallowed, struggling to maintain her composure. "When we were both accepted to Beika University, Ito-san immediately requested we join his team and offered full scholarship to both of us. Yuuta and I were naturally ecstatic, since we would be sharing our college years together as well."

Hiromi glanced toward Ito-san's corpse. "But it turned out that man only wanted us so he could make money off of our successes."

"W-What are you talking about?" Yuuta asked anxiously.

Hiromi looked down at the floor. "Ito-san was continually paid off by his associates in the underground gambling business for ensuring our success in races," she explained. "Because we continued to win, the bets on us continued to flood in. Yuuta and I knew nothing of these dealings as they were going on."

Hiromi took a deep breath and continued. "Eventually, the numerous bets on Kuroki Hiromi somehow surfaced. Gambling on amateur athletes is strictly prohibited in the Amateur Athletic Agreement. Although I was not involved in any way, my name had been, so I was dismissed from amateur athletics forever. I filed an appeal to argue my situation, and in the weeks leading up to my hearing, I uncovered a lot regarding the gambling ring. But I had no name. No mastermind to whom I cold attribute everything."

"One day," Hiromi continued, "I approached Ito-san to ask if he would testify on my behalf. It seems he mistook my request for a direct confrontation, because he immediately told me everything, and that he was the mastermind behind the gambling ring. But when he had finished, he assured me that it would be impossible to trace anything back to him. He laughed in my face and then left."

Hiromi looked at the papers in Takagi's hand. "And for his crime, there truly was no evidence," she commented, smiling weakly. "I was officially dismissed from college athletics forever, and the man responsible had just laughed in my face, and continued to head his organization for a profit."

Hiromi turned her gaze toward Yuuta, and then back to the floor. "I tried to forget about it, since Yuuta and I had planned to spend a special day at Tropical Land the next week. But Yuuta suddenly phoned me the night before our date, and told me that Ito-san and Maeda-san were going to come along." Hiromi paused, clenching her fists. "THAT man, who had ruined my athletic career and stolen what I had shared with Yuuta, and who may have one day ruined Yuuta's athletic career as well, would come to Tropical Land with us. As if he hadn't ruined enough, he had the audacity to taint this special day between Yuuta and me! It was then that I decided I had to kill him! As punishment for his vile act, and to prevent him from ruining Yuuta's life as well!"


"I found your little rascal," Hashimoto whispered to Ran.

Ran's face lit up as she looked around the room. "Where?" she asked, relief etched into her voice.

Hashimoto smiled. "He looked worried when he thought I had seen him," the officer began quietly, "so I determined that he would only find a new hiding place if I approached him."

Ran nodded. "Yes," she agreed. "He's always hiding, and he never lets anyone in."

"Yes, I had surmised he was keeping something secret," Hashimoto offered smoothly. "And this was a far more interesting spectacle than your sleeping friend over there, so I reclaimed my camera from Takagi-san and focused it on the little rascal, making sure to keep it hidden from his view." Hashimoto looked down at his phone, a smug expression creeping onto his face. "The camera feeds directly to my keitai. Would you like to watch him?" Hashimoto held the phone out to Ran.

Ran smiled sweetly. "Thank you so much," she said, taking the phone from Hashimoto's outstretched hand. "As long as I know he's okay…" she began, her voice trailing off.

Hashimoto saluted and turned on his heel, proceeding to make his way back toward Megure and Takagi.


The group surrounding Hiromi was silent as the motive for her murder was revealed. A tear slowly slid down Hiromi's cheek.

"You're wrong," Sonoko's voice suddenly called out.

Hiromi looked up. "W-What?" she stammered weakly.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Sonoko asked despondently. "To be on the top of the world one day, to see the one you love by your side and to think it will last forever… only to lose everything. To realize that no matter how skilled you are, you are stuck with no way to return to that life of glory." Conan paused, choosing his words carefully. "To be unable to fully share your life with your one true love. Supporting others from behind the scenes while being utterly neglected yourself."

Hiromi stared intently at Sonoko, her eyes watering from Sonoko's deep understanding of her situation.

"But," Sonoko continued, her voice wavering, "you are a champion, Hiromi-chan. Even if fate robs you of your stage, you must continue to perform. Even if no one can see you, even if no one can appreciate you, you need to continue to be all you can be."

"I continued to train," Hiromi offered halfheartedly. "But nothing I could do would punish Ito-san or save Yuuta from him."

"No," Sonoko said slowly. "But as a champion, you must continue to strive to make the world better. The road of life is fraught with obstacles. No matter how unfair the situation, no matter how much you lose, no matter how much your heart breaks, you must continue to stand as a champion." Conan was silent for a moment. "And maybe," Sonoko's voice said slowly, "you will win in the end."

"But," Hiromi protested, "this special day… Ito-san has tainted it forever."

"And so have you," Sonoko responded flatly, "in committing such a foul act as murder on this day."

Hiromi bent over as tears streamed down her face.

Takagi offered his hand to Hiromi. "Kuroki-san, would you please follow us to the far corner of the bathroom?"

Hiromi nodded and took Takagi's hand. Megure and Takagi led her toward the corner near the bathroom entrance.

Conan put his bow tie into his pocket and rushed out from behind Sonoko. He struggled furiously with the ideas this case had injected into his mind. He saw much of his own plight in Hiromi's. Would his own fate be the same? Would his pursuit of the Black Organization ultimately ruin the relationship he shared with the one he loved?

Conan glanced at Ran. Her gaze was fixed intently on a phone in her hand. Her eyes were wide and her mouth agape. With her attention on the phone, Ran had luckily failed to notice where Conan was hiding. Just as he had planned. But… Conan's feelings of guilt buzzed incessantly in his head.

"Ran-neechan, what are you doing?" Conan asked innocently.

Ran quickly jerked her attention toward Conan. She turned to the phone uneasily, and then turned back to Conan. "Ah, well, umm…" Ran struggled to invent a suitable excuse. "I was… um… I was… I was watching one of those funny internet videos!" Ran finally announced. "This case was a bit unnerving, so I asked Hashimoto-san if I could borrow his phone and cheer myself up with some comedy." Ran smiled to herself. Good save.

"Oh," Conan acknowledged slowly. "Can I watch too?"

"No!" Ran replied automatically, sufficiently startling Conan. Noticing her reaction, Ran smiled uneasily. "Actually, Conan-kun, Hashimoto-san said he wanted his phone back right away. I'll show it to you when we get home though." Ran smiled again and rushed toward Hashimoto with the phone.

Conan frowned. There was something he was missing. But what could it be?

"This is what you meant, isn't it?"

Conan whirled around to see Yuuta kneeling beside him. Yuuta was forlornly watching as the police placed handcuffs on Hiromi and briefed her on her journey to the police station.

"W-What do you mean, oniisan?" Conan asked in his childish voice.

"When you saw all of that stuff in my bag," Yuuta replied. "The flowers, the chocolates, and this." Yuuta pulled from his pocket a small jewelry case. He opened the case to reveal a radiant diamond ring. Yuuta fixed his gaze on Conan. "You told me it was ultimately my decision whether or not I revealed this. I didn't understand what you meant then, but I realize it now." Yuuta closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "You knew I intended to propose to Hiromi, and you knew that Hiromi had committed murder."

Conan opened his mouth to protest, but Yuuta waved his hand dismissively.

"I don't care how you knew," he said flatly. "But you cautioned me against proposing to Hiromi today, because today will live on in her memory as the day she killed a man. If I proposed to her on this day, then the foundations of our life together would be tainted by the memory of murder." Yuuta paused for a moment, and then looked back at Conan. "That's what you meant, isn't it?"

Conan nodded slowly.

Yuuta sighed. "I hadn't known about any of the troubles Hiromi was dealing with," he admitted. "She just told me one day she was quitting the team." Yuuta smiled weakly. "I was so selfish, I thought it was because she didn't want to be around me anymore. She was always mysteriously disappearing, even when I begged her to stay. I know now it was her search for the man who had wronged her, but…" Yuuta's voice trailed off. "If only I had known at the time, I could have helped her."

"She didn't tell you because she was trying to protect you," Conan interrupted. "She clearly loves you very much. When you love someone, you need to protect them from the evils of the world. No matter how much it hurts, and even if the secret threatens to destroy your relationship, you only want for the one you love to keep smiling, free from the evil."

Yuuta stared intently at Conan for a moment. "No," he finally said with conviction. "When you love someone, they are your entire world. Being separated from the one you love is the greatest evil you can face. I would brave a thousand evils if I could spend one more minute with Hiromi."

"But there is no way Hiromi would endanger you like that," Conan countered. "That's why she never told you the truth."

"I think if she had told me," Yuuta began thoughtfully, "I could have helped her. And maybe saved her from this terrible fate." Yuuta patted Conan's head. "No one can face their evils alone. That's why you need the one you love by your side. To fight the evils with you." Yuuta stood up.

"Nee, oniisan," Conan began.

Yuuta smiled. "Hiromi needs me now more than ever. This day of sadness is also a day of joy that lingers in our memories. You said it was ultimately my decision. Well, I have decided. I'm going to tell Hiromi." Yuuta shouldered his Track bag, pocketed the ring, and strode toward Hiromi just as the police began leading her from the bathroom.

"Is he going to tell her?" Ran asked, appearing at Conan's side.

Conan looked up at Ran. Ran needed him, and he needed Ran. He had to reveal everything to her, no matter what, because he loved Ran, with all his heart. Conan smiled confidently. "Yes," he replied. "He will tell her."


Out-Of-Control-Authoress, I'm a total sucker for RanXShinichi too. :3 Thank you so much for the compliments. I certainly took a while planning this story out, so I'm glad to see that it's coming together nicely. Also, thank you so much for following this story. Your review was the very first one I received, and I took your thoughtful constructive criticism to heart as I continued to write. I'm positive that it helped me to improve my writing.

Gamer AlchemistZ, I'd love to update more often, but I've got midterms right now. Bleargh. I'll try to update soon though!

Blue-espeon, Hurray! That's at least one person who will follow this to the end, and that makes writing this completely worth it!

Anonymous Reader #2, Yeah, Gosho-sensei is probably just teasing us again. But Ran keeps saying she has something to tell the love cynic Minerva, so I'm hoping that Shinichi said something about love to Ran!

Pu7o, Definitely true.

Roseanni, I'm glad you liked the Kaito bit. Kaito will get a much bigger role later on, so hopefully that will be a bit more exciting for you. C:

Anonymous Reader #1, Muahaha, yes. All writers delight in upsetting their readers with the dreaded cliffhanger. Haha, just kidding. But thank you so much for your kind words. And yes, that's Kaito and Aoko. During their constant quibbling, the two often employ a play on words with each other's names: Ba-Kaito and Aho-ko (from baka and aho/ahou, which are both insults regarding stupidity). I wanted to include the pet names in their debut, because I think they're adorable.

AngelOfTheHealingLight, I hope you deduced correctly! I know I always feel good when I've solved the case along with Conan. If you didn't, don't sweat it. I think I was a little harsh when I gave you guys information. I wanted to present the crucial details of the case, but I withheld a little so I didn't reveal the murderer right away. It sounds like you watch the dub, and that's probably why you don't know who Takagi is. No worries! His name is Harry Wilder in the dub. I hope that helps jog your memory! Anyway, thank you so much for finding this story and jumping in midway. I hope the story continues to appeal to you!