Late, But Not Forgotten
August 25: The heart beats on and will not stop
Word Count: 447
There are people like Ran and Ayumi who shine so brightly it is impossible not to notice them. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and their kindness in their eyes. They're easy to read, easy to deduce from a detective's standpoint, not because they are shallow, but because their goodness is so strong it influences everything they do.
On the other hand, there are people like Ai.
Conan isn't sure how to classify Ai, thinks maybe the miniature scientist is in a category all her own. After all, she blindsides him in a way no one else can. The moment Conan thinks he has her figured out, she'll do something completely unexpected--something so brave and stupid and contrary--that he finds himself having to completely reconstruct his image of her.
It was so easy to say "I hate you" at Professor Agasa's house that first evening. She was one of Them: cold and callus and tricky, not even human really, and Conan knew that they would never, ever get along.
And then she broke down in tears, clinging to his shirt.
Conan admits he hasn't been sure about her since.
Every time he has found a trait to pigeonhole her with, she has surprised him. Conan isn't sure when she went from being the untrustworthy scientist whose only purpose was to cure him to Ai, friend and confidant, but he's glad of the change. It's a novel experience, having someone he can always talk to, someone who will stop him when he gets in too deep and watch his back when it gets dangerous, someone who will pass him amusing notes in class when the teacher is really boring, someone with whom he can argue with about everything under the sun and know he's met his match.
"You've changed a lot," he had remarked at their elementary school graduation, only to receive one of those wry looks.
"So have you," she had responded, amused, and Conan hadn't known if she was joking or not (because Conan /never/ knows if she is joking or not), but he had realized that it was true.
Because the person he is now would never have just stood there while Ai cried her heart out.
"Conan," Ai calls from the kitchen. "Do you want to have--geh." Ai's question is cut off as Conan pulls her into a one-arm hug from behind. It's only for a second, and then he lets her go. "What was that for?" Ai demands with a face that says she's ready to verbally spar.
"Just something I should have done a long time ago," Conan explains ambiguously before walking away.
Ai can't be the only unpredictable one.