A/N: This one isn't as long as I would have liked, but it'll have to do. Sorry this one didn't get out as fast as the others, I'm working on another MK oneshot too that's probably contributed to the wait. Anyway, LAKERS DEFENDED THEIR TITLE. :D
And I am very happy.
So enjoy! ~
The Kid hiked up the stairs behind Ran. She slowly took one step at a time, heart racing. Every few seconds, the Kid would plant a hand on her shoulder, and as she would glanced at him, he'd shoot her a reassuring grin, nodding his head to let her know it was okay and she could take as much time as she needed.
Finally, they reached the door of the agency. Ran strained her ears and could hear every moment inside the building. She heard the shuffling of papers and the mumbling of the occupants and the quiet hum of the air conditioner. Someone coughed. Another sniffled.
She heard the phone ringing and her father answering it with a monotonous "Mouri Detective Agency." The Kid gave her shoulders another reassuring squeeze as Ran took a deep breath and grasped the doorknob.
Without another moment's hesitation, she pushed the door open and stepped into the establishment, surveying the room. So many familiar faces, but only the two stood out above them all. Everyone fell silent and stared at her, wide-eyed as she smiled uncertainly at them, "I'm home."
"RAN!" Kogoro exclaimed loudly as he shot out of his chair. A couple of officers had gotten up and moved in Ran's direction, but were bulldozered aside as Kogoro rushed past them to his daughter. The Kid slipped in unnoticed. The detective threw his arms around Ran and squeezed her, tears streaming down his face, "Ran, I'm so glad you're home!"
"Ran!" Eri tore Kogoro away to take her turn. She embraced her daughter, crying into her hair, "Oh, sweetheart, we were so worried!" Kogoro wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter.
"My beautiful girls.." He mumbled, nuzzling his head into Ran's, planting a kiss on her forehead, "We missed you so much!"
"Tousan! Kaasan! I'm so sorry for everything!" Ran sobbed, sandwiched between her parents, "I'm so so sorry!"
"What are you talking about, sweetheart?" Eri asked through her tears, pulling away to brush a few strands of hair from her daughter's countenance, "You did nothing wrong.."
"I'm talking about going to Osaka and not telling you guys about it. I'm so sorry for everything I've ever done to worry you and I promise I'll never do it again!" She cried, clutching her father tightly. Kogoro tightened his hold on her, stroking her hair.
"It's okay.. shhh, baby, it's okay.." He whispered.
"How did you get here? Where were you? What happened?" Eri asked once she had managed to successfully pry Ran from her father.
"I think I know.." Megure interjected, nodding toward the Kid, who had moved to stand near the large window of the agency. It was open, overlooking the busy street below, "Kaitou Kid."
"Thank you, Kid.." Kogoro approached him, "How can we ever repay you?"
"Keep an eye on her." The Kid winked, "It's time for me to take my leave."
"Goodbye.." Kogoro smiled.
"Oh no, we'll be seeing each other again." The thief winked at the detective before turning to Ran, "Stay out of trouble. Ciao." He snapped his fingers and erupted into a cloud of smoke.
The agency fell silent, all eyes on white cloud. Once it cleared, they weren't surprised to find the magician had vanished. Kogoro was the first to turn his attention back to Ran. He pulled her into another hug and squeezed her, "Lets go home.."
"Otousan, don't I have to.. give a statement or something?" Ran asked, pulling herself away from her dad. Both of them glanced at Megure.
"Well.. according to the precinct's protocol, you would have to come down to the station and make a statement about the events following your kidnap and what took place after but.. we can pick this up tomorrow." Megure placed a hand on her shoulder, "I can't imagine how exhausted you must be.."
"Thank you, Inspector." Ran smiled at him, "I appreciate it." Surprising the old man, Ran approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She had never really hugged the Inspector before, despite having known him most of her life. It never dawned onto her before that he was closer to her than she thought. He was like a second father and he was always there for her and her family. She imagined he worked closely with Kogoro to find her and exhausted all of his resources in trying to locate her.
She owed him and the rest of the his boys at the precinct so much. Since he and a few of his best officers were at the agency in the middle of the day, they were probably working on finding her. Ran pulled away from him and hurried around to each officer in the room, squeezing them.
Each of the officers had become rather fond of Ran. She was sweet and caring and they were all genuinely concerned for her well-being. Her father wasn't exactly the greatest man in the world, but they all saw how devestated he was when he lost his daughter. They knew how much he cared about her, even if he didn't show it sometimes.
After her rounds of hugging were done, Ran found herself inbetween her mother and father again, "We're so glad you're safe, sweetie." Eri whispered as she held onto her daughter tightly.
"Okaasan?" A thought suddenly occurred to the girl, "Where is Conan?"
"He doesn't get out of school for a couple of hours." Kogoro spoke up, planting another kiss on the crown of Ran's head.
"Can we get him out early?" Ran asked, the need to see Conan's face was overwhelming. She missed him the most and his smiling face wasn't present when she walked in. She had forgotten about school. What day was it? What time was it? She had lost track of everything.
"I would feel better if we could just get you home, Ran.." Eri cooed, "You can see Conan when he gets out of school."
"No, Eri, the boy should be taken out early." Kogoro said, thoughtfully. He had been working diligently, alongside the police department and Kogoro to locate Ran. He was so helpful and he cared so much about the teenage girl. He had every right to see Ran, immediately. Kogoro knew how close Ran and Conan were.. he would feel safer about letting Ran go with she had Megure with her, "Inspector..?"
"No need to ask, Kogoro. I would be delighted to take her." The inspector smiled. Ran's eyes lit up as she detached herself from her mother.
"Really?" She looked from her mother to her father, "Is it really okay?"
"Yes.. we'll be waiting for you at home." Kogoro responded, wrapping an arm around Eri's shoulders, reassuring her that it would be okay. She opened her mouth to protest, but decided against it. The thought of seeing Conan made her daughter so happy. She couldn't imagine the hell Ran went through..
"Okaasan?" Ran hesitated, looking to her mother.
"Go on.. but I want you to remain within sight of the Inspector at all times!" Eri stated, sternly.
"Yes, kaasan." Ran nodded, grinning from ear to ear, "Lets go!"
Conan sat beside Ayumi, staring dully ahead as all the other children chanted the multiples of two aloud:
"Two! Four! Six! Eight! Ten! Twelve! Fourteen! Sixteen! Eighteen! TWENTY!" The young girl beside Conan bounced excitedly in her seat. Conan rolled his eyes, instinctively at how trivial the exercise was to the detective, but couldn't help but smile. Despite how childish it seemed, it made the little ones happy. Especially his circle of friends: Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko.
"Keep going!" The teacher encouraged.
"Twenty-two! Twenty-four! Twenty-six! Twenty-Eight! THIRTY!" The kids shouted, arms thrown up in happiness.
"Come on!"
"Thirty-two! Thirty-four! Thirty-six! thirty-eight! FOURTY~!"
Suddenly, a older male student poked his head into the classroom. The teacher held up a hand and all chanting ceased, with groaning from various students throughout the room. Their teacher moved to see what message the boy carried with him and excited whispers burst from the kids, each of them expressing what they thought the message was.
"Maybe it's from the President of the United States!" Genta exclaimed, punching a fist into the air.
"Don't be ridiclous, Genta-kun!" Mitsuhiko said, calmly, "What would the President want with our teacher?"
"Maybe she's a secret agent!" Ayumi squealled, "And the President needs her a top secret government mission!" She turned to Conan, "What do you think?"
"It's probably a notice from the principal.." Genta immediately froze, giving Conan all the ammo he needed as the corners of his lips curled into a smirk, "So, Genta, why were you fifteen minutes late this morning?"
"Uh.. n-no reason!" The bigger boy stammered, nervously, shifting his gaze from his friends to the door. Conan chuckled at Genta's expense. The boy was always causing trouble. It would be interesting to hear about what he did this time to get called to the principal's office. With the reaction Conan got from Genta from simply mentioning the principal, it was probably something bad. Or maybe he did it with such stealth that he was just surprised he was caught.. but Genta? Stealthy? No, that was stretching it.
"Edogawa Conan?" the teacher shuffled back to the front of the room.
"BUSTED!" Genta shouted, relieved that it wasn't for him. He pointed a finger at the boy and laughed, maliciously.
"Inspector Megure is here to see you," Conan's eyes widened. His circle of friends perked up at the mention of the inspector. Could it be for all of them? Could the inspector want them to help solve a case? They were junior league detectives after all! And they have helped solve other cases before! "You're leaving for the day, so don't forget to pack up."
Conan ignored his friends' looks of jealousy as he gathered his things and quickly made his way to the door. Genta grumbled in irritation. It wasn't fair that Conan got to leave early! He wasn't the leader of their group! It was because Conan took all the credit for solving their cases! He didn't do all the work. It was Genta who did!
Ayumi and Mitsuhiko also grumbled their annoyance, mumbling under their breath about how lucky Conan always was. It must have been because he lived with a famous detective. And Ran was also dating a famous detective! Otherwise, the Inspector would be calling them too. If Conan wasn't living with the Mouris, he'd be just as boring as the rest of them.
As Conan closed the door behind him and hurried in the direction of the administration building, his mind raced. What could have happened? Why did the Inspector take him out of school? Did the Kid come by to see them? Did something happen to Ran?
The boy paused, fear ensnaring his heart. Something happened to Ran.. oh no.
Conan ran the rest of the way. He rounded the last corner before the long corridor to the office and skidded to a halt, his eyes as wide as saucers, his mouth agape, his heart dropping. There she was.. perfectly intake. Standing there.. smiling at him. She was back.. Ran was home. Conan rushed toward her open arms.
"RAN!"
