Hiya! So this is the other story of Rain of Torture under a different name with the revisions of chapters 1-5 all in one go. The sixth chapter and current actually new chapter will be the second chapter in this and all. Just to give you a heads up, like my other stories (you may or may not have read) I'll be late at updating cause I suck at it and cause 1: I have a lot of other stories to update in a pacific (that might be spelt right or might be the ocean, I can't really tell) order, 2: Procrastination is trying to be my best friend, and 3: I'm going to actually try for my sophomore year of school and fail cause I don't like homework (I'm not even going to try to study cause I know that'll fail) but the homework thing… Yeah, I might actually have to do that. So this might be updated in maybe two months, just giving out that warning now. You need to know. Well, I hope you like it and please leave a review, follow, and favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!
-Let there be midnight
I do not (sadly enough) own (even though I'm awesome enough) Detective Conan
And Here Darkness Comes
The Start? The Beginning? Of What?
Conan leaned against the cool brick of wall, his breath coming in short puffs of air. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as he closed his eyes as if to get rest for the few precious seconds that he could so he didn't fall over and collapse like a doll.
The moon hung overhead shining down on him and making the blood that covered him glisten in the dim light, the scene an eerie thing to glimpse upon. The cars zoomed past on the street, no one actually seeing the small form hunched against the wall with blood draped over him like a blanket for they were too busy with their own life to care, but it was the same for him for they were just a blur to his ears, the background noise.
"Almost there…" he whispered softly to himself, the words whispered giving himself the comfort he needed.
Conan opened his eyes with a soft exhale of air as he started walking to the agency, his side sliding against the wall for the much needed support.
He clutched his left forearm harshly, blood streaming through and in-between his fingers and down his hand, leaving small drops of blood in his wake. His eyes blurred over ever so often, making him stop and blink to make his vision clear again.
He saw the Mori Agency ahead of him as his vision blurred once again. He leaned his head gently against the building he leaned heavily on, knees almost buckling underneath him.
"I'm such an idiot…" Conan muttered softly as his vision cleared once again. "I shouldn't of-" He stopped, his teeth clenching in pain as his arm sent tremors up and down his body. He lost too much blood as it was already, he needed to get to the Agency and fast before he passes out from blood lost.
Conan could just see the front door already as he slowly made his way up the stairs. He knew Uncle and Ran must be asleep since it was around twelve in the morning, but he needed help now.
"Why did I have to… go out by myself…?" he asked himself between pants of breaths for what seemed to be the thousandth time. It really was a stupid decision of his, probably the most idiotic thing he had ever done, but hey, you learn from your mistakes, don't you?
His vision kept blurring, but he kept moving forward because he couldn't afford to stop anymore for such trivial matters. Conan's legs felt like Jell-O and would give out from under him at any given moment, but he wasn't going to let that stop him when he was just so close to his goal.
His hand let go of his bloody forearm, the uninjured hand covered in his own blood. He reached up to the door knob, struggling to open it and staining the brass red. Finally after a few minutes of struggling, he managed to open the door and stumble on in. He left the door with the red stained brass knob open as he dragged himself through the living room area.
A beer can clanked from where it layed on the floor forgotten along with the rest that kept the thing company. Conan paid no heed to it as he made his way to the closes room, which just happened to be Uncle's.
"Come on…" he whispered, urging himself closer to the door. He felt his strength fail him, vision getting even blurrier by the second which terrified him that he might not make it to the door that could possibly save him. He could fall right then and there and nobody would know he was there until morning which was just too far away and it would probably be too late then already. He reached the cracked open door of Uncle's room, stumbling on into the messy and dark thing.
Uncle slept peacefully on the bed, snoring loudly as half of the sheets were draped onto the floor and the other half lying on his torso.
"Uncle…" Conan called as loud as he could, his voice hoarse and raspy. He fell to one knee, his bloody hand flying to the deep gash on his forearm. "Uncle…!" he called a bit louder. A small pool of blood started to form on the carpet below Conan from where the blood of his forearm starting dripping on. Both of his eyes closed only for a brief second before he managed to get one eye opened despite the protest that it held against him. "Uncle!" he shouted loud enough to make Kogoro jolt up awake. The last thing Conan heard before he passed out was Kogoro's scream of horror and surprise.
"Conan?!"
Kogoro watched Conan as he slept peacefully on the white hospital bed. His arms were crossed with eyebrows creased in deep thought. He had promised Ran he would watch over Conan and make sure nothing happened to him while she went to school. It was a promise he intended to keep no matter what.
His mind flew to the night before when he heard Conan call him awake.
"Uncle!" Kogoro jolted up in surprise. He blinked the sleep from his eyes as he looked in front of him to see Conan. His eyes widened in horror and shock, jaw dropping practically to the floor. Conan's only open eye was glassy as he looked up at Kogoro from where he was on the floor with pain as he fell forward and blacked out.
"Conan!" Kogoro screamed once he got out of his shock and jumped up out of the bed and ran to the child's side. Ran ran into the room just a moment later, flinging the door open, making it slammed into the wall behind it. She gasped in immediate horror as her eyes strayed to the small body in her father's arms, her hands flying to her mouth as her eyes widened. Kogoro picked Conan up gently in his arms, careful not to hurt him anymore than he already was.
"Conan-kun!" Ran whispered breathlessly, her eyes never leaving the unmoving child that laid limply in Kogoro's arms. Kogoro stood up facing Ran with a panic flooding his eyes.
"Call the ambulance! Quick!" he shouted, quickly snapping her out of her daze. Ran nodded with her eyes narrowing as she ran out of the room to phone the ambulance.
Kogoro quickly made his way to the bathroom and set the child carefully against the wall that the counter with the sink was attacked to. He shuffled through the cabinets below and above trying to find the first-aid kit.
"Damn it!" he growled to himself. "Ran, where's the first-aid?!" he called, hands shaking with hurried panic.
"Top drawer!" she called only to turn back to the phone in her hands and start yelling to the operator on the other line their address.
Kogoro took out the first-aid kit once he found, giving Conan a quick glance over as he unlatched it open. He was pale and seemed to be… Kogoro shook his head.
He's not. Just focus on making a makeshift bandage before the ambulance comes. He told himself, but his mind wouldn't do what it was told and wondered to the state that the child was in. A long gash ran from his shoulder to a little below his elbow and was pretty deep. It would leave a scar, no doubt. Scratches covered his body with dirt and blood like a blanket. Sweat fell down his face, his hair matted with a little blood running down from his temple. His clothes were torn and hung limply to his form. He seemed like a different kid to Kogoro. He was almost unrecognizable. Conan reminded him of a woolen doll that Ran once owned when she was little. It once upon a time looked new as if it had been just freshly bought from a store, then she had come home from school one day with the doll missing an eye with its arm half torn off its body and practically in rags. It was ruined to the point where it was unfixable and that was exactly what Conan looked like at the moment.
He tightly wrapped the bandages messily around the long gash, trying his best to stop the flow of blood. After that, he tore off his shirt with quick haste wondering if there were any other serious injuries underneath. He sighed with relief as he found that there was nothing more serious than a few shallow scratches.
"Conan," he muttered under his breath. He felt Ran's presence in the bathroom door, too afraid to come any closer as if Conan would fade in front of her if she did. The sounds of sirens sounded in the distance, coming closer and closer to their destination. "What happened to you?"
Kogoro shook the horrid memory from his head, dispelling it from the front of his mind for the moment. Tears stung in his eyes as he remembered when Conan first woke up.
Ran stood next to Conan's bedside, her hands clenched tightly in her lap as she bit the inside of her lip. Kogoro leaned on the wall behind his daughter, his eyes never leaving the ghostly form of Conan as he slept.
"C-Conan-kun!" Ran whispered, her voice breaking the eerie silence that had befallen upon the room. Kogoro leaned forward as he watched the child slowly pry open his eyes. He looked around, not seeing Ran and Kogoro. His eyes turned from sleepy confusion, to panic. He sprang up in bed, head flying side to side. "Conan-kun!" Ran shouted causing some of the nurses to rush into the room at hearing Ran's scream. Conan looked at them in fear, which soon turned into relief. He settled down a little. His hand instinctively went to his bandage arm as if feeling for the gash that was hidden beneath the white bandages.
"He's coming…" Conan's whisper was far too low for Kogoro to hear, but he heard it and it sent shivers up and down his spine. He watched silently as the nurses checked over Conan.
After asking a few questions and adjusting the equipment around the small child, they left leaving the three alone in the room.
"Who's coming?" Kogoro spoke up after a few moments of silence. Conan looked up in surprised, forgetting that he was there, forgetting that he was not the only one in the room. Conan looked back down as if fighting himself if he should tell them or not. Finally Conan spoke, but it was in hidden fear and spoken in a whisper that made them strain their ears just to even hear it.
"He is."
That was all Kogoro could get out of the boy before he went back to sleep. After a few hours, Ran went home to refresh herself before she had to go to school. Before she left she made Kogoro promise he would watch over Conan and never leave his side until she came back.
His eyes narrowed as he thought hard on who Conan might be talking about, but no matter how hard he thought, he always came up blank.
"He's coming."
Those words rang through Kogoro's ears, repeating themselves like a broken record that could not be fixed nor smashed.
Who exactly was coming? Was it the one who did this to him? But why? Why would he be coming again? Does he want Conan? Was this a message? A warning? A sign? He couldn't figure out. All he knew was that whoever was coming scared Conan badly, and Conan wasn't a child to easily scare, that's for sure. So if he scared him, then who just is he?
Kogoro blinked the thoughts away. He didn't want to think about it anymore, it pained him too much to see the unending ocean of fear in the child's eyes when he first woke.
Who could've done this to a child? A monster. Kogoro thought with a narrow of his eyes. He swore that whoever had injured Conan would not get away with it. He wouldn't allow it and he was positive Ran wouldn't either.
"Mori." He jumped in his seat with surprised, turning around to see Megure standing there, his hand resting on the back of his chair. The big man stared at the sleeping Conan, an emotion of anger flashing through his eyes. He turned to face Kogoro.
Kogoro looked back at Conan silently as he folded his hands in his lap and leaned forward.
"Inspector," he started. "whoever did this, they're after Conan." His throat tightened considerably. He swallowed to clear his throat, but to no avail. He felt Megure's burning gaze scorch over him. He knew he felt the same way. Conan had that kind of effect on them and seeing him this injured set their blood boiling. Megure's gaze left him and went to Conan.
"We don't have any leads onto who did this unless Conan wakes up." Megure commented. Kogoro grunted in responds.
"He'll wake up soon. I know it." he replied with certainty.
He felt the soft blankets that laid on him keeping him warm as best they could. He opened his eyes drowsily, the white ceiling above him coming into view.
He was in the hospital, he knew that (much to his distaste) but when he looked around the room with his still sleepy eyes, no one was there.
He felt slight panic at being left alone, knowing that it would be the perfect time for him to attack, but he shook his head, trying to reassure himself as he slowly sat up in bed, cradling his injured arm in his lap. He couldn't help but stare at it, even to hold it like he had before. It was like a strange instinct for him to do so, but he didn't mind.
He looked outside the window beside him, the sun shining in brightly through it. His eyes moved downward to the buzzing traffic and chattering people, his eyes not really paying enough attention to the details, but enough to get the basic sight of it.
After a few moments of looking through the window, his eyes reverted back to his lap, his mind now somewhere else.
"You're not going anywhere, kid."
His heart pounded in his chest as the familiar voice rang through his head as if he was sitting right there.
"Come here! I just want to play!"
He looked to his side, making sure that he really wasn't there, then the rest of the room for safety.
"You know, blood really suits that pretty face of yours, why don't I add some more?"
He heard him snicker in his mind, making him hyperventilate slightly in terror.
"You can run, but let me tell you something interesting,"
Pain coursed through his arm as he held it too roughly in his grasp, but he ignored it as he started to hyperventilate faster.
"I will find you."
Panic flooded his system as his head whipped around, eyes scorching the whole room as if to see him popping out of thin air. That phrase echoed in his mind, becoming louder and louder by the growing seconds until it sounded like it was screeching painfully in his ears.
His head looked up sharply as he heard the door to his hospital room open. He tensed, thinking it was him at first, but relaxed slightly when he saw it was just Uncle with a bottle of water in one hand. His breathing went back to normal as his heart slowed down, the screeching dying until it was no longer there, just a quiet hum behind his ear drums.
Uncle brightened up once he saw Conan sitting up awake in his bed while he went to sit next to him.
"How are you?" Uncle asked as he sat down in the chair next to the child's bed. Conan shrugged with a blank look as he held his arm where the bandages were above the long gash.
"Fine," he mumbled as he looked down at his lap. He didn't really feel fine, truth be told. His arm throbbed annoyingly and hurt when he moved it, plus he woke up with a head shattering headache, but he didn't have to tell Uncle that… right?
"Ah, that's good." Uncle sighed with a smile as he leaned back in his chair, opening the water bottle and taking a small drink from it.
"What time is it?" Conan suddenly asked after a few moments of silence between them. He looked up at Uncle with slightly curious eyes as he looked at his watch for the answer.
"Almost 2:30pm." he replied looking back up at Conan. "Ran's in school and should be getting out in thirty." Conan nodded as he looked back down at his lap, a sudden thought coming to mind.
"Nee, Uncle?" he asked. Kogoro perked up, wanting to know what Conan wanted. "You'll make sure he won't come?" the request was quiet and full of pleading that could tug on anyone's heart strings as Conan looked back up at Kogoro with fear playing in his eyes.
"Who's 'he'" Kogoro had to cough a little to get the roughness out of his voice, creasing his eyebrows slightly for the question on who 'he' was still burned in his head since the last time Conan had woken up. He needed to find out if it's the last thing he did (not really, but he really just wanted to find out who it was so he would know how to protect Conan better).
Conan's eyes looked even more scared as he leaned towards Kogoro, putting the hand that held onto his throbbing arm in front of him to support him on the hospital bed.
"Just promise me… please?" Conan begged with tears starting to spring up in his eyes which shocked Kogoro to say the least. He had never seen Conon this scared and about to cry. It terrified him that knowing one person had scared the tiny child that much.
Kogoro nodded numbly, putting a fake small smile despite himself as to not scare Conan any more than he already was.
"Promise." And for extra measures, he stuck his pinky finger out for Conan to latch on with his own. Conan looked at it before he looked at Kogoro, latching his pinky finger to the older man's with a slight smile of relief.
"Thank you." he sighed thankfully.
Conan leaned back against the head board of the hospital bed, his hand again holding his injured arm unconsciously. Kogoro couldn't help but notice this and wondered why the boy kept holding onto his arm when there was no need too.
"Conan," Kogoro started, catching the child's attention. "Why do you keep holding onto your arm like that? What happened to get it that badly wounded?" he asked pointing to the bandaged arm.
Conan looked down at the arm, noting how he did hold it constantly.
"He had a knife with him at the time. He flung me into a wall, resulting in me hitting my head pretty hard. While I was dazed, he took that to his advantage. I didn't have enough time to dodge out of the way, so I used my shoulder as a shield." He clutched his arm tighter in his hold at the memory. "I guess I hold onto it tightly because it's like a weird instinct that I can't really explain." he shrugged his shoulders at that part.
Kogoro nodded as he took another drink out of the water bottle, his eyes never leaving the boy's arm.
Just then someone walked in through the door breaking the silence that had been going for a few moments. Both Conan and Kogoro looked up to see Heiji standing there, waving and smiling at Conan.
"Hey, Conan-kun!" Heiji greeted happily, walking to the end of the hospital bed. "I heard you were injured and decided to see how ya' were doin'." Heiji then stuffed his right hand into the pocket of his pants and started to fish around for something. "I've also got ya' this!" He took the object out of his pants and put it in front of him for Conan to see.
Conan looked at the object with an annoyed expression quickly taking place as he saw what it was.
In Heiji's hand was a shiny red toy sports car.
Conan could tell by the smile on Heiji's face that he was enjoying this as much as Conan wanting to kill him right then and there.
Why you! Conan growled in his mind. Teasing me like this! I'll get you!
Heiji walked around and placed the toy car on the nightstand next to Conan.
"Oy, Kogoro, why don't ya' get Conan-kun a bottle of water?" he suggested to the older detective. Kogoro gave Heiji a glare of dislike, 'tsk'ing a little at the teen.
"Fine," he finally said, standing up from the chair and leaving the room.
"Why you Hattori! Giving me a child's toy!" Conan growled once Heiji sat down in the vacant chair Kogoro was sitting in.
Heiji leaned back in the chair, grinning at Conan.
"What? I think it suits ya' well Kudo, seein' as ya' are a child." Conan narrowed his eyes at Heiji, his annoyance growing each moment he spent speaking with him.
"Not when I get my body back!" Conan shot back at him. He looked away from Heiji and towards the window by his bedside.
Heiji's smile widened at this. He loved teasing Shinichi while he was stuck like this! It was fun too, especially when Shinichi would pout saying he wasn't a child but a seventeen-year-old.
"Come on Kudo," Heiji said with amusement, leaning forward a bit in his chair. "what do ya' expect me to do? Get you somethin' ya' would actually like instead of a child's toy?" Shinichi glared at him from the corner of his eyes, lips forming a thin line.
"I don't even care if you don't get me anything at all." he glowered. Heiji quirked an eyebrow at this statement, resting an elbow on his knee and put his head in his hand.
"Oh? Is that so?" he said mockingly. Shinichi turned around carefully just in case he accidently caused his injured arm any pain.
"Yes, now why are you really here Hattori?" he snapped, knowing full well that him being injured and in the hospital wasn't the only reason.
Heiji raised his eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair, smirking.
"So I can't pay a visit to my best friend in the hospital? How cruel Kudo, how cruel." he said with a small disappointed shake of his head, feigning sadness. Shinichi glared at him, warning him to tell him the real reason as to why the detective was here with his eyes. "Fine, I'm here 'cause I heard ya' were injured badly so I called Ran up to get the details. She said when ya' first woke up, ya' said that a man was after ya', possibly the one who did this." he paused, gesturing his head towards Shinichi. "So that got me curious. She also told me ya' wouldn't tell who it was, so I thought maybe ya' can tell me?" Heiji asked hopefully, batting his eyelashes as if that would get him somewhere.
Shinichi's expression turned back to blank as he looked down at his lap, his hand clenching harder against the bandaged gash causing slight pain that made his breath hitch for a second before he ignored it.
Heiji became increasingly concerned in Shinichi's change of behavior and how blank his face became. He also fretted that his arm started causing him trouble only to see that he was gripping it too tightly.
"Kudo?" he asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder gently as if he might shatter if touched. Shinichi barely flinched away from the hand, but his gaze remained in front of him never wavering. "Oy, Kudo?" Heiji became even more worried wondering why Shinichi was acting like this.
"He is coming. He isn't very happy. He wants blood." Shinichi said in a monotone that frightened Heiji to the core. Heiji stood up and crouched a little so he was at eye level with Shinichi. He tried to capture his eyes but Shinichi's eyes seemed to be unfocused as if he wasn't there anymore.
"Kudo, who is 'he'" Heiji asked with a voice filled with concern, but was stern all the same.
His heart pounded against his chest as he wondered if he truly wanted to know who did this to him, because if it scared Shinichi this much then the guy who did this isn't a force to be reckon with.
Shinichi turned his head slowly to look at Heiji, his eyes slightly focusing in on him, but still held a blank look that seemed to scream at Heiji that Shinichi was too terrified of him to even speak his name.
"Hattori…" Shinichi said breathlessly. "He's coming, and he's close." Tears of terror sprung in Shinichi's eyes as the hand around his forearm tightened, making pain shoot up his arm, but he paid no heed to this.
"Kudo…" Heiji whispered to himself as he embraced Shinichi as if to calm him down.
Inside, Heiji was just as terrified Shinichi was because Shinichi was never this terrified before, not even enough to bring tears to his eyes. It truly frightened Heiji and he couldn't help but feel his heart ache inside as he heard the sobs that came from the shrunken detective's mouth as he hugged Heiji back tightly with his uninjured arm.
Don't worry Kudo, He thought to himself as his facial features hardened in anger at Shinichi's sobs. I'll find out who did this to ya' before he gets ya'. Don't ya' worry.
Kogoro shuffled uneasily in his seat as he glance at the ever so quiet Conan who just stared blankly at his lap, his hand once again lazily holding his bandaged forearm.
Heiji had left a while ago saying he was going down to the police station to see if he could find any more information about what had happened to the little detective, leaving Kogoro alone in the room with him.
The clock on the wall ticked away, silently filling the room with its silent ticking. Kogoro glanced at the clock wondering when his daughter will be here for the hope of getting Conan out of this blank state that drove him to the brink of insanity.
"So… Uh, Conan…" he started hesitantly, scratching the back of his head as he looked away from the child. When he got no answer, he glanced back to see that Conan gave no real signs that he had heard him. He sighed; resting his hands in his lap as he leaned forward again, silence cascading the hospital room once more.
Come on Ran! Kogoro shouted in his mind as his fingers twitched with discomfort. Get out of school! Come to the hospital! Make Conan talk! Please! He pleaded, whimpering silently to himself, knowing that Conan didn't have the ears at the moment to hear him at all. As if his prayers had been heard, the door opened silently before closing to reveal Ran in her school uniform with her bag slung lazily over her shoulder.
"Conan-kun," Ran said quiet joyfully as she placed her bag down at the foot of his bed and took the chair on the other side of him. Conan didn't give her any indication that he was paying attention, but she went on anyways. "I talked to your friends today," she paused hoping to get some sort of reaction out of him. When she didn't, she went on. "they said they would come and visit you after school. They should be on their way right now." Ran smiled a little only to frown in disappointment as he showed no signs he had heard her. "Conan-kun?" she asked, trying to get a reaction out of the boy. "Ne, Conan-kun, did you hear me?" Conan looked at her slightly from the corner of his eyes, only to look at his lap once again.
"Yes," he murmured quietly, loud enough to have Ran hear him. Ran huffed, crossing her arms over her chest at the short muttered reply she had gotten.
"Conan-kun at least look happy." she pleaded with him, but to no avail for the child was once again lost deep in his thoughts making Ran sigh heavily in defeat.
After a few moments of complete silence the door slammed open with three kids stumbling in and another walking in with her arms cross and scowling.
"I said you all can't fit through the door." Ai scolded, closing the door behind her. Ayumi stood up with a flustered look on her face.
"But they pushed me in!" she defended, making the others flustered as they also stood up.
"Nu-huh! It was all Genta'a fault! He pushed me into you making me push you through the door!" Mitsuhiko waved his arms in the air, pointing at Genta who suddenly went a deathly pale.
"I did not!" He would've continued if it wasn't for Ran who sent the children a death glare making them quiet down and notice Conan on the bed who was still lost somewhere in his head.
"Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked, stepping closer to the bed. Conan again didn't answer with even the slightest twitch of a finger, making the children worried. "Ran-oneesan, why isn't Conan-kun answering?" she asked her, looking up at Ran with big worried eyes. Ran shrugged, eyes never leaving Conan.
"I don't know. He's been like this ever since I've walked in." she replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Kogoro grunted in his seat, catching everyone but Conan's attention.
"I'm not surprised he's acting like this." he said a bit softly as he leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a few moments before he opened them once more. "He's been acting this way ever since he has woken up, well, not this bad. He only started to act like this ever since I left him with Heiji to get the kid water." He cracked open an eye to look at Conan with worry. The others nodded as the children went toward the bed and stared at the seemingly unblinking Conan.
After long moments that seemed like years to everyone, Conan blinked only for his eyes to widen in horror and panic, head snapping up while hyperventilating. He clenched his bandaged arm, making him whine in pain as he backed up against the back of the hospital bed, head snapping everywhere as if to expect someone to jump out from anywhere. Everyone's eyes widened in shock as their hearts skipped a beat in panic.
"Conan!" Kogoro shouted, trying to catch the child's attention. He jumped up from his chair along with Ran.
"Get away! Get away! No!" Conan shouted in fear, the grip on his arm leaving as he used it to shield his face from whatever he saw, shutting his eyes tightly as he whimpered. "G-get away… please…" he pleaded weakly as he shook in fear.
"Conan, it's okay! It's only us! Conan! Listen to me!" Kogoro pleaded trying to put his hand on his shoulder, but finding that he was far too afraid to touch the child. Nurses had rushed in once they heard the screaming within the room. Conan started to kick and punch the air around him, all the while with his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face.
"Get away! Get away!" he screeched as the nurses rushed over to him in panic. One of the nurses ran off to find a doctor.
"Stay back!" one nurse ordered them as she and another tried to pin Conan to the bed so he wouldn't open his wounds. Conan only struggled harder in their grip, shouting louder with tears running down his face.
"Conan-kun!" Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta screamed in worry only for the nurse to send them a glare to silence them. The doctor rushed in with the nurse hot on his heels. Once he saw the struggling Conan, his eyes narrowed as he went to one of the counters and started to search for something.
"Hold him still!" he ordered as he came over with a syringe in his grasp. The nurses instantly pinned him down as best they could as the doctor gave him the sedative.
Conan's flailing arms and legs instantly slowed down as he began to get drowsy. He opened his eyes only to see blurry images, making fear grip him once more as he tried to fight against the sedate. Soon, the flailing came to a stop as his eyes started to get too heavy for him to fight against.
"Please…" he whimpered, voice barely above a whisper. "Stay a—… away…" With that, Conan fell unconscious making the doctor and nurses sigh in relief.
The nurses released their grasp on Conan as they left the room, leaving the doctor in there to talk to the rest.
The doctor sighed heavily as he leaned against the counter behind him.
"Why was Conan-kun acting like that?" Ayumi cried, whipping her tears away. The doctor weakly smiled at her in pity as his gaze shifted to the unconscious child on the bed. He noted how Conan's eyebrows were creased slightly in his sleep as if he were in pain.
"Conan-kun probably reacted like that because he went over the events that happened last night. Whatever had happened has obviously traumatized him into fear. He could've thought that he was back to when he was being attacked, so he did the most natural thing, he tried to defend himself." The doctor paused to take a breath before he continued on. "When he starts acting like this, please get me." And with that, he left the room with a heavy feeling in the air.
Ran and Kogoro sat back down sullenly while the Detective Boy's stayed standing at the foot of Conan's bed. Ayumi cried softly while Mitsuhiko and Genta tried to comfort her. Ai just stared at Conan with furrowed eyebrows deep in thought.
"Conan-kun…" Ran whispered to herself, looking down at her lap while silent tears trailed down her face. "What happened to you?"
~Conan's mind~
Conan sat in the corner of a small white empty room. His legs were curled up to his chest as he dug his head against his knees, his arms limply lying at his sides. At the farthest corner of the room, an ominous shadow loomed, deep red eyes peering out of them and looking a Conan with a glint that cannot be described. The figure resembled that of a demon with its darker than black figure and deep red wine eyes that would remind anyone of blood.
One of Conan's fingers twitched at his side as he dug his head further against his knees as if to shy away from the shadow that loomed near him.
"Go away…" he whimpered his voice barely audible in the white room. His legs moved closer to his chest as he silently shook in fear.
"Please… Go away…"
Conan's soft breathing resonated throughout the room, the other occupants listening closely to the breathing expecting a change at any moment, either bad or good.
Ayumi sat next to Ran at Conan's bedside, hands coiled in her lap as she gazed worriedly at her friend. Conan's features hadn't changed much since the doctor had first put him under the sedate which was around an hour or two ago. Ayumi noted the still troubled and feared look that was still very evident on the small detective's face making her even sadder.
Mitsuhiko and Genta where sitting down on the floor, leaning on the wall behind them facing the hospital bed. Genta looked concerned, arms crossed over his chest and gazing with slightly creased eyebrows at the marble floor he sat on. Mitsuhiko was deep in thought in his usual pose when he tried to figure things out.
After several minutes of thinking, Mitsuhiko looked up at everyone in the room.
"Ran-san?" Mitsuhiko suddenly asked. Ran looked at him curiously, tilting her head slightly to the side. "How long was Conan gone from home yesterday?" Ran put a finger to her chin as she thought about it.
"Um… Around three to four hours I think. He said he was going to spend the night at Hakase's house and left." she replied. Ai looked up at Ran, shaking her head.
"He never came, nor did we know about it."
"So he did something else and didn't tell anyone about it?" Kogoro asked himself as he creased his eyebrows in thought. "But why didn't he tell anyone?" His voice was now a mummer as he talked to himself more than to the others. "Just what did he do for three to four hours?" Everyone in the room thought the same thing as possible thoughts ran through their heads for what Conan possibly did for that somewhat short time period.
"Maybe he met with the person who did this?" Genta questioned out loud. The others nodded in agreement, but one question still struck all of them. Why did Conan meet with him?
Their thoughts soon came to an abrupt stop when Conan moaned, slowly waking up. Everyone perked up as they stared at Conan with a slight look of relief.
Conan opened his eye blearily, blinking the sleep away. Where was he again? Oh yeah, he was in the blasted hospital. He slowly raised himself into sitting position on the bed, leaning his back on the head board while his hand once again unconsciously grabbed his forearm. He looked around the room to see Ai, Ran, Ayumi, and Uncle sitting by his bedside, two on each side and Mitsuhiko and Genta sitting against the wall in front of his bed.
Conan felt uncomfortable under their stares, feeling self-conscious for a strange reason. He looked down at his lap silently as he held his forearm a bit too tight, but not enough to actually hurt him.
"Conan-kun?" Mitsuhiko spoke up, catching his attention. Conan looked up at him, tilting his head slightly as a gesture for him to continue. "Why were you gone for such a long time without telling anyone the real reason?" The atmosphere in the room turned tensed as Conan bit his lip in slight fear at the mention of him even if it wasn't directly. Long silent moments ticked by with the only sound being the second hand of the clock that hung on the wall.
"I-I—" Conan stuttered only to pause in hesitation, biting his lip once more as his hand squeezed tighter around his forearm. A few more moments passed by as Conan found his voice. "I was told to go there." he said quietly, perking everyone's interests.
"To go where? Who?" Uncle asked him slowly as to not strike fear into him on accident. Conan gulped as he shook lightly, enough that nobody really noticed it.
"To—to go to the old factory that was abandoned a few years ago." His voice was shaky, making him pause to take a slight break so he could continue, hopefully in a non-shaky voice. "He—he threatened me that if I didn't go he would… would…" Conan trailed off, his will to speak gone.
Conan's knees curled up to his chest tightly as he buried his chin in the crook between his knees, memories flashing behind his eyes.
"Hello?" Conan called out, looking about the rubble of the old factory.
Light shinned through the broken windows casting long shadows against the rubble of the large building. Nothing moved nor responded to Conan as he walked further into the factory; looking about just in-case he didn't catch a glimpse of something out the ordinary.
"Hello?" he called out again, louder this time as he came into the middle of the room. He sighed when he heard nothing move in responds, irritation starting to build within him.
Conan "tsk"ed as he kicked a small piece of rubble, watching it bounced and roll to the other side of the factory with a 'clink clank' until it hit the far wall and bounced once before it fell silent.
"Well, hello." A deep voice greeted behind Conan, surprising him slightly. Conan whirled around to see a large built silhouette of a man outlined by the sunset coming from outside. He couldn't clearly see his face, but he could feel his eyes sinking into his skin uncomfortably.
"What do you want?" Conan growled at him. He heard him snicker, making Conan frown.
"That is an interesting question brat. What do I want?" he asked himself, pausing for effect. A small chuckle came from the man as he pointed at Conan. "I want you." Conan blinked, taken aback.
"Me?" he squeaked out. The man nodded, confirming what he just said to the boy. "Why do you want me?" he asked, composing himself. The man knelt down to where he was at eye level with him.
"Things just don't answer themselves when you just started playing the game. Answers take a while to come, and in fact, this one might take a bit for you to figure out." Conan narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
"Then why did you want to talk to me in private?" Conan asked him. He stood up to his full height and turned his back to Conan, making him crease his eyebrows as the annoyance grew.
"Curious one aren't you? No matter, I will answer your questions anyway." Conan just growled fed up with the strange man. I mean seriously! How annoying can this guy even get? Nevertheless, Conan still wanted to know why he had half the mind to drag him all the way to this dirty old abandoned factory, and if this strange lunatic of a man didn't have a good enough reason, he would personally investigate his murder without Uncle.
"Just get to the point!" he snapped, only to amuse the man further.
"Impatient to? Well, haven't I got a gift in for me today?" He turned slightly around to face Conan, the sunset reflecting on the side of his face giving Conan enough time to shiver at what he saw. The man's eyes were narrowed with a strange color that could be mistaken as a dark red. His head was shiny and smooth, not a single hair upon his tiny head, oh, and might Conan mention? A long ragged scar came from within the shadows of the man's head and stretched to meet at the corner of his right eye. Conan could make out the side of his crooked smile as it curved upwards at the impression Conan gave at just the mere sight of half his head. "Oh, my looks aren't half of your fear Conan-kun." Conan started to back up as the man crept forward, a horrible feeling sinking to the pits of his stomach.
"Let's play, Conan-kun."
"Oy, oy, Conan! Conan!" Conan snapped out of his thoughts and jerked his head upwards to see Genta staring down at him, half concern and half annoyed that it took a while to snap Conan from his thoughts. "You alright Conan?" he asked Conan with the tilt of his head. Conan mutely nodded as he looked down at his lap, his hand painfully squeezing his forearm from the fear of the recent memory.
"Hey, Conan, once you're let out, why don't we go to the arcade and play?" Ayumi asked trying to lighten the already darkened atmosphere the hospital room held.
"Sure." Conan replied softly, his eyes never leaving his lap to answer Ayumi face to face. Ayumi brightly smiled at Conan (even though she was concerned at how soft he had spoken, she even notice the slight waver of fear in his voice as he just spoke one word).
"Great!" she chirped happily. "We're going to have so much fun there! Ai-chan, would you like to come with us too?" Ai nodded absentmindedly as she stared at Conan with narrowed eyes.
"Sure, I could use a break."
"Awesome! Ran-oneesan, when will Conan be released from the hospital?" she asked Ran, looking up at her with a kind smile. Ran smiled back a little at Ayumi as she tried to remember when Conan would be released, or even if the doctor had told them yet at all.
"I don't know. I don't think the doctor has told us yet." she replied. Ayumi nodded as she looked back at the silent Conan only to start a conversation up with Mitsuhiko and Genta, hopefully to get Conan involved with it somehow or another.
"Let's play, Conan-kun."
"Hey Conan, guess what!" Ran squealed in excitement. Conan barely acknowledged her from where he sat motionless on the bed. "Shinichi's parents decided to drop by and see how you are! Once they got news of you getting injured and all, they wanted to see how you are and should be here in ten minutes! How does that sound?" Conan didn't say anything as he kept staring at his lap. He heard her, yeah, but he didn't know what to say at all. He didn't know what to say anymore. Kogoro shifted uneasily in his seat as he cast Ran a look, though she didn't notice.
"Ran, can I speak with you outside?" he asked the teen. Ran looked at her father and stood up as they left the room, leaving only Heiji and Conan left. Heiji leaned against the wall from behind where Ran had sat casting Conan a look and biting his lip as the child remained emotionless.
"Kudo, ya' happy yer parents are comin'?" Heiji asked, hoping to spark up a conversation. Shinichi looked up at Heiji slowly, scaring Heiji half to death by just the way he did it.
"What do you mean?" he drawled his voice dead with no emotion, making Heiji shiver in fear, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
"U-uh… I-I mean aren't ya' glad mommy and daddy K-Kudo are c-comin'?" he asked in a shaky voice. Shinichi looked back down at his lap, trying to find words to answer the high school detective.
"I don't know Hattori. I honestly don't know anymore." he replied quietly. Heiji moved his eyes to look down at his shoes at a loss for words since whenever he talked to the other detective, it was something always depressing to the point where he just wanted to engulf him in a hug, but he couldn't do that. He knew he couldn't.
"Hey, don't be like that! I bet yer parents are very excited to visit ya'!" he cheered, trying to cheer Shinichi up in the process. Just as he said that both Yusaku and Yukiko decided to bolt right on into the hospital room without a thought. Yukiko had a wild look on her face as she flung herself onto Shinichi, hugging her child as if he might slip from her hold. It wasn't the best thing to do since it made his eyes widen in fear and glaze over.
"Oh, my poor baby!" Yukiko cooed, unaware of the change in her child as she kept on hugging him.
"S-stay away…" Shinichi whimpered in fear as he started to shake, confusing Yukiko. Yukiko stood back from hugging Conan as she looked at him. He was now huddled into a ball as he tried to become one with the headboard, shaking in fear.
"Shin-chan?" she asked in confusion.
"S-stay away…! Please, don't hurt me…!" he started to rock back and forth, his breaths becoming short. "Stay away!" he suddenly shouted, surprising the occupants of the room as he squeezed his eyes shut and shouted that over and over again. Ran and Kogoro threw open the door and ran inside, a doctor that was there the night before also running inside (he was going to check up on him anyway). "Stay away! I said stay away!" Conan shrieked, his hands flying up to his head as he shook, tears coming to his eyes.
"Hold him down!" the doctor ordered he got the sedate ready. The doctor knew that the only way to stop Conan from freaking out or hurting anybody in the room was to sedate the kid even though it left a bad taste in his mouth every time he did.
Hesitantly, Yusaku tried to pin Conan down as he flailed, his eyes widening in further panic as Kogoro and Heiji went to help the father. Yukiko's eyes filled with tears and hurt as she watched her child like this, Ran putting a hand on her shoulder for comfort. Once the doctor injected the sedate into Conan, his struggles weakened and his eyes got heavier and heavier until he finally let them droop, whispering one last thing before he fully succumbed to the sedate:
"Help… me…"
Silence issued throughout the room after that. Yusaku, Kogoro, and Heiji stood up straight as they watched the sleeping child with heavy hearts. Yusaku walked to his wife as he saw the tears, embracing her. She buried her head in his shoulder, casting Conan a teary glance before all she could see was her husband's shirt. Everyone stayed still, not knowing what to say as the atmosphere around them were all tense.
"Well," the doctor coughed, the only one willing to talk as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and he looked at everyone with a grim smile. "Conan-kun will be fine and should wake up in about two to three hours depending when the sedate should wear off." He looked back at Conan with arched eyebrows, sighing. "I'll come back in an hour to check back on his arm to make sure it hasn't gotten infected and I'll have a nurse change the bandage, other than that, Conan-kun should be out of the hospital in maybe three to five days." Kogoro looked up at the doctor, forcing himself to speak.
"What do we do when he has another one of these fits?" he asked as the doctor gave him another one of his forced smiles.
"I'll have to proscribe you with something that should be able to calm him down enough." He turned to leave, but remembered something. "Oh! I almost forgot! The nurse says Conan-kun has been rejecting his food by not touching it. If you can, try to get him to eat something, it'll help him heal faster." Then the doctor left the room feeling grim once more. The occupants couldn't bring themselves to talk, for what could they talk about? Nothing. That was all.
Kogoro sat back down the chair he had claimed as his, at one point he almost wrote his name in sharpie to fully claim his possession, but Ran had stop him from doing so by hitting him on top of his head and forcefully taking the sharpie he had somehow obtain away with a frown. Ran also sat down in her chair, not being as possessive as her father and going as so far claiming the chair by writing her name on it in sharpie, no, instead she hit anyone on the head who dared sat in her chair (Heiji learning the hard way eight times).
Heiji leaned against the wall that faced Conan's bed with a frown, closing his eyes as if to rest. His thoughts were jumbled together; never could he stay on one topic in his mind before he switched to something entirely different to get his mind off the situation, only to glare at the ticking of the clock that seemed to occupy most of his thoughts for some reason he did not know of.
Yusaku stroked his wife's head calmingly as he looked at his sleeping child, heart aching in a way a parent felt sadness toward their injured offspring.
Shinichi,I will stop the nightmares that plague your mind 24/7, no matter what.