Yep, the disclaimer. Meitantei Conan belongs to Aoyama Gosho, Shogakukan (Shonen Sunday) and Movic. I don't think I'm creative enough to have come up with it all in the first place. :)
A note..."Oku-sama" means either "Wife" or "Lady of the house" in English. "Oku-san" is used more often, but means the same thing. That's because the "-sama" part is more formal. It's also used by the employees/servants of a house, say like the cook, for the wife instead of her name. If that makes sense...
Chapter Three: Nikki no Himitsu (Secret of the Journal)
By Laura Hoak-Kagey
Ran stood in front of the Kudou's house.
Her curiousity was so great that she didn't even wait for a comment from the crimson lady before she started towards the door. She had seen her life, now Ran wanted to see Shinichi's life.
After passing through the door, since Ran knew Shinichi's house quite well, she headed for the main living room and kitchen area. In the past this was where everyone usually spend their time together. Most of the other rooms in the house were hardly ever used or if they were, they were used for guests.
Ran reached the living room to find the same little girl she had seen before sitting on the floor in front of the TV.
"Well, if Nami-chan's here, then where are her parents...?" Ran asked herself.
She turned towards the kitchen, and went through the doorway. Ran was a little surprised to see a strange person just finish making dinner. Well, if both of the adults were busy, then someone had to make it, right?
The lady cook wiped her hands on a towel, and went through a different door than the one Ran had come through. Ran followed her, and they were soon in the room that used to be Shinichi's father's office. It wasn't his any longer, and the blonde haired woman that looked like Ai sat at a computer, absorbed in whatever it was displaying.
"Oku-sama, dinner is finished."
"Thanks Chieko. I'll be there in a second. Would you tell Nami as well?"
"Yes ma'am." Chieko then exited the room.
Slightly interested in what the computer was displaying, Ran decided to not follow Chieko but rather look over Shinichi's wife's shoulder. After she did so, Ran was disappointed to find a bunch of scientific terms and symbols filling the screen. Science didn't interest Ran that much, and she didn't always understand why certain equations worked a certain way.
The woman in front of her saved what she was working on and then stood up. She headed for the same door Chieko had passed through a few minutes ago. Ran decided to follow her.
They both reached the dining area, where Nami was already sitting, waiting to eat.
"Hey, mama, do ya think papa'll come home soon?"
"Well, he should, but I'm not sure. So your food doesn't get cold, you can start eating now."
Just as Nami was about to say something else, everyone suddenly heard the front door shut, and running footsteps echo down the hall. Shinichi burst through the door.
"Sorry...I'm...late." He was slightly out of breath from running all the way from the train station.
He walked over to Nami, and ruffled her hair. "How's my little darling?"
Nami's face was filled with a big grin. "Papa! You made it for dinner!"
"Of course, Nami-chan! I couldn't let you and your Mom eat all of the good food Chieko made, now could I?"
After giving one of his trademark grins, Shinichi sat in the seat between his daughter and his wife. "Hey, Shiho. Sorry I'm late. The case I had to solve today was not exactly easy...and you know how there are so many stupid formalities, such as chatting with this person and that person in the police department..."
"It's okay Shinichi. You haven't failed to miss a dinner in a long time, so I had confidence you'd make it this time too." Although Shiho wasn't exactly the type of person to smile very often, she had a slight smile on her face at the moment.
Ran had just stood there the whole time the Kudou family had been talking. So, Shinichi was married to a lady named Shiho, he was a detective, and they had a daughter named Nami. Even though the family looked content enough, Ran had some kind of feeling that told her that Shiho was a kind of reserved person. No matter if it was true or not, the Kudou family seemed happy enough.
*So, Shinichi turns out happy anyway. But would could I expect? He never really told me he cared for me in that way, and maybe that's why he avoided the subject so much.*
Ran sighed. She wanted to leave now.
[Wait, there is one more thing here you should see. Go to Shinichi's old bedroom, and walk through the wall to the left of the doorway. There is a secret room there, and when you get there, I'll tell you what to look for.]
Not knowing what else to do, Ran listened to the crimson woman. She went up the stairs and down the hall until she reached Shinichi's old room. She entered the room. The room was exceedingly bare, and not at all warm like it had been when Shinichi had occupied it.
Remembering what she had been told, Ran went through the wall to the left of the door. Because there was a small window, Ran could see inside of the room. The room was full of pictures, a desk, a chair and a filing cabinet. Before Ran could even take a look at the pictures on the wall, she heard the crimson lady again.
[Ran, in this room is something I think you should see. Me, you, Us in this time have a long time before we find out what's here, but I'm showing because I think it's something you need to know aobut Shinichi. Something he's never had the chance to talk to you about. Before even looking at any of the pictures, I want you to open the journal on the desk in front of you. Whether you read it or not is up to you.]
A bit puzzled, Ran sat down in the chair and opened the journal. The only words on the first page were written in the center of the page and said, "To the girl who gave me more of her patience than she ever should have..."
"Patience? No...he can't be talking about me?"
Guessing from the silence in her head, the crimson lady was leaving it up to her to decide what to do. After debating about it for 30 seconds, Ran turned the page. She began to read the first paragraph...
"Yes, this is for you, Ran. Someday I hope to give this to you, but I'm not sure when. I know you've waited for me for so long...and I've even made you cry because of my absence. Someday I hope to be able to tell you why I had to put you through all of that. But that one secret I want you to hear from my mouth rather than from me writing it out. But something I want to say before anything else is this: After I had no choice but to be away from you for so long I realized you were the most important person in my life, and the person I would miss the most if you were gone..."
Ran stopped reading at that point. "Shinichi...why didn't you tell me? You stupid..."
Looking at the date at the top, Ran saw that it was about three months after Shinichi had first gone away, or disappeared as she believed. Flipping through the pages she saw the dates becoming farther and farther apart. Towards the end she saw blank pages. Ran turned to the last entry before the blank, white pages started.
"Ran, I still think about you and wonder why you choose the way you did. I can't lie and say my life is miserable. I love my daughter Nami, and she's become the most important thing in my life. As for Shiho, well, we're still comfortable with each other, and that's a good thing. I think she loves me, and even though I care for her, she knows I've never gotten over a certain somebody. Anyways, I haven't heard from you in a while...I could easily look you up, and find out what I wanted, but I'd rather have you come to me...I'm not sure what else I should say...I still miss you, and another Happy Birthday from me to you. Take care..."
Ran felt her throat tighten a bit as she read the last entry. Even though they seemed so happy downstairs, he still missed her? Why didn't her future self keep in touch with him? Did her future self even have the faintest idea, at this time?
[No, I did not. Shinichi sent me this journal on my 37th birthday, 20 years after I decided not to believe his excuses any longer, and moved on with my life. Did I regret it? Most of the time. Do I become happy? Well, that you'll have to figure out on your own. Put yourself in my shoes, and after receiving this, what would you do? I've shown you enough, and now it's time to take you back to the grass field.]
Ran said nothing. But before the crimson light came for the last time, she saw that the room was filled with pictures of her and him, and of his daughter Nami. Those dearest to him, she guessed...
@>-;----
Ran slowly opened her eyes to find the woman in the silvery dress standing in front of her.
As she offered her hand, she said, "Are you ready dear?"
Still trying to sort everything she had found out with the crimson lady, Ran merely shook her head and placed her hand in the silverly woman's.
This time it was a silver light that surrounded the pair.
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Well, then. I tried to put Shiho in character...I can't see her getting all soft and all that...
Thanks to all who have been giving me comments! It's encouraging and has made me feel like writing more quickly! That's about it this time around, and bye-bye!
July 2001