Disclaimer: Nope. Won't own anyone anytime soon. sigh
Please review, but please be gentle. This is my first time.
And in case you didn't notice, I just suck at giving titles.
And if I make mistakes regarding the names and the honorific-thingies, my bad. Sorry.



Chapter 3:

Desperate Measures



"Shinichi," Professor Agasa called.

Conan turned to him. They had just finished a rather one-sided discussion of why he doesn't want to take the antidote. Ai was glaring at him.

Professor Agasa had let out a sigh, indicating his defeat.

The duo had done all the talking. But nothing, nothing, they can say or do will make him change his mind.

Unless-

Conan gave himself a mental shake. He mustn't think like that. Ran had made a decision. He wasn't it.

"Yes?" He asked suspiciously, preparing himself for another verbal tirade.

"I almost forgot. Eri-san called me. She told me to tell Shinichi to call her. She says she has something important to say." Agasa replied as he handed him a scrap of paper where he had hastily scribbled the lawyer's phone number.

Conan frowned as he felt his heart beat faster. He never met the woman as Kudo Shinichi. He wondered what she wanted from him. Conan sighed. Great. Just another thing to make my day.

Agasa and Ai left to give Conan-Shinichi-some privacy.

Conan adjusted his favorite bow tie, took a deep breath, and dialed.

"Kudo-kun," Eri Kisaki immediately plunged in after the necessary pleasantries. "I know you're sharp. And I also know that you already know why I want to talk to you."

Conan swallowed. He doesn't know why, but Ran's mother just strikes fear at his heart. He felt as if he would rather be talking to Vermouth right now (or whoever else she's masquerading as) than talk to her. "Eri- san," he began. "Ran had made her decision-"

"Are you so sure about that?" Eri interrupted him.

I hate lawyers. Conan groaned inwardly.

Then, Eri's tone softened. "I don't know you, Kudo-kun. You don't know me either. But from what I've heard of you, you're a smart boy. You see things that are normally ignored by other people. However, when it comes to my daughter…" Her voice trailed off.
When it comes to your daughter I become an emotional sap. "Ran is my friend."

Did Conan actually hear the prim and proper lawyer snort? "You, Mr. Detective, do not have a clue. What is it that Ran told me you always say about truth being one or the other?"

There is only one truth.

"And tell me the truth, how do you really feel about the latest development in Ran's life?" She demanded, the sharp edge returning to her voice once more. "And don't give me the bull you told her about you being happy for her and all,"

"Eri-san," Conan gasped. He knew her mind was sharp as a knife and her tongue twice so, but still.

This time, it was Eri who sighed. "Forgive me, Kudo-san. When it comes to Ran, my logic seems to fly out of the window."

Join the club.

"I don't want her to do this, Kudo-kun." She finally told him. "I cannot idly sit here and watch as she does something rash."

"But she made her decision, Eri-san," Conan repeated.

"Are you sure about that?"


* * *

I am a detective.

There is only one truth.

Edogawa Conan had slipped quietly in Professor Agasa's bathroom and locked the door. With rather shaky hands, he removed his glasses.
"Are you sure that it's what she really wants?" Eri had asked for the third time when he failed to give her an answer. "Or is she merely punishing you?"

Gingerly, he took out the pill Ai had given him. He eyed it warily. Then, his eyes traveled slowly from the pill in his hand to the mirror before him. Conan's eyes stared straight at him, unflinching, determined.

"It could either cure you or kill you, Kudo-kun." Ai said as she handed him the pill.

Conan took the glass that was on the faucet and absent-mindedly filled it with water. At least, he'll have something to wash it down with.

"What she feels is loneliness," Eri told him. "She's tired of waiting, she wants to fill the void that she's feeling, and she thinks that this is the way to do it. But it's not. She's only running away from it all."

Conan turned the faucet off and gripped the glass until he saw his knuckles turn white. Stay as Conan and stay with her, maybe forever as her little brother. Or risk everything as Shinichi, try to convince her that it was him she needs and not that greasy Shinoda.

"Why are you telling me all of these?" Conan demanded as his eyes narrowed. He thinks he knows the answer, but he needed to hear it out loud nonetheless.

Conan Edogawa placed the pill in his mouth, took a long drink of water, and braced himself for the pain.

"Because you're the only one who can stop her."

-TBC