KudoEdogawa presents...
""Always""
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ran collapsed onto the ground, sobbing freely. She can't take it anymore, she just couldn't, she could die right now, she wants to die. People are now crowding around her, asking if she needs help, but she continued to cry. She watched as the freshly fell snow cover the ground, so pure and innocent, and she watched as people trample over it until it reached its current state--ugly and distorted...destroyed. Just like that bond between her and Shinichi...destroyed.
Shinichi walked alone in the cold wintry air, he put his hands inside his pockets for warmth, and felt something there. He reached in and took the object out..., it's the ruby ring, its color faded into a pure, white, diamond color. Just like their love...fade.
Ran picked herself up, and wiped her tears. She's decided, she'll leave this place... then at least Shinichi will get happiness. She began to walk towards the opposite direction when she saw him---Kageoni, dressed completely black, tracing Shinichi's footsteps. She let out a small gasp and looked around... is that Akira? It was indeed Akira, standing in the shadows, smirking at Kageoni, and Akira disappeared into the shadows.
What was Akira doing? But this isn't the time to worry about Akira. Ran took out her cell phone and called Officer Megure.
"Moshi, moshi? Tokyo Police Department, this is Officer Ta-"
"TAKAGI!! I NEED TO SPEAK TO OFFICER MEGURE NOW!!" Ran's voice rang through out the police department.
"Huh?" The phone was taken out of Takagi's hand.
"Ran-kun, this is Satou, what's wrong?"
Ran felt relived upon hearing Satou's voice. "Satou-san, it's Kageoni, I just saw him, he's following Shinichi!"
"Ran, where are you right now?" Ran gave Satou the name of the restaurant that she's at, and Satou continued. "Don't worry Ran, there's two units scouting the area right now, I'll send them right away, and I'll contact Officer Megure to let him know. Be careful Ran, and keep an eye out for anyone else." She hung up, leaving Ran wondering what she meant by "anyone else."
She ran around the area, looking for signs of Shinichi or Kageoni, when she spotted him again--Akira, standing below a tree in Beika park. And there, across the street, was Shinichi, waiting for the traffic light to change. Ran looked around for signs of Kageoni and spotted him, he's next to a different tree in the park, hidden, aiming his gun at Shinichi.
The traffic light turned green, Shinichi was the only one crossing the street, in fact, there was no one in the scene, just him, Ran, Akira, and Kageoni. Shinichi was a perfect target.
"Good-bye, Kudo Shinichi..., I'm sure your family will miss you dearly." Kageoni muttered. Ran watched as his finger slid down to the trigger..., Shinichi was half way across the street.
"NO!!!!" Kageoni's finger pressed on the trigger, an eyeless bullet flew straight towards the center of the street with a loud bang, attracting the attention of the police around the area. Ran had shouted and dashed forward, Shinichi turned his head in surprise to see Ran running towards him.
. . .
Time seemed to freeze for a brief second, just long enough for Shinichi to interpret what's happening. And the next second, Ran was in front of him, the bullet hit her chest, blood burst out of her body and she fell on the ground. Shinichi's eyes widened with shock and everything came back to him--the day at Tropical Island when he was shrunken, the times that he's spent with Ran and the Detective Boys, the day when he returned to normal. He remembered. He remembered going to London, remembering seeing the news reporting Kageoni's escape, most importantly... he remembered...
"Shinichi?"
"Yes, Ran?"
"Do you truly love me?"
"Oh, Ran." Shinichi said. "That is a foolish question to ask; of course I truly love you. You will always have my love, and I mean always, no matter what happens, I will always give my love to you, and may life end when I end loyalty, for I vow that my heart is yours alone."
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!" Shinichi yelled. "NOOOO!!!" His cry echoing through the night. Police came just then, Officer Megure, Satou, Takagi, and Shiratori stepped out of their cars. Two dozen policemen tackled Kageoni, disarming him.
"Kageoni Hoyami, I'm placing you under arrest for robbing the National Bank, murdering your own accomplices, attempted murder of Kudo Shinichi, injuring of Mouri Ran, and..., well, I'll give you the whole list when we get to the department." Megure placed the handcuffs around his hands.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Kageoni laughed. "Oh well, I've killed his woman, and that's revenge enough, ha ha ha!!" And he departed with Megure.
Shinichi kneeled on the ground, his tears falling on the blood-stained snow. "Oh, Ran," he kissed her. "Oh, Ran, please, don't leave me..., just don't leave me yet. Oh, please..."
Akira had stepped into the scene and laid a comforting arm on Shinichi's shoulder. "Don't worry, Kudo." He whispered. "I'll help you away from this pain...." He pulled out his gun from his back pocket, his cruel eyes fixed on Shinichi's head. "Far away from it..."
Shinichi's deduction skills came back to him, he leaped and kicked Akira in the face just in time. "You'll no longer fool me, Akira." Shinichi said. "Although you used your foster parents' last name in high school, I remember you telling me how proud you are of your real last name...Kageoni."
Shiratori stepped forward into the scene. "We've been suspicious of your activities, every time that Kudo's attacked, you're always there. There's no point in hiding now, we've looked up your birth certificate which clearly states that your father is Kageoni Hoyami. Also, we've been to the apartment that you live in right now, and found a picture of you and your father."
"Blame your girlfriend's death on yourself, Kudo! My mother was sick that night..., the only way we could've paid for her operations is with the money that father stole. But no..., he was arrested thanks to you.., and my mother died days later. Now you can feel the same pain of losing someone you loved!!" Akira raised his gun. "I'm coming, mother." There was a bang, his gun dropped onto the ground, followed by his own lifeless body.
"S-Shin...i...chi...?" A weak voice said. Shinichi turned around and saw Ran, looking at him.
"Oh, Ran..." Shinichi bend down quickly and held her hand. "Oh, Ran, you're alright!"
"Shinichi..., I love you..." Her voice died out and her head dropped.
"No..., Ran...No!!" The officers stood watching with tears in their eyes until Shinichi's cries are drowned by the sounds of the paramedics...
~*~
~*~
~*~
Ran opened her eyes slowly, her senses coming back to her. She reached a hand into the air, and her mother grabbed it and cried. "Oh, God bless! Oh, Kami-sama!! Kogoro, Kogoro!! She's awake, she's awake!!"
Kogoro, who has been napping in a chair next to the bed, snorted and woke up. "Oh, Ran! You finally woke up!"
Ran sat up on her bed and looked around. She was in the hospital. "I'm not... dead?"
"No, but if you were sent here a minute later you would be!" Eri told her. "The bullet missed your heart by an inch, oh, but praise God, you're alright."
"Where's Shinichi?" Ran asked her parents. Eri started to peel an apple while Kogoro sat down and started cursing.
~*~
March 1
I almost died. 2 weeks ago I was shot and sent to the hospital, the bullet missed my heart by an inch. I'm just glad that Shinichi's no longer in danger; Kageoni was arrested. It was still hard to believe that after all these time that I trusted Akira, he turned out to be Kageoni's son and was one of the people trying to kill Shinichi!
After the incident, he left. I guess I still won't have his love in the end. He's probably with Shiho..., oh well, it's good to be out of the hospital and back in my own room. It's late, and I'm tired.
She put the pen down and sobbed silently, after all these events she still haven't gotten Shinichi back. She laid in her bed, eyes wide open.
The world is empty
Without you by me
How I long for you
I await for you
Though I know you're no longer mine
I wish you great happiness.
~*~
Shinichi didn't return to Shiho's house, instead, for the past two weeks, he's been wandering around the street like a homeless person. He walked alone, facing the dark night, and wandered in front of a sophisticated manor. He recognized it and looked at the door plate: "Kudo."
The world is empty
Without you by me
Though I know I need you
But my heart is torn
Between two who neither dare I hurt
I wish there's a better way
~*~
Shiho cried as she remembered her last conversation with Shinichi. "I won't be coming back any time soon." She knew exactly what he meant, she knew that he'll go back to Ran some day. Shiho looked somberly out of her window.
The world is empty
Without you by me
I don't believe I love you
But I do, I do
Though I know you'll return to her
I will still love you.
The three of them were all facing the night alone, their hearts injured and torn.
The world is empty
Without you by me
The course of true love never did run smooth
But I love you, I love you
And I wish the best for you
Ran closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Shiho turned away from her window, covered her mouth with her hand and started to cry.
But I know that one of use
Will after all, in the end
End up all alone...
Shinichi opened the iron gates..., he was home. But it didn't feel like it.
But I know that one of you
Will after all, in the end
End up getting hurt...
And it'd be all my fault...
~*~
May 3
It's been 2 months since my injury, I've pretty much healed now and went back to teaching. I love my students, they gave me lots of hugs and kisses when I first went back to school. And I almost forgot, the Detective Boys visited me a few days after I got out of the hospital and brought me presents, it's been fun spending time with them, they reminded me of the times when I...
The music of Kuraki Mai's Always rang aloud. Ran picked up her cell phone and answered the call..., who'd be calling so late at night?
"Moshi, moshi?"
"Ran-chan..., it's me, Shiho." She sounds depressed.
"Oh..., hi..."
"Just to tell you, I'm going back to England."
"What?!" Ran exclaimed. "When?!"
"Right now..., I'm calling you from the airport."
"But..."
"I'm sorry, Ran, for everything. But it's been great spending time with you. I hope we meet each other again someday. Good luck with Shinichi."
-Click!-
Ran dropped her phone on the bed..., so now she's gone as well..., and what did she mean by Good luck with Shinichi? Forgetting about her diary, she fell asleep, it'll be a few hours later when she wake up, and it'll be from a phone call from Sonoko, who kindly reminded her that the day is the fourth of May. She got dressed, and out of habit, went to Shinichi's house with a bouquet of flowers. She placed the flowers in front of the gate, and looked longingly at the mansion. Her hands gripped the iron rails, and she leaned against the door...
And it opened!!
She walked carefully towards the door and tried to open it--which it did. The first thought that came into her mind was that the house was being robbed, and she can hear sounds coming from the second floor... from Shinichi's room. She crept carefully up the stairs, and peeked into the room... she let out a small gasp which was loud enough to be heard by the person within the room--Shinichi. He walked up towards the door of the room, and opened it all the way..., and saw Ran there, who blushed at the sight of Shinichi. It so happens that Shinichi was looking through his closet for something decent to wear..., so he wasn't wearing anything save his pajamas.
But Ran didn't care, she couldn't hold this back anymore. She ran forward and hugged her Shinichi, who wrapped his own hands around her in a tight embrace. "I love you, Ran. And I promise I'll never, ever leave you..., ever again." He reached for his bedside table and picked up the ruby ring, now completely diamond, and kneeled. "Will you marry me?"
Tears streamed down her eyes and she hugged Shinichi once more. "Of course I will you silly baka!" Shinichi pull her away and kissed her, they looked at each other..., and hugged with a hug that seemed to last for eternity.
"By the way, Shinichi..."
"Huh?"
"Happy Birthday."
Shinichi smiled at her fiancé, "I love you Ran."
The sky outside the window looks bright and promising, Fate smiled faintly at the mended couple. A soft gust of wind fluttered by the house, carrying a small picture of the sweetest and dearest couple ever...
Nigiyaka na kono machi no sora ni
Omoikiri hariageta koe wa.
Dokoka tooku no machi ni iru,
Ano hitoe no Happy Birthday.
~*~
Always give my love,
Always give my love to you.
Always give my love,
Always give my love to you.
Sometimes you win,
Sometimes you lose,
It doesn't matter, yeah~
You make mistakes
But for a reason
There's a chance to be won.
God bless for being yourself
Sometimes life is so beautiful, yeah!
Always give my love,
Always give my love to you.
Always give my love,
Always give my love to you.
"Shinichi, you'll always be with me, right?"
"Yes, Ran... always."
-End-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a month..., I finished my first Detective Conan fanfic... , thank you to those who read and supported my fic
This fanfiction is named after Kuraki Mai's song, the song in the end is Kyoto's "Happy Birthday." I do not own Detective Conan and its related characters, nor do I own the songs "Always," "Winter Bells," or "Happy Birthday." They all belong to their respective owners.
Again, thanks to everyone.
KudoEdogawa, June 23, 2003
