Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in Detective Conan; they all belong to Gosho Aoyama. (except Ron and Masako, of course^^)

Chapter 4: Confession

~the next morning~

"Hey, Conan! Can you do me a favor? Put those flowers on the table in the vase by the microwave," Masako called from behind a pile off towering gifts. "Thanks."

Conan smiled and did as he was told. As he reentered the living room, he found Masako trying to sort out another pile of gifts. "Whoa, what happened here?"

"I don't know, all these gifts were just delivered. I don't even know who they're to." Masako flipped open a card. "Wait, it says..." She paused as she read the card. "Happy birthday, son. Love, Mom and Dad." Masako looked up with a smile at Conan. "Hey, it's your birthday. I totally forgot with Ran and Sonoko coming."

Conan blinked. Wait...today is May 4th...that's not my birthday...my birthday is January 1st...Oh, right. Kudo Shinichi's birthday is May 4th. Conan smiled. Thanks, Kaasan, Tousan. "What are you going to do with all the presents?"

"Stick them in your room," Masako replied with a evil grin on her face.

"WHAT? You can't do that!!!! My room's already really small!!! If you even put HALF that pile in, I won't even get through the doorway!!!!"

Masako just grinned.

Conan frowned. "You're mean."

Masako's grin grew even wider.

Conan grew nervous. "I need to go now."

Masako shook a finger at him. "Yes, but you've got to get your girlfriends over here for the party."

"They are NOT my girlfriends!"

"Whatever, by the way, don't go looking for Ron as he'll probably already be with Sonoko."

"Humph." Conan faked a frown. As he closed the door behind him, it automatically turned into a smile. As Conan flew down the stairs and practically skipped to the hotel, Masako watched from the balcony.

He hasn't been this happy in ten years. This get-together really is turning out better than I thought. Masako smiled as she headed back inside. She cleared up the pile of gifts, which obviously could only be from Kudo Yukiko and Yusaku, and stuffed them into the empty closet of the hallway. She cleaned up the house and set up everything for the party. She put a few movies on the table, along with a deck of cards, a pot of tea, and a homemade lemon pie, which she took out of the oven.

~half an hour later~

Everyone was saying 'hi' or 'wonderful house' or 'it's real nice of you to invite us over' to Masako as Ron, holding Sonoko's hand, Ran and Conan came through the door. Masako gestured for the guests to sit on the sofa and pulled Conan over to the kitchen.

"You get Ran out on that balcony and tell her everything. You can't see anything from the living room, okay?"

"What about Sonoko and Ron?"

"There's movies and cards. I'll figure something out." Masako pushed Conan back out. "Go."

Conan gulped as he approached Ran. "Ehh, Ran-neechan?"

"Oh, hi Conan." Ran smiled sweetly. "You can forget the 'neechan' part. I don't look much like a neechan anymore." Ran looked Conan up and down. "Have you gotten taller than Shinichi or am I just getting shorter?"

Conan laughed, relaxing a bit when he realized how tense he had been. "I guess my growth spurt got me taller than niichan." Conan looked out the window. "By the way, I want to talk to you on the balcony. Can you come with me?"

"Sure, why not?"

Ran got up to follow Conan out when Sonoko looked up from her piece of pie and asked, "Where are you going, Ran?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see the sight of the beach from here. Conan-kun was just telling me how pretty it looks."

Conan cocked an eyebrow. Wow, she's good. She's almost as good as Mom. He smiled as Ran stepped after him onto the balcony and gasped at the sight.

"Wow!! It really is pretty! I guess I didn't lie after all."

"Ran, take a seat," Conan said as he pointed to a chair with a good view of the beach.

Ran took a seat and then looked at Conan. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked with a smile.

"Ran, I have some news that may break your heart again." Conan sighed, and without looking at Ran, ran his hand through his hair. "How do I start?" Conan looked out to the ocean. "It's a long story, one sad one too. I need you to listen and don't ask any questions until I'm done, okay?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ran drop her smile and nod.

"It was that day that I left you at the amusement park............."

* * * *

Masako stole a glance at the two talking on balcony, actually one as Conan was doing the explaining now. I hope you'll do alright, Kudo-kun. I wish you luck in whatever will happen next. Masako thought as she sipped her tea and turned her gaze back to Ron and Sonoko who were trying to decide on a card game to play first. This is going to be a long day.

~to be continued~

So, I know it's kind of short and crappy, but I really can't think of much right now and I apologize to those who were expecting something better. . Anyways, please review and I'll try to update ASAP. Thanks and I hope you enjoy.^^