A/n: Last chapter, hooray! Okay, so there's a part in this chapter where both Shinichi & Conan speak at once. You'll get why later on. Well, anyways the normal font is going to be Conan, and the italic font will be Shinichi. Just to let you know, hehe. and if you still don't understand the concept of the plot, then at the end of this chapter, I'll explain everything. It was something I thought up of after writing chapter 2, so enjoy the last chapter!

With that sound, her life was taken away from his grasp.

He saw her lower her hand almost instantly, falling towards the edge of the bed.

Her smile faded, just like his.

The only thing left behind, was a frown.

As well as a couple of tears...

chapter seven

To the eyes of the people around him, Edogawa Conan felt as lonely as ever at that very moment he heard that sound. But in truth, it was Kudo Shinichi who was suffering the most. As soon as that sound penetrated through the walls, the doctors rushed into her room. A couple of nurses were following them. With them, they carried materials that they normally used to bring back those, or at least, attempt to bring them back. He knew there was no way to bring her back, feeling responsible for her death. If only, if only he didn't tell Ran that morning to come and pick him up from school. She could've stayed home, and she wouldn't had gotten sick. Kogoro, Eri and Sonoko held each other, crying. Mourning for their lost.

And yet, Conan. No, Shinichi couldn't mourn. His heart felt like it exploded from within.

The doctors shook their head, and covered her body slowly with the covers.

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"Ran?!"

Shinichi couldn't imagine what had just happened. He quickly placed his fingers on her wrist to check her pulse. Many thoughts began to wander around his mind. Had she died? or was she just knocked out from her fever?. To his surprise, her heart was still beating.

I don't know what's going on..

Why did I fall unconscious again?

Was it my fever? no, it's more than that.

I can hear it..

She didn't know where the distant sounds came from, but Ran was sure that she could hear people. It wasn't one person, whom she assumed to be Shinichi, but many. The voices, yet so familiar to her mind, was unfamiliar to her ears. There was the voice of a man, weeping.

'Ran! Why did you --- Why?!'

He was overcome with grief. The next voice was that of a woman..

'R-Ran honey..'

Afterwards, a younger girl...

'Raaaan! Why?! why did you leave us, raaan! uwaah'

She heard all those voices, except for the one she thought she would hear. That little boy isn't weeping. He wasn't yelling, or stomping. She thought she saw a clear image of that little boy. The closer her mind approached the little boy, the more he seemed to feel familiar.

W-Wait a second, why am I..?

Why am I worried whether or not this little boy isn't mourning?

Is my heart trying to tell me something that my mind does not know?

Why does he seem so, so. Familiar

The doctors quickly ushered Kogoro, Eri and Sonoko out of the room, leaving Conan by himself to look over her corpse. Standing there, looking over at her lifeless body, he wished that some miracle would happen. But miracles don't exist, last time he checked. There was nothing he could.

He wasn't able to save her.

He wasn't able to help her.

He wasn't able to remove the anguish that she had suffered, missing him so goddamn much.

Those shoes would find themselves standing on top of that chair by her bedside once more. His little fingers, stretching towards the red bow-tie located at his neck. That 'mask' he wore, those glasses of his, were fogged. He cranked up the voice-changing red bow-tie, placing it so that he could speak to her with his voice. Perhaps hearing his voice once more, she would come back from the grave?

I'm sorry, Ran.

A small tear would fall from his eyes, landing on her palm.

I wished this never happened to you.

Finally expressing how he felt.

I wished, that fate was kinder to you, but it has betrayed you, leaving you like this before me.

How he hated fate.

But, I must come to terms with, your parting.

He would hate himself if he called it 'her demise' or 'her death'.

Because, I know deep in my heart, you never really left me at all.

The only thing he could do for her now, was to speak to her from beyond with his voice.

This is, my last gift to you Ran. To hear my voice. Maybe if I'm lucky, will you come back to me?

He didn't like feeling this lonely.

I hate being alone, especially without you, I feel as lonely now, as I've ever been being this way.

"And I'm sorry, for never truly saying goodbye, Ran" His older, much mature voice would speak through that body of a little boy. His voice was a bit shaky.

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There he was, that little boy again. Ran didn't know what was going on. All those feelings of when she first appeared in that 'world' were coming back to her. What was she, some ghost or something? and if she was, then why? she didn't felt like she actually died a few minutes ago when she was with Shinichi in the park. Or perhaps...

Had she actually died back there?

It was all starting to make sense now. That's why she had collapsed earlier, because her body back there gave in. As comforting as she made it sound to be, it wasn't at all. If she had died back there, then does that mean that she'll never wake up over there in that other 'world'?

She looked over at the little boy. He began to speak differently for some reason, and that weird part was that he started sounding like Shinichi!.

Who. Is this little boy?

Shinichi glanced down at her body, and sighed. "I think I should call your father, Ran. If this turns into something serious --" he paused, afraid of continuing his sentence. If it did turn into something serious, would he lose her? the thought of merely losing her frightened the young detective.

"Ran, I don't want to lose you.."

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"Ran, I don't want to lose you.."

Ran, I don't want to lose you..

She blinked. Was it her imagination, or did she just hear that little boy and Shinichi speak at the same time? For some reason, she could see both of her bodies. The one in the hospital with the covers over it, and the one in Shinichi's house.

"I thought, there would ever be a day when I would see you like this.."

I thought, there would ever be a day when I would see you like this..

When she heard those two voices join in union, it was safe to assume that there was something very, very, very peculiar about them. That's when she started seeing it. The similarities between them. Their hair, that glint in their eyes, the tone in their voices. Even if the little boy somehow managed to mock Shinichi's voice, she couldn't help but realize, that perhaps maybe..

Is that little boy, Shinichi?

"There have been many times, when I was by your side, Ran. I never left it, nor will I do so now."

"There have been many times, when I was by your side, Ran. I never left it, nor will I do so now."

There's no other explanation. That little boy and Shinichi, were one.

"Seeing you like this, I know I probably won't have another chance to tell you this.."

Seeing you like this, I know I probably won't have another chance to tell you this..

"But, please know this.."

But, please know this..

"From the bottom of my heart, Ran.."

Conan jerked a bit, and then softly replied. From the bottom of my heart, Ran..

"I love you."

He sighed, another tear would fall from his eye. I love you..

There it was again, that feeling. The way she felt whenever she thought about Shinichi leaving her. It was unexplainable, but the pain she received in her heart, told her that this was something that she never wants to experience ever again. She felt a thousand needles pierce her heart. Just those words, those simple words, drove her insane.

'Shinichi..' her lips would open, his name escaping from them.

Conan glanced down, and noticed that her fingers began to move slowly once more from underneath the covers. He then glanced towards the heart monitor, as that long line slowly began to move once more. The other good sign, she began to breath again.

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"R-Ran?!"

Her body in that other world began to move as well. Her eyes would slowly open, as she gazed at them with such fear. She was afraid, and he could tell. Her body began to shake for a couple of seconds. More sweat dropped from her temple, as she quickly removed it with her wrist.

Shinichi was baffled with what to say. His happiness had overcome his speech.

Ran looked up at him, and blinked. This time, he didn't appear to be older, but younger. That face was now hidden because of those huge glasses. She looked down, and noticed that he was standing on-top of a chair. He wasn't wearing what he wore the last time she saw him, but a grade school uniform, as well as that red bow-tie.

"C-Conan-kun?"

"Oh thank goodness Ran-nee-Chan, you're okay!" Conan smiled.

"W-Wait a second Conan-kun, where am I..?"

"You forgot?" he tilted his head, looking at her with interest. "You fainted in the streets! I had to call Uncle to come pick you up. We then took you to the hospital, where the doctors said you had a high fever, and then you went into a coma and--"

"Ehh, that's enough, Conan-kun." She felt like she was just thrown into a washing machine, and she didn't like the experience at all.

"Umm, okay. I'll go get Uncle and inform them that you're okay." He smiled, and then hopped off the chair, running out of her room.

She smiled to herself, watching him go. Most people would think what she just experienced, was probably an illusion due to the coma. In her own mind, however, she felt like she just discovered something totally different.

She couldn't get it out of her head either.

That idea that Conan was actually Shinichi. It all seemed to make sense back then, but was it really true? Perhaps her conscience was trying to tell her something, by transporting her to that world? She sighed, looking out towards the windows. She was no longer engulfed in darkness, because the curtains were open, letting the sun shine through.

Today, in her mind, was the most beautiful day of her life..

-The End-

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Ta-da! and that's the end to "Like Old Times". I've got to admit, I think most people will think that I ended this story, waaay stupid perhaps? To me, this seemed to be the most reasonable ending. If you're still confused about the whole thing, here I shall explain it to you:

I think, that when one goes into a coma, sometimes your conscience starts telling you things. The fever which Ran received made her vulnerable to be succomed by her conscience, and it started telling her what she had thought over and over in her mind. That Conan was actually Shinichi. She was probably afraid to blurt it out, and that's why her conscience took her out, so that she could understand that, in her heart, she knew she was right. The reason she died, one can say, is to symbolize that she has "turned over a new leaf", that she wanted to admit her feelings to him, and by doing that, a new "life" would occur, get me? Once she confessed her feelings, her life would never be the same, seeing as Conan is Shinichi yadda yadda yadda. At least, that is what I think. Ehh, I think I confused you guys XD ah well, take it the way you want to. this was just from my perspective..