Nightfall
I know that I have a tendency to swear a lot… And I have a rating that is the same as my age… But who cares? I hope this chapter is a lot better than the last… I would also like to thank KagomeChic for proofreading this. You were a lot of help!
Disclaimer: You think that I'm Gosho Aoyama? Moron…
Chapter Two
He couldn't breath. All his energy was literally devoted on him controlling that damned mask he has to wear now. Two words were repeating itself in his head right now. 'I'm screwed.'
She could see him trying to keep his cool. And he was doing a great job. Nothing except surprise surfaced on his face. And that made it an open and shut case. If he was a real child, he would have shown something else. Amazement. Horror. Maybe even shock. But to control that face like that, that wasn't normal. So 'Conan' wasn't exactly normal. She could testify to that. But this- this was beyond the level of weirdness that had ever being shown by this so called 'youth.'
The silence held. It seemed to create a barrier between the real world, the world that was reasonable, and their world. It was a painful silence.
His mouth opened and closed, like a fish. Still, nothing was said.
That barrier was broken when she repeated, "Shinichi…"
He could do nothing now. He saw her eyes. They were full of emotions… Not the usual suspicion, no. It was something else… It was full of conviction…
But he had to try to convince her. He opened his mouth and uttered, "Um… Ra-Ran-neechan… I'm not-"
"I know that you're him, Conan. Don't try to deny it!"
"But…but…"
At this, she just put her hands to her hips in contempt. "Oh really? Tell me Conan, why is it that you just walked in here from the front door? Huh? Could it be that you just wanted to talk to Dr. Agasa while Shinichi just so conveniently called?"
"Well, I was going to…to…" He couldn't do it. It was too unexpected. No excuse came to mind… He was screwed. Almost… His hands strayed, almost casually, towards his watch…
"Don't even think about it Shinichi."
'Damn! She knows about my tranquilizer darts!' His eyes were wide open, despair finally breaking through that perfectly kept mask of his. The final string had broke. 'What can I do now? She finally realized me for what I really am… There's no way for me to go on hiding like this! There's no point to doing so! But then… She'll be in dan- God, stop with that excuse, will you? Screw you, Kudo! She saw right through you… It would be hopeless to deny anything now…'
"Ran-neechan… I… We… We need to talk, Ran." His voice had changed. No longer was it cheerful and young. It became a voice so adult-like that it was almost foreign. Except…
She was taken aback. Since when was Shinichi this…direct? "What?"
He sighed. "We need to talk. I… I just can't hide this from you anymore, Ran… It would be pointless to try and do that anyways…" He looked straight into her eyes, and she realized once again how mature they were. The eyes… never a dopey look like with regular kids, but with a passion that she couldn't understand… Never. Until now…
"Who are you, really?" She already knew, of course. She just needed that conformation to prove that her theories were really true…
"I'm… I'm who you think I am, Ran…"
She mentally screamed at the boy in front of her. What kind of answer is that? Who would give that answer like that? Who?
Some of that emotion must have shown through, because he immediately began to sweat…
"Conan…"
He nervously backed away, stuttering as he spoke, though his eyes were still burning with the same look… "I'm… God! I'm Shinichi…"
She stopped in her tracks. She always suspected something about that child… But to have those wild questions answered! It… "Wh- What did you say?" she asked, unable to believe those simple words.
"Damn it! I'm Shinichi, alright?" He was breathing heavily now, unable to stop the torrent of emotions that coursed through him as he admitted defeat. After all, who can win a war with love?
She didn't know what to say, what to think, really… So many questions were still in her mind, screaming to be heard, to be answered… She chose the most simple and direct one presented to her… "How?"
And that word was an arrow through his heart… For what can he say? It was madness, to try to come up with something to say and not put her into danger… 'Those bastards! I hate them! Damn them!'
"Ran… I… I can't tell you… All I can say is that- that I'm Shinichi. I can't tell you because… Because you'll die if you knew," he finished bluntly.
"What?"
"Ran… I'm begging you… Please don't tell anyone about me… It would put you into even more danger than you are already in. And it would mean a certain death for me…"
"But… why are you like this? You… I…" She was struck dumb again, frozen in place.
"I… I can only say that I'm Shinichi, Ran." He was looking down as he spoke. He looked up when he saw tears dropping to the floor. Ran was sobbing again. She held her hands over her eyes, as if trying to hide something from him. "Ran?" he ventured quietly, trying not to make her feel any worse than she already was…
"Shinichi…" Her voice surprised him. It wasn't that of anxiety. Rather, it was…embarrassment… With dread, He deduced what she was about to say. It wasn't the time for that. That time would be for later, when he was back to himself. "I-I…" She was blushing a fiery shade of red now. "I…lo-"
"Ran… Now isn't the time…" He sighed, a weary form before her, no longer the cheery boy that she thought she knew.
'What? Does he know what- Oh… I told him… Oh no!' She remembered when she told him that… That she… That she loved him… 'He knows!'
To be continued
Me again. Look, I know that up 'till this point, the plot's kinda cliché. I'll try to make this remotely interesting, but you know that it will probably end as another miserable attempt to be 'different.' So click on the down arrow and select 'submit review.' It's so easy. That is, unless you're extremely lazy. In that case, I'll humor you and laugh in your general direction.
I would also like to thank the following Detective Conan maniacs:
'KagomeChic,'
'conan is hiding something,'
'LostArtOfRock,'
'Reo,' and
'Kuroya'
for their reviews. Thanks!
Chinese-freak 10.20.2004