Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or situations presented in Detective Conan.

Author's Notes: Wow. I promised this chapter at the end of October…and it's almost the end of November. Don't ya just love college? Anyway, here is Chapter 3. I don't think it's as good as the first two, considering it's written on a rather fanfic-cliché situation and the whole thing is half-assed angst. Sadly it hasn't been revised prior to submission by my new beta, Ember Mage. I wanted to get it up ASAP after the long delay, so sorry if the quality is subpar. I'll work harder on the next part.

Thanks to all those who reviewed. A lot of you are the same people as last time so I don't want to type out a list. You know who you are and you have my deepest gratitude.

Star-Crossed Lovers

A Detective Conan Fanfiction

File 3: Starlight Truce

It was a calm, peaceful night outside the Mouri residence. The crescent moon, surrounded by a myriad of stars, cast soft shadows with its gentle light. Yet, inside the small house, the situation was almost the opposite. All the splendor of nature could do nothing to sooth the raging tide of emotions in the heart of Mouri Ran. The young woman lay in her bed, staring dejectedly outside her window at the deserted street.

'It's past midnight, and Conan still hasn't come back,' she thought, her fist tightening over the comforter. 'I can't believe he just ran off like that…but then again, I wasn't too gentle with him about England. Why isn't he back? Oh god…he could've run into a bad part of town, or gotten hurt somewhere, or…' She came to a decision. Standing up, she walked quickly over to her closet, pulling on jeans and slipping a windbreaker over her nightshirt. 'I made him run away, and I'll bring him back.' The girl walked out of her room and into the living room. She passed Kogoro, who was watching television, or more specifically, drinking beer while the television happened to be on.

"Ran…where are you goin?" Kogoro said. It was obvious he wasn't drunk…yet. Still, Ran knew how stubborn her father could be, even when sober. She also was aware of his feelings towards Conan. After a brief internal debate, her worry for the boy won over, though.

"I want to go look for Conan," she said. "He hasn't been back since he ran out earlier this afternoon."

"Whaddaryu talkin' about? The brat snuck in a long while ago…trying to be sneaky. But none can…none sneak by the Great Detective…Mouri!" Kogoro chuckled, pausing to take swigs of his alcohol. Ran froze.

"What…?" she said. "You mean…Conan is here?" Kogoro nodded. Instantly Ran's fear was replaced with her trademark hotheaded annoyance. She stormed towards the room where Conan stayed

"Conan…" she said, creaking open the door. She peered inside and saw him, clad in his green pajamas, seated on his cot and facing the wall away from her. "Conan! What are you doing?" she said. "You almost worried me to death! Why didn't you come to me when you came back here?" She stared sternly at the child and waited expectantly for an explanation.

"…Because I didn't want to see you," Conan replied after a long pause. "You're leaving and going to England. And I…I got mad at you, and I thought…you were mad at me."

"Conan," Ran said. This time, her anger was quick to change back into compassion for the grieving child. "I know you're upset about it…but it'll be okay, really." She walked over and knelt next to him. "Do you want to talk?"

"…No, it's okay," he said after another expectant silence. "It's late, and things will be pretty busy tomorrow. You need your sleep."

"Oh really?" Ran said. "I can think of a little boy who needs it more. Good night, then, Conan?"

""Yeah…good night, Ra…good night," he said. Ran walked out and shut the door slowly.

'I can't believe I was about to go in there fuming mad! He's so sad, how could I get so upset at him? He's just a kid; he doesn't know what to do about any of this. God, I hope this doesn't mess him up or something, I know he sees me almost as his mother, even though he calls me nee-chan. Well…at least he used to call me that. Now I don't know how he feels about me with what I'm going to do.' She walked back into her room, not bothering to wish her father goodnight. Kogoro was on his eight can of beer and was now beginning to show his trademark signs of intoxication. Sighing, Ran closed her door.

A few minutes later, Conan slowly crept out into the hall, careful to avoid the inebriated eyes of Kogoro.

'I said I didn't want to talk…but I do. If she's feeling sorry for me, then now might be a good time to get some real answers out of her and get to the bottom of this problem,' he mused, easing his glasses up his nose. He carefully eased Ran's door open, so as not to give the girl a scare.

"Uh…Ran?" he said from the doorway. "I don't think I can sleep. Can I stay here?" The target of his query sat up in her bed.

"Oh…uh, sure, Conan-kun. Right here," she said, pulling the blankets back and patting the space next to her with her hand. The child creaked the door back so no light would enter, then crawled over and jumped onto the bed. He laid back slowly, resting his hands on his navel.

"Thanks," he said after a minute.

"It's okay, Conan," she said. "I shouldn't have been mad at you in the first place. Good night."

A moment passed in silence.

"Uh, Ran?"

"Yes, Conan?"

"Why do you have to leave?" the boy asked. Ran gave a small sigh and rolled over to face him.

"Conan, I want to make sure that I get good opportunities for my future, and staying in school will-"

"You didn't answer my question," Conan interrupted. "There are plenty of good schools in Japan. So why…why do you have to…?"

Ran was left to marvel at the intelligence of the boy next to her, and not for the first time. His perception was really amazing for a child of such a young age. She glanced over at him, the moonlight catching of the glasses he still wore.

"Conan…I guess…oh, I don't know how to say this. My mother left my father…now Shinichi is gone too."

'Ran, I'm right here! I'm not gone, I didn't abandon you! God damn…for the millionth time, why do I have to be like this?' Conan thought, staring off into space. 'I want to hold you Ran. I want to look into your eyes and tell you that I'm right here, and you don't need to leave. But I can't…dammit, I can't. And now I may never.' Conan looked up as Ran continued her explanation.

"Things just don't feel right anymore, not here. I wanted to get away, get away from the worry and the constant hassle. Then, I got the acceptance letter in the mail…it just seemed so perfect. I signed up without a second thought."

'Trying to escape?' Conan wondered. 'I guess I can't blame her, I mean if I had to take care of a jerk like Kogoro every day I'd probably feel the same way. But at the same time…' "But things work out, right? Your friends are here and you have your family…even if it's hard to stay with the work you have to do, there has to be something worth staying for?"

"Conan, you don't understand. I don't want to leave behind the life I have here. I love my dad and my friends are great. But…it's him…something is calling me to do this because of Shinichi." Conan's eyes widened as Ran went on. "Shinichi left to do a job, a job he thinks is important. I think…maybe he hasn't come back because he doesn't think I appreciate the hard work he puts into his cases. So maybe…maybe if I get the best education possible, and work just as hard as he does…then he'll come back to me, then we'll…be together."

'Ran, no!' Conan screamed silently. 'I never once looked down on you! And I would never think that you didn't appreciate what I did. You were always there, from the start. When the police force learned about my talent, they wanted me to work nights, weekends, whatever it took. And when they came to me, I solved their cases, but…I would get so tired, and no one cared. Except you, Ran. I could always go to you when I was on the verge of tears and you always had the right things to say to get me on my feet and rejuvenated. That's why I liked you from the beginning. You don't have to prove yourself to me, not at all. But…how can I tell you?'

"Sorry, Conan," Ran said. "Maybe you're a little too young to understand how I feel, but…this is something I think I have to do."

"But what if Shinichi comes back from his case after you leave, and you never see him again?" the boy said.

"That's an easy one," Ran replied dreamily. "If he can leave everything behind to go to a place he has never been before, I'd hope that he would leave and follow me there. He would, if he felt the same way for me as I do about him."

"…I think he would, too," Conan said. In his mind, he replaced the word "think" with "know". But he couldn't help asking himself if following the girl he loved to England was a feasible act.

He still had to put a stop to the Black Organization. He had to find a cure for his condition, then find the Organization and make them pay. He'd make them all pay for each and every time Ran cried at night, wondering where Shinichi went. He'd make them pay for the suffering that Ai went through over the death of her sister. For each and every one of their horrible injustices, he would make them suffer. He'd dreamed about it for so long. But…what good was revenge if the woman he cared for beyond any rational explanation disappeared from his life in the process? Would taking down the Organization mean that Ran would leave without any way for him to find her?

Conan's small frame was shaking under his mental anguish. Ran leaned over and drew the boy into her arms, soothing him.

"Shh, it'll be okay, Conan. I promise," she said softly.

"I…I don't want you to leave," the boy said, his voice cracking with restrained tears.

"I know it's hard, I'll miss you too y'know. But you said before, things work out. You'll find a way," she smiled. "But for now, it's late. Let's get some sleep, tomorrow will be hectic."

"I guess you're right," Conan agreed. "Um…I know you're staying home from school tomorrow to get some stuff ready to…go. Can I stay home too?"

"Yeah Conan, I don't mind." With that Ran drew up the covers and lay back on her pillow. "I know you want to spend time with me."

'Yeah, mostly,' Conan thought as he slowly removed his glasses and hid his face under the covers. 'But also I'm going to find some way to make you stay, Ran. Maybe a call from Shinichi tomorrow night would help. But there's gotta be some way to call this whole thing off. And for now…screw it. I want her to sleep well, and this whole conversation has been a little down. Since Shinichi can't call right now…I'm too tired. I'll at least feel that Conan forgives her.'

"Good night, Conan-kun," Ran breathed softly.

"Erm…Ran?"

"What is it?"

"I was wondering…" Conan murmured sleepily. "If you're not mad at me anymore can you…can you be my nee-chan again?"

"Conan…of course. I always am, even if I get mad at you. No matter where I am, I'll always be there with you…I'll always be your Ran-nee-chan."

"…Good night, Ran-nee-chan."

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And there you have it, the third part of this work. I'm not too pleased with it, but my opinion isn't the one that matters, right? Anyway, feedback will be really appreciated on this one, given the situation I'm in now. I'm leaning towards two general directions I want to end the story on (of course I won't tell you). One could lead to a possible sequel and the other would be pretty finite. But I'm open to suggestions or things you, the reader, want to see happen, so tell me what you think? Okay?