Ch10

"Speeches"

'Thoughts'

Tears of the Heavens

Snow fell quietly that dark night in Sapporo Hokkaido. The icy winds blew softly from the heavens, dashing its way across the city. The slight fog dimmed the usual bright lights of the streets and a thin layer of white foamy snow had built up on the ally that received no steps, and the roofs that received no glance. A middle-aged man, roughly in his 30th, turned nervously around the corner breathing heavily as he turned his head. The sound of silence emphasized on his fear and made him seek in all directions for his murderous pursuer. He turned a corner and leaned his back against the wooden fence and took a peep over to the area where he had just run past. No one was there, there was only his lonely footprints that dented across the snow. He gave a breath of relief and watched the warm air from his mouth rise and fade into the darkened abyss and closed his eyes. A sweat drop rolled down his nervous expression and fell to the chilling ground with a…

Click

The man's eyes opened with terror, "How did you…" he exclaimed.

"You all do the same things…when you're trying to run to from fate," a dark chilling smile grew on Gin's face.

Bang

The cloaked man watched his prey fall, as the blood from his head colored the whiteness of the snow. He admired the beauty that only he could see from the dead man's corpse, then dabbed his index finger upon the wound and licked the blood off with one swift motion. "Salty AND bitter, you were just a sick man weren't you?" he laughed at the punctured face of the corpse as it watched him in silence, wide eyed and mouth hanging open.

Standing back up, he checked his watch, 9:42, he still had some time before his next target. He took one last glance at the body, narrowed his eyes, and walked away. A spark flashed and a tiny bulb of fire lit up in front of the cloaked man's lips as it repeatedly grew brighter then fading to near nothing. The man stuck his hands into his pocket while holding the cigarette with his teeth and wheezed out the smoke from his lungs. He walked in silence, listening the sound of his footsteps as it crumpled the snow below, still licking his lips with his tongue dyed red, with the dead man's blood. He raised his head and watched the shadows of clouds molding as it collided with one another and took another large inhale from his cigarette.

Flash Back

"You two, go to lab 15 and get me the data on the molecular acceleration ratio of Na (Sodium) based on the experiments we did with the acetylcholene enhanced with drug9084751 upon the neuron cell body," a young woman ordered strongly.

"Yes Ma'am!" two young scientists gave a short bow at their female boss and dashed away through the automatic doors behind them.

Shiho walked with some speed in her steps down the empty hall that served as a link between two labratories. She could not get the idea about the high school detective's cloth back when he was young had gone missing out of her head, who she confirmed as dead. She wished to see him with her own eyes imagining that there may be a possibility that a man could shrink, judging from the lab results she had received from the mice that had also taken that drug. The sound of the automatic door opening caught her ear and a gasp amongst some of the employees rose. A thought came shooting her in her mind and she narrowed her eyes. "Gin," she called out with disgust in her voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Why my dear Sherry," the ruthless assasin spoke in a mocking tone, "Is that the tone of voice to show to an old friend, who has come such a long way to see you?"

Shiho's eyes glared back, "I don't remember you ever being my 'old friend'. You're unwanted here, do your business and leave," she said firmly, but she could feel her feet losing balance as she swayed from side to side.

Gin noticed this fragility and grinned his usual cold grin and walked behind her, "Have you ever tasted blood?" he asked keeping his mocking tone, as he put his hand at her waist and started to slide it up slowly.

Shiho remained still, trying to calm her thoughts. She quivered from his touch and looked back in disgust. "You, are a sick freak," she hissed, accenting each word.

"A person's blood has many tastes. Sweet, bitter, sour, salty, even some that's completely unique," he whispered into her ear. "What does your blood taste like?" he said as he stroked her short cut hair and watched her eyes from the side, wide open like a cat who just jumped out before a car's headlights in a dark night, and gave a chuckle.

Shiho spun around in fury, slapping him across his face with the back of her hand. The ring she had on had caught him across his cheek and a small trail of blood trickled from the wound. "You bastard, you disgust me. Now go and do what you must and leave me alone," She said giving a warning look and took a step back to take her leave.

"Hold it," Gin called out. Shiho froze in her steps desperately wanting this torment to end. "My business here is with you. I have heard rumors about that high school detective that I killed with your poison. Rumors that claim that he is still alive," his tone of voice changed from the mocking sly voice to a voice like a commanding officer from the army.

"Of course he is dead, no one that took that drug can live to tell about it," Shiho claimed, with her back still turned around.

Gin narrowed his eyes, "Turn around and face me," he ordered.

"Why should I," Shiho protested. Before she could say another word, she felt a tight grasp around her arm and she was spun around by force. Her eyes and Gin's came together. There had only been a few times when she actually looked in Gin's icy cruel pupils directly. His eyes were so emotionless, so lifeless; too…dead for her liking. Shiho tried to avoid eye contact as much as she could. But there, seeing those pale lifeless orbs, and at such a close distance, she felt the strength in her legs getting sucked away. Her knees quivered and her pulse began to rush. The lens of her eye dilating rapidly and sweat began to seep out of the glands of her forehead.

"You're hiding something," Gin shook her.

Tears were starting to build in her eyes. She struggled slightly to get away from his hold but she knew it wouldn't have worked.. She wanted to say that she wasn't but she knew if she spoke now then Gin would know for certain that she was lying. The man was inhuman. He knows every little movement, every little act, which an individual will make under stress.

"That's enough Gin," the voice of a woman rang from behind.

Gin looked up and spat a "hmf" before tossing the young woman in his hands out against the side walls. "When the day comes, I'll be the one to finish you off," he growled as he turned around and walked out the door, unsatisfied with the results he received.

"Thanks Belmot," Shiho whispered as she sat up against the wall she just hit, rubbing the area of damage.

"You should really learn to stand up for yourself. Always keep a straight face to hide your emotions. That is an art to master if you wish to be tough," she laughed and walked away, folding her arms across her chest. Just before leaving she called back, "Remember that you're an adult now so you're on your own. Next time, I maybe the one holding a gun to your head."

Shiho's eyes opened with shock but she knew it was the truth. In this organization, there was no trust. All it takes is one order from the "boss" which she herself is yet to see. She looked back down at the little clipboard that sat upon her lap and clenched a fist and bit her lip. One of the scientist came over and looked down upon her with concern, "Ms. Miyano, are you alright?" he asked extending his hand to help her up.

Shiho brushed the hand away and stood up calmly, hiding her eyes in the shadows of her hair. "No, thank you, I am fine," she said. Her words contained no emotion, no feelings. Not of sadness, anger, relief, nothing. It was just plain words that came from a flapping mouth, enough to make her helper stutter and wonder if he did something wrong.

End Flash Back

Gin took one last inhale from his cigarette and tossed it on the snowy floor. That day on the roof of Haido City Hotel, he had thought that his long awaited time had finally come. He had brought a wine glass with him that night and was all ready to pop the cork on the bottle of Sherry. He licked his lips and looked up into the cloudy sky, '4 more days…'

Back at Home

(Shinichi's house)

The dark cloaked man looked up at the giant structure that stood before him. The eerie atmosphere it created made it seem as though it was the gate way to a separate dimension. He looked at the house from one and to another and turned himself to one particular window. "Kudou Shinichi, get out here!" he yelled out and walked to the wooden porch at the front door. He could hear the creaking of the wooden flooring from the inside as the young lad got closer and closer.

The door opened and Conan walked out with his hands in his pocket, "Mouri-san, how did you know that I was here?"

Kogorou watched him intensely for a short moment and smiled with a sigh, "Your gate was open, yet just a few days ago when I had come back from the bar it was closed. All the curtains and blinds were closed except for one, the one in your room, and finally, the gate was creaking while it was open. This indicate that someone has been opening it and closing it repeatedly or it would have been too rusted down to move in a breeze such as tonight. I'm going to guess that this was where you spent your last few days and the reason that the gate was left open was for who ever it is, whether it's that old man Agasa or his little maid, to have a easier time accessing your house when they brought you food?"

"Bright today, aren't we Mouri-san?" Conan laughed and raised a surprised eyebrow toward the unusually observant detective.

"Heh, I don't need your sentiments," he snickered.

"How can I help you at this late hour?" the tiny boy looked up and invited him in.

Kogorou stepped in through the shrieking doors and stood in the foyer. "I came to ask for you to put me in a part of your plan," he whispered.

Conan raised an eyebrow, "Mouri-san, I've told you, I have things under control."

"Do you expect me to sit in my home and mope all day, hoping that my daughter is still in one piece? No, I have to be there! If my daughter was to die, I want her to see that I had at least come to her." The old detective choked and swallowed the lump that lodged in his throat, "All these years, I feel like all I've done was to embarrass her. If it wasn't for you helping me solve those cases then I think she may have left me too. I feel…useless."

Conan could tell the difficulty the usually hot headed detective was in to be so sincerer to the young man that he refused to be second to for the past years when he was still the "Great Sleeping Detective" He decided to just listen and say nothing.

Kogorou continued with his speech, "That time at the sky scraper when Ran was trapped inside with the bomb, all I did was stand at the sidelines and watched as the time ticked away. The time when Ran had amnesia, you were the one to bring her memories back and saved her life instead of me. Thinking back to the countless times when her life was in danger, it seems that you were always there for her instead of me. Now I wish to be there for her. You…" Kogorou paused and squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds before continuing, "are a better detective than I am, but I am still her father. As her father I want you to let me help with what ever it is that you must!"

A moment of quiet filled the room. Conan looked at the old man's eyes; Something seemed different about them, something has changed. They were more…determined, even more than the time when his friend was murdered when they went to the hot springs. He gave a long sigh then lowered his eyes, "Very well, I shall let you help. However, do not call the police, not even inspector Megure," the tiny figure said out with a slight ordering tone of voice.

"Understood," Kogorou said firmly and gave a nod.

Come to this house on the 4th night from today. That is the time I shall tell you the last minute details of the plan then but for now I will tell you some general ideas. For the rest of the night, they talked. The occasional Kogorou's gasps of surprise were heard from the house, while thee crickets sang their song of peace outside in the bushes as though to celebrate the new found alliance between the two detectives.

Next Morning

(Count Down Reaches 3!)

A slight down pour came from the skies, hitting the ground like a continuous drum roll. A young lad felt a jolt on his shoulders and jolted out of his slumber. His eyes opened heavily, still tired from the night before. He was up until near sun rise with old man Mouri, talking about what he must do and arguing to seek if there was any alternative. The boy's large eyes slowly opened up as he lay on the soft sheets of his bed. At first glance he saw what he hoped to see and whispered, "Ran" under his breath. But as his mind quickly forced itself back to reality, so did the picture that deluded his eyes. Ai stood before him, laughing at the delusional young lad.

"And a Good morning to you too, Kudou-kun," she said cheerfully.

Conan sat up, rubbing his head, listening to the light shower out the window. "Haibara? What are you doing here…oh right, I'm back at my home," he looked around.

"I think you're working too hard, why don't you take a break by going to school," Haibara said as she turned her back and walked out the door, keeping her hands together behind her back.

Conan couldn't help but give a snicker at the irony of her sentence, "I guess you're right. I've not gone to school for almost a week," he said and got up from his bed. He got dressed back into his usual "uniform" of the tiny suit with the shorts and the giant red bowtie and went over to Professor Agasa's home.

He saw Haibara and the professor cooking at the kitchen. The clanks and clinks of falling utensils sounded as the tiny chemist stood by the stove, laughing at her clumsy partner. "Ohhh Shinichi! The breakfast won't be ready for a while so keep yourself busy somehow." The professor called out shooting him a large smile.

Conan smiled and stepped in. Things felt as though almost back to normal. Watching the smile upon the professor's face and Ai's tiny grin that popped from her face almost made him forget about his situation, almost. He shot a snicker at the two, slaving in front of the oven as the tiny girl shot out orders on what to do so that the clumsy, tubby, old man would do the minimum damage. The shrunken teen blushed slightly when he saw Ai in her apron wearing a short cut skirt that reached just above her knees. He quickly hid away his face to hide the blush and smacked himself inside his head. 'What was that? Where did that come from…am I' he took a wild shake of his head and dismissed the thought by smacking the side of his head as he thought, 'Nahhhh'

He started walking around the house after shooting one last glance at the two skilled chefs. Looking at the things that he had seen since the day he was born, memories of the innocent days of his past came flashing back in his mind. He stumbled himself in Haibara (the professor)'s room. The bed was still not made and the curtains were drawn shut that stole the room of its lighting. He started to look inside the drawers, though he had no clue as to why. He was a detective; it was only natural for him to be curious at the little things. In one drawer, he found a small box, no more bigger than a shoe box, with the name Haibara written across the top. His eyes were drawn in at this tiny cubical. He took the lid off and looked inside with unusual curiosity. Was it the thought that it could tell him something about the mysterious girl that he wanted to find out for so long but had always been denied the privilege, or was it something else? Neither way, he had already took the lid off, there's no time to think whether what he was doing was right or wrong. There, he found a teardrop pendant and a single rose, dried but still held its sweet fragrance under some old shredded newspapers. He took the pendant upon his hand and noticed a small button to the side. He pressed it and the pendant split in to two. A young woman held the brightest smile upon her face as she wrapped her arms around a man who smiled smoothly out the silver frame at the little detective. He stood there looking at the joyous girl in the picture for some time. 'Is this…' he flintched.

"Do you find a girl's private things that interesting?" a voice came from behind.

Startled, Conan jumped and nearly dropped the object in question, "Oh, I was…I mean…this is…" he said nervously, shaking his arms in all directions.

Haibara smiled back, "Curiosity killed the cat, do you understand?"

"Heh..heh…." Conan laughed weakly.

The young chemist walked over and extended her hand. "May I?" she asked a rhetorical question.

Conan handed back the pendant to her hand. He watched her observe the inside carefully. Her appearance seemed to change, soften if one was to describe it. A smile crossed her face, a gentle smile, so different from her usual cool grin that felt like she was mocking you. This was of true happiness, but he could not help but to notice a certain sorrow in her eyes as she scanned each details in that tiny jewel of her past memory, a sadness that only she understood. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to barge into your private life," he apologized, nodding his head to represent a tiny bow.

Haibara merely gave a small drop of her head and returned the pendant back into the box then put it away. She remained quiet for a short while and turned her face back to him with her usual emotionless poker face. "Breakfast is ready," she said calmly and walked out the door, sliding past him.

'How does she do that?' Conan gave his head a shake, 'I wonder if I made her mad...'

"Haibara, you mad at me?" he asked. Ai took a quick look upon him, flashed a grin and a "hmf", and walked away. The bewildered detective scratched his head and ruffled his hair, 'GIRLS!' he gasped in his head. He walked after her with a crescent eye and a sweat drop behind his head that hung for the duration of his pursue.

They walked to school side by side. Conan gave occasional glances to the young girl who seemed like her usual self each time he looked, yet something about her atmosphere was different; it was just an unsettling feeling for him but he didn't bother to say anything to her.

"If it's about the pendant then just forget that you saw it," Haibara said.

"I…I wasn't thinking about that," Conan denied.

"Denial is always a good start in forgetting about things, that's a way to begin," Haibara shot him her "special" laugh.

Later During Class

Conan sat in his seat, still giving occasional glances at Haibara. 'I can't believe that cheerful girl in that picture could have been her. She seems so cold and…cool all the time.' Conan smiled gently at her bored face. 'I guess you did have a heart at some point' he joked to himself and snickered. 'But that's not what's been bothering me; I know I've seen that face somewhere, that man in the picture. Who was he…why was he with…' Conan rose up in a sudden jolt of realization, 'wait a minute, was I just caring about who she dated in the past? That's just stupid, why should I care about who she likes. It must have been because I thought I know the man, that must be it,' he thought as he sat at his desk, chewing his pencil as another sweat drop rolled down the back of his head.

At a Hotel Some Where

"Will you not eat miss?" a young man asked with concerns.

"No thank you," a longhaired teen sat on the bed with her back straight. Her face was pale and her eyes lost its glimmer. She lay on her bed with her legs tucked in and her hands together before her lips. She seemed like a body without a soul. She didn't feel the hot temperature of the room. She didn't feel the roughness of the sheets. She didn't even feel the pain that was shooting through her entire body from hunger, soreness, and tiredness from her lack of sleep.

"You have not eaten anything for the past 36 hours, at this rate you will fall sick," the young man continued to insist.

Ran looked up at the plate of breakfast. She took the toothpick and picked up a cube of melon and put it into her mouth. She chewed it slowly and swallowed, then sat back quietly once more.

"Please miss, if you fall sick then Master Gin will have me beaten to a pulp. You are his important guest if you are to be here so if anything happens to you, I will get the other end of it," the man said nervously.

Ran raised her head in surprise at the man's depravity for her health, even though he only did it to save his own hide. "Alright, I will eat if you will do me one thing." She said. The man raised an eye brow, and Ran continued, "Let me have a phone call," she said.

The man thought for a while, then nodded for he wished for her to eat. "Alright, one phone call, but you can't tell this to Master Vodka or Mast Gin about it," the man demanded.

"I won't," Ran smiled, "thank you."

The man told her to make the call in the washroom where the camera can not see her and he left leaving behind his cell phone upon the sink. Ran checked the time, 10:03, "I wonder if Shinichi's home," she walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

phone conversation

Ring, Ring, click

"Hello? This is Agasa," the professor answered.

"Oh, professor this is Ran," she said, smiling.

"Ran-kun! Are you okay? Where are you? Have they hurt you?" the professor could have gone on but was cut off by Ran.

"I'm fine professor, is Shinichi there?" she asked.

The professor raised an eyebrow and thought whiled he paced around the room to think of a way for her and Shinichi to get connected, "Yeah, he just stepped out, I'll run after him right now. I'll have him call you back so wait tight," he said.

"Do you know my number?" Ran asked in surprise.

"Based on my caller id yes," the professor gave her a cheerful reply, "wait 5 minutes and if there is no call then call here again."

"Alright," Ran clicked off.

The professor immediately called on Conan's cell phone, "Hello?" the young boy answered, keeping his voice low. His teacher's voice can be heard in the background talking something about how a turtle hated having it's shell because it was heavy.

"Shinichi, I've just received a call from Ran-kun!" the professor said excitedly.

"What!" Conan jumped up from his desk, nearly knocking it over.

The class turned their attention over and the teacher flashed him a glare, "Is there a problem Edogawa-san?"

Conan noticed the dirty look he was receiving and laughed, "Sorry, I have to be excused." Without even waiting for the approval, he dashed out of the classroom. The teacher called out from behind but the young boy had already ran out the door and slammed it shut.

"Anyways Prof, are you sure?" he confirmed.

"Yes, the number is -, got it? Good, " the professor said and he was cut off before he could bid farewell.

Conan dove into the washroom and dialed the number.

"Hello?" a nervous answer came from the other end.

"Is this Ran?" said Shinichi.

"Shinichi? It's you..." tears formed in Ran's eyes, "Shinichi…"

"Ran, have they hurt you, are you okay?" Kudou asked in concern.

"No, they haven't hurt me," Ran replied and heard a sigh of relief through the receiver.

"Don't worry Ran, I will get you out of there," Shinichi said.

"Again with the big talk," she chuckled.

"Hey, I'm the world class famed high school detective. There's nothing I can't do," Shinichi bragged to trying to give her comfort to tell her everything is okay.

Ran frowned into her phone, "You're always that. You're never here when I need you the most and you when you finally show your face, you disappear again," she snapped.

"Ran…I…" stuttered Shinichi.

"Shinichi…do you…"Ran paused.

"Huh, do I…?" Shinichi said opening his eyes in confusion.

"Do you…Love me?" Ran asked.

The young boy's heart stopped for a split second and did not know what to say.

"Do you?" Ran questioned softly, tears pouring slowly from the edge of her eyes.

"You idiot, what are you talking about," Shinichi laughed. Ran's eyes opened slightly of disappointment and Shinichi continued, "I love you…More than anyone in the entire world."

A sudden feeling came over to Ran that at the time, she didn't know what it was. A smile cut across her face, tears still sliding down her cheek "Shinichi…" she choked as she groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out even if it cost me my own life," he said with great determination.

Ran narrowed her eyes, "but will you sacrifice another's life?" she asked.

Shinichi froze for a moment, 'She knows about what happened? She knows about Haibara?' "What do you mean?" he denied.

"I already know about the choice you have to make. Between me or that girl Sherry is what they call her." Ran said, gripping the phone tighter.

Shinichi remained silent. He wanted to say that everything was going to be fine but right now, everything was rested upon a gamble his making. A gamble where so many things could go wrong at the drop of a dime.

"Shinichi…, I believe in you," Ran said cheerfully.

Shinichi's eyes grew large.

"You've always come through for me. I always had a feeling like you were with me through all this time you were gone. You've gotten out of lots of tough situations and I know you can get out of this one too," Ran gave a laugh.

"Ran…" Shinichi gasped. Shinichi smiled as a warm stream of water ran down his face. He cracked a difficult smile, 'You always did know what to say when I was down. You were always there for me after and even before my parents had left. You were there for me when…I had left, and you are still here for me when your life is up against the line.' He thought as images extracted from his memories. A moment of peaceful silence aroused from the conversation. A silent communication between the two, not a word exchanged, not a sound cracked, yet they understood one another's message just by listening to the other's breath.

A click was heard from the receiver of Shinichi's, "Ran what's going on?" he asked agitated, trying to control his voice to hide the fact that he had been crying.

"I have to go Shinichi, my time is up," Ran clicked off.

Ran took a peep outside the door and saw the young man indicating that her time was up. She handed the phone back to him and went back to her bed. As she ate the words of her lover kept echoing back in her mind. '"I love you…More than anyone in the entire world."' A sudden flash back came, flaring before her eyes and engraving itself in her head.

Flash back

It was nighttime at Tropical Land. Ran had suffered from amnesia and Conan had just explained the trick the culprit used in the shooting at the hotel earlier that day as he hid with Ran behind a rock. A river flowed behind them where a boat could be seen, flowing down from the distance.

"You see Conan-kun, having you solve the trick to that murder is a little problem. I suppose that you will have to die here," said Dr. Kyosuke, reloading his gun.

Conan extended his right arm behind him and pulled Ran in closer to the boulder. Ran's eyes opened slightly in confusion, "Why? Why is that you…would protect me to this extent?"

The sound of the gun finish loading echoed from behind the boulder. Conan looked at her for a while, then smiled and grabbed her hand, "Cause of Love," he said under his grin pulling her and dashing out from behind the rock.

"What?" Ran said, thinking she didn't catch what he had said.

"Because I love you," Conan continued, "More than everyone…in this entire world."

They ran to the edge before the river. Kyousuke pulled the trigger twice but both shots missed, creating sparks upon the ground.

"We're going to jump!" Conan called out.

"What!" Ran questioned but she did as told and jumped down toward the river below.

They landed in the boat that had flown from upstream to where they were.

"Take a deep breath!" Conan continued to order. Ran just followed it and they dove under the boat for cover from the bullets. The culprit took a few shots but they went under a tunnel before he could get them.

Conan and Ran bursted out from the waters, hanging on to the rubber boat. Ran shot a smile over, "Thank you…(Tiny adult: not sure, that's just the literal translation.)"

Conan blushed and nodded as an acceptation of her thank you.

End Flash Back

"Ran!" screamed Shinichi into the phone, but no answer came back. He stepped out of the washroom and returned to class. He hoped that his eyes weren't too puffed out from his hands rubbing away the tears that overflowed from them. The door opened with the sound of its metal frame rolling upon the balls it sat upon and he saw the class turning to his way, each wondering what he had been doing.

"Wait outside please Edogawa-san," the teacher pointed, giving him a look before going back to her curriculum.

Conan gave a sigh and closed the door. He put his weight against the wall and looked forward with a pensive look sitting upon his face. The rain still continued to come down outside the window in front of him. The child walked over and planted his face upon the window. It was cold yet suiting. The hazy sky seemed to show a picture of his heart and the unique melody of the rain seemed to wash it away.

End…