The time of my life...

Part 1

by Souls Fire (former Pulsing Soul)

What was he doing here? In front of the house he had known better than his own. The house of a friend who had helped him through everything.

Yes, it was true, Prof. Agasa had been one of his best friends ever since he had learned to crawl, to crawl to his neighbors house, where he spent hours and days in company of the strange scientist.

Some of the best hours and days of his life. He remembered coming here when he had problems, because he was sure he would find support and council, when he had troubles and doubts, he had a confident, and when he needed someone to just sit beside him and listen, he had a friend.

And now, he was here because his oldest friend had died.

He, who was used to solving mysteries, to solving crimes so difficult, had almost forgotten, that there are some mysteries who can´t be solved as easily.

An icy street. Prof. Agasa had died because of an icy street. The old man had not died all those years ago when threatened by the Black Organization, and he died now, because of a street.

Yes, the Black Organization was now defeated, defeated almost 4 years ago, by him and A... no, she no longer was Ai Haibara, she was Shiho Myano. They had won, had helped the truth come to light. She had left shortly after, not even a goodbye...

Now that he thought back on it, he probably wouldn´t have noticed being with Ran at the time.

What a fool he had been. And what a friend Prof. Agasa had been the night he had come to this very house, wet to the bones, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, tears of happiness, because he had finally found the truth... the truth that he didn´t love Ran, not anymore, the truth, that he loved, with all his heart, with his soul, with mind and body, only one woman, THE woman, Shiho Myano.

But those tears had become nothing more, but tears of sadness and pain, at finding out, she wasn´t here, she had left . . . left him and Japan for good.

And his friend was there as usual, listening to him as he spilled his guts, as he thought he was going to die, from inside out. Not even when the organization had been after him he hadn´t felt this way, this helpless. Because he knew it, he knew she would n´t let him find her. Still he had tried, for three years he had tried, but then he couldn´t try any more. You know, that feeling, of trying and trying again, knowing that perhaps your hopes will never be answered, and still going on, going on, for the sake of hope, for the sake of everything you feel inside, and then finding that all your attempts were fruitless, that even though you are the greatest detective in Japan, one of the greatest in the world, it helped you nothing in finding the one you loved, and even if you found her, what would you do? what would you say?

Hello Shiho, it´s me Shinichi, and by the way, I love you. Could you even say all of that? What if she was married, had children, was happy, and smiling? Could he bring himself to the point of making her frown?

Going into the house, he remembered doing it so many times, he could practically see Prof. Agasa here, smiling at him, telling him to go on, to do what he thought was right. Not even his parents had done that, sure, that had something to do with time schedules, and celebrity, but still, this old man had treated him like a granson, and he had loved him like a wise grandfather.

Walking up the stairs, he went to his laboratory, his fingers idly tracing everything belonging to him. The computer he worked on every time he came by, the chaotic tubes and glasses, as well as screwdrivers and small motors, he used for his experiments, his desk, with sometimes neatly folded papers, and the chair he used to sit in when he listened to his young protegee.

A letter? It was on his desk, a scarlet envelope, golden letters on it´s front.

To Conan and Ai

To Shinichi and Shiho

Sitting down, his brows furrowing together, while his eyes read the words, he slowly opened the envelope, discovering a letter.

To my best friends,

I surprise you with this, do I not? Even you, Shinichi, the great detective. Don´t be sad, both of you knew it had to come to this, it was only a matter of time.

I have no regret, none, because the time I spent with you two, was the time of my life. It was a time, when I no longer was seen as the eccentric old scientist, or as the mad man next door, a time, when I no longer was alone in the world, because for once, I felt, not just the tie of friendship but the tie of family love.

I love both of you like my children, children, who I saw grow up before my eyes, even you Ai, because the time you spent here, changed you more, than the years of darkness you spent anywhere else.

Yes, you two made my life worth living, made my existence seem worth while,because both of you...both of you I knew, loved me more than just a random acquaintance.

I saw through the years, how both of you, become the people you are today, how you two drifted away from the once oh so cocky detective and the cold chemist, people I am proud to have met.

Yes, the time of my life was happy, and I thank you dearly for taking care of the feelings of a foolish old man. But I can not leave without making the time of your lives as happy as mine was.

You love each other, you blind chicken, and as this is the wish of a dying man: don´t spend eternity running away from this love.

Ai, Shiho, my daughter, you have suffered in silence, looking on, hopin only that by your absence he would happier, and in turn, you made the choice of living a life full of sadness and regret. Don´t. After so much time spent with our meitantei and you still, don´t know that the truth eventually has to come out?

Conan, Shinichi, my son, a detective you are, you have seen the truth behind so many spider webs, and yet you saw the truth in your heart, too late. It´s only too late, if you decide that what you are aspiring for is too little. And Ai´s love is never too little, is it?

To both of you, respect a dead man´s wish, and tell eachother the truth.

Your loving father,

Prof. Agasa

Looking up, as he heard the door open, he saw ... he saw someone he never expected to see again...