Return to Me
AN: Well, here it is. The newly revised version of this story.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot.
Chapter 1 - The Cemetery
As the sunset lit up the evening sky, rays of light shown on the small headstone in Beika Cemetery. Standing in front of the grave, clad in a full-length skirt and blouse, the young woman was crying again. She'd come to visit the place every day since the accident, the accident that had taken away her 'younger brother'.
Why? she would ask herself, time after time. Why was I so stupid? All your life you are taught to not stop in the middle of the street, so why did I? Five feet…all I need to go was five feet more and then both of us would've been safe. Why did I have to decide to stop right then!
As she continued to berate herself, she didn't hear someone approach her from behind. Like every time before hand, when she started condemning herself, she lost contact with the world around her. She didn't care. No one cared anymore.
"Neechan?" the voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Neechan, are you alright?"
The young woman didn't need to turn around to know who was behind her. Only one person called her 'neechan'. "No, Heiji-kun," she responded. "I'm not alright. Nothing is alright. Why?" she started to sound hysterical, "Why'd he have to go? Why'd it have to be him? And just after losing Shinichi?"
Hattori Heiji had no answer. Things had changed radically over the past few days and weeks. Almost a month ago, Kudo Shinichi, in his original form, had met with him to go over plans to take down the Black Organization for good. They'd been working toward this goal for over a year and a half. Together with the Kaitou Kid, the police taskforce, and Agasa-hagase, they'd come up with what they'd thought to be the best chance in taking down the Black Ops for good; or, at least, the Japan Branch.
Unfortunately, like every plan, there is something that can go wrong. In this case, it went as wrong as possible. The information they'd received was wrong. Instead of surprising the operatives, they'd been the ones surprised. In the end, it'd ended with a shoot out. They ended up killing all except three of the Black Ops Agents. Heiji, Kid, and most of the task force had escaped without many wounds, but Shinichi wasn't so lucky.
Shinichi had been shot twice in the stomach. He'd barely made it out of the place before the temporary cure he was using ran out, changing him back to Edogawa Conan. When Ai and some of the medical doctors had examined him later, he was barely alive. They'd had to do surgery quickly in order to save him. That wasn't what had killed Kudo Shinichi, though. After he'd recovered some, Ai had given Conan some grave news: because the injury he'd received right before he'd changed back, the strain on his heart was even greater. Now, Ai was for certain, if he was ever to try changing back, he'd die. Conan, not wanting Ran to wait for him when he'd never show up again, had Heiji and Kid devise a way to make it look like 'Kudo Shinichi' had died. It'd taken them another two weeks pull it off, but they'd come through for him.
"Neechan, you have to let it go," Heiji spoke once again. "You know he wouldn't want you to keep blaming yourself."
"I can't!" Ran wailed. "I can't forget it. Every time I close my eyes, I see it. I remember that day clearly…"
Conan walked along, holding Ran's hand and chatting with Ayumi about what they'd do once they reached the park. Even though it'd only been two days since she'd received word of Shinichi's death, Conan had been determined not to let Ran wallow in self-pity. He'd somehow called the others of the Detective Boys group and all five of them had ended up dragging her out the door and toward the park.
As they moved to cross the street, Conan had stopped taking to Ayumi and looked at Ran. As she looked back at him, his eyes seemed to be apologizing to her for something. She didn't understand why, but it just made her remember Shinichi. She'd shaken her head and when the light had given them the go ahead, she'd ushered the others into the street. Halfway across, she'd stopped. She didn't know why, but something inside her was telling her two different things. One, to get moving NOW!; the other, to wait and see what was going to happen. As she struggled to choose, she noticed Conan also stop and look back at her. Suddenly, his face showed fear and the next thing she knew he was pushing her back.
She watched, helplessly, as Conan, still in mid air, was slammed against the windshield of a car and thrown over the hood. She could feel the scream coming out, but she didn't care. As soon as she could, she rushed over to his side. There was blood all over the ground, and it seemed to be seeping from his shoulder. Clearly in shock, Ran could do nothing but kneel at his side and cry. She didn't know how long she was there before someone pulled her up and put her in an ambulance. She couldn't stop crying the entire trip to the hospital, so they'd ended up giving her a sedative.
When she woke up, she'd learned the awful truth of what her stop in the road had costed. Conan had died almost immediately, and there was nothing anyone could have done about it.
"How can I let it go, when I'm the one who caused him to be where he is now?" Her tears cut off all other responses and Heiji enveloped her in his arms. He could feel her body shaking with the sobs, as she continued to cry.
Neechan, Heiji thought. Life has been most unfair to both you and Kudo. And there isn't a thing I can do about it. I'm lost as to how to help you.
Ran continued to cry until she'd worn herself out and she fell asleep in his embrace. He gently picked her up completely and headed to the car he had brought with him. As he approached the passenger side, the front door opened and Toyama Kazuha stepped out. Without saying a word, she opened the back door, allowing Heiji to put the still sleeping Ran down on the bench. He shut the door and headed toward the driver's seat while Kazuha went back to her own chair.
"Is she going to be okay?" Kazuha asked as they pulled away from the curb and started their trip back to the Agency.
"I don't know. As much I want to think differently, I think this may have been the last straw for her. She lost Kudo just a few days ago, and now Conan's gone. She may never recover from this."
Kazuha looked back at her friend, noticing the content look on her face and wondering what she was dreaming about. "I hope she does, Heiji. She doesn't deserve this kind of pain. I don't think anyone does. Why'd it have to be her in the first place? She and Shinichi-kun were so good for each other, when he was here. Why'd it have to end like this?"
"I don't know. If there is a Kami that's been playing with her life, he'd better watch out. Once neechan and Kudo find out who it is, he'd wish he'd never started in the first place. Kami-sama knows what those two have gone through to stay together, even if they don't."
"Very true," Kazuha said as they continued down the road. The rest of the trip was spent in silence.
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That spell must be here somewhere, the young sorceress thought as she continued to read through books and old scrolls. I know it's here somewhere. I remember reading it a while ago, thinking 'When will I ever need this?' Now, I wish I'd put it in an easier place to remember.
As she continued to search through her things, she found many spells, and plans for spells, she'd tried over the past few years she'd been living in Tokyo. Of course, not many knew about her abilities. In fact, out of her entire high school class, she was certain only one knew for sure she was a sorceress, while at least one other had strong suspicions.
Ah, ha! she thought as she flipped another page in one of her books. Here it is. Now, let's see…
AN: Well, this is the first chapter, rewritten. I hope everyone likes it so far, and I'm not boring everyone to tears with how it's turning out. Yeah, this chapter is a little shorter than what I'd planned it to be, but the others should be longer. Yes, the story will follow the same general outline it did the first time, but there will be changes, so make sure you read it. See you all the next chapter.