Summary: After an encounter with a member of the Black Organization, Shinichi is forced to tell Ran the truth behind Conan, but will he have the chance to tell her his other secret?

Disclaimer: Not mine.. technically all the stuff written with Ran isn't mine either That writing belongs to Eia.. and the charries are Gosho Aoyama's

AN: This is a bit different from my past stories.. mainly because well. Its actually co written. It started off as an RPG between myself and Eia (look at her own ficcys under the sn Eialyne ) Anyhow, it turned into a co writing fanfic after a little bit and we decided to edit into full out DC ficcy It may or may not continue... completely depends on reviews If ya like it tell us and we'll post more.. if not shrugs I'd prefer if you didn't flame however.

Anyway... Introductions over with... on with the story!

SPOILER WARNING: This probably won't help any but... sighs This does give away spoilers for volume 26 and 42.. if you dont' want them ruined for you.. don't read it.. If you read it anyway and get upset when you do get it.. please don't flame me.. I'm sorry. But I am giving you fair warning... If possible? Go find scans and read them first XD Just heads up...

Truth Within Darkness

"Ran nee-chan can we get some ice cream?"

Conan looked up at Ran on their way home from school, eyes wide and begging where moments before he'd been glancing behind himself.
Suddenly he found himself attempting to drag her into the ice cream shop on the corner.

"Alright Conan," Ran said, with a slight smile on her face as she let him pull her into the store. "I guess we could get a little treat, especially since you haven't run off or stayed out late in several days."

Conan felt his cheeks burn I worry her even as Conan, "I'm sorry nee-chan, I don't mean to worry you." then changing his eyes he added, "But we can?" he bounced a little and then practically dragged her into the shop out of the view of the road.

"I said yes didn't I?" Ran said with a laugh. She continued to let Conan drag her into the shop.

He looked up at the counter and quickly said, "Uh a double scoop of chocolate please" he grinned thoughtfully looking at the counter but his eyes continued to flicker out near a window.

While Ran debated the selection, trying to decide if she would be getting anything herself, she noticed Conan seemed to be a bit fidgety.

"Is something wrong, Conan?" she asked, looking down at him.

"Huh?" he looked up, 'Uh no Nee-chan I..." Suddenly he froze eyes going wide as he yelled, "RAN GET DOWN" half dragging her to the floor as gun shots rang out.

"What the-" Ran yelled as the gunshots reached her ears. Conan probably wouldn't have had the strength to pull her out of harms way if she hadn't been taken completely by surprise, but she managed to get off of the floor a few inches to pull Conan close to her, out of a combination of fear and need to protect him.

Conan winced feeling himself dragged into Ran's clutches. Normally he'd have been terribly self conscious, but at the moment he was more worried about Ran then himself.

He wrangled himself free and said, "Ran stay down..." Then he tapped his shoes and added, "Do you have your cell?"

Ran's mind was a terrified mess as she tried to connect an answer to the question. "I...I think so, I..." Her hand somehow found its way into her school bag and her fingers clamped around the familiar shape of her cell. "Yes! I do."

Conan didn't even look back. "Alright... call Megure and tell him- No. First you need to call A-" he stopped realizing what he sounded like. "Professor Agasa. Please Ran, this sounds odd but…tell him to watch out with the alcohol, and then call Megure-Keibu... can you do that?" Blue eyes shimmered as he looked at her.

Ran stared back. He's just so much like Shinichi...she gave her head a slight shake, I keep thinking that, but I keep getting proved wrong...I just miss him...that's it...and starting to see him everywhere. Another gunshot shook her out of her thoughts as she fumbled with the cell phone.

"Dammit!" said Conan quite loudly and he winced, knowing Ran would catch him on that later. Don't lose it now Shinichi…you can do this.

"Ran... hurry and call, but while you do it, we have to get out of here do you understand?" He knew he should add a nee-chan, but he just didn't have time.

Ran was about halfway through punching Professor Agasa's number in, when she looked up at Conan. "How do you recommend that we do that? In case you haven't noticed, those are bullets being fired in here!"

"Just follow me, but stay low Ran…don't get above the window. See the door to the kitchen? Go through and we're going to bolt for the back door. But hurry on the cell!" he pulled at her to follow.

Ran somehow managed to call Agasa and passed on Conan's message (although she wondered why Conan was worried about the Professor's health at a time like this) as well as Megure while following Conan to the kitchen door. Several times she froze due to a closely flying bullet, but thanks to Conan's urging, she would get back moving quickly.

Conan turned each way in the alley way watching out for anyone who might be coming. Seeing no dark shadows he breathed slightly easier, "Alright Ran... We're going to have to dash for it... we need somewhere public, somewhere where there's a lot of people and we can get lost in the crowd..."

Ran was still pretty shaken, and she simply nodded. "Right..."

Breathing in and out, Shinichi tried to gain control over his emotions. Looking up at Ran, "Nee-chan?" he used his kid voice trying to pull her back to herself. "Nee-chan…please... I can't think…I don't know…we need to hurry. Where could we go? Nee-chan?"

At Conan's voice, Ran's protective female instincts took over.

"Right...crowded...public..." She pulled up a mental map of the city. "Well, we're pretty close to the downtown area. It's usually pretty busy this time of day...it might work until we can find somewhere safer..."

Thank God for Ran

"Awesome nee-chan! Alright, we have to hurry" he tugged on her sleeve, "But we also need to blend in but get off the scene as soon as possible... Can we go at a quick walk?" He tugged on her sleeve dragging her through the streets once more trying to duck away from the main streets.

Ran let Conan pull her through the back streets, her mind still in the process of regaining calm. She eventually looked down at Conan and she realized that he had asked for the ice cream only moments before the shooting started. "Conan...did you know someone was following us?"

Conan froze, "What nee-chan?" Mentally Shinichi cursed quite fluently for his stupidity... he was getting to be as bad as Ai around the Org.

"Well..." Ran continued to stare at him. "You suddenly asked for ice cream almost out of nowhere...and when we're inside you start acting a little odd...and then people start shooting at us..."

Conan winced. "Uh, well there were the two kinda scary looking guys. And I was kind of nervous, but …ummm… I thought ice cream might solve it! I didn't think they'd start shooting" Well at least that's not a lie. I had no idea the Org actually has come so far in their deductions to start shooting at me.

He heard something around the corner and said, "Can we… uhhh… keep walking Ran-" then adding a second "nee-chan."

Ran shook her head. It's almost impossible to tell if he's a child more intelligent than most, or if he just seems to be...or...I don't know what...She decided to dwell on that thought later when she was positive of safety.

"I think we're almost-" Conan dragged her around the corner…

…only to be faced with a black coated woman, blond hair flowing free behind her. She smirked and waved a gun evident in the other hand. "Well hello! If it isn't Cool Guy and his Angel-"

Conan felt his insides plummet.

One might have thought that with Ran's current state of mind, she would have froze up, but there seemed to be a difference with being face to face with a gun and bullets actually coming towards you. She quickly moved in front of Conan, in a position that had obviously been picked during karate lessons. "What do you want?"

Shinichi tried pushing his way up while Vermouth laughed, "Hmmm? Aww, trying to protect the Cool Guy? She really is your guardian angel you know-"

Conan growled and yelled, "Shut up! She has nothing to do with this and you know it!"

Vermouth laughed, "It's a bit late for that, isn't it? So you're telling me she still doesn't know"

Shinichi felt his heart squeeze but he never took his eyes off the other woman.

The expression on Ran's face would have probably scared off any person other then the woman before her... or perhaps another member of the Org.

"I don't know what you're talking about...but I'm not going to let you hurt Conan." She suddenly lashed out with one of her legs, hoping to kick the gun away, and maybe injure Vermouth's hand in the process.

Vermouth backed away quickly as though she were expecting the kick a smirk still on her face and a gun now poised at the girl, "Now, now Angel, I would really rather not hurt you if possible. I just need to speak to Cool Guy about a little situation. Actually it might interest you, it deals with-"

Conan dragged back Ran and glowered up, no trace of childness in his eyes, "What do you want? Just tell me... leave… her… out…of… this."

"Conan! What are you-?" Ran pulled herself out of Conan's grip to face Vermouth again. She was about to launch a flurry of punches at the woman, but a glimpse of Conan's expression out of the corner of her eyes made her hesitate.

"Don't, Ran... please?" Blue eyes flashed up at her, worry and a bit of fear evident. Try as he might, he was no Phantom Thief who could hide behind an emotionless mask.

Vermouth sighed and applauded, "Touching. Very touching...your making my heart bleed Cool Guy. But I'm afraid I can't let her go... as much as that saddens me. You realize that you just dug her further in? Really, I mean, she's seen and heard too much... and I'm sure by now she at least suspec-"

Conan swerved his face back to Vermouth. "Don't. Listen I'll do whatever you ask... You don't have the right... You may have been my mother's friend at one time but you and your consorts have taken what little mercy I did have-"

"Your mother?" Ran looked between Conan and Vermouth, very confused. "You're mother knows her?" She asked, bringing to mind the disguise that she believed to be Conan's mother.

Vermouth grinned, "Well since you already know too much... I was known as Chris Vinyard in my earlier days... Sharon Vinyard? Surely you remember the Golden Apple, and that handkerchief I gave you-" she smirked and Conan's cheeks flared.

"You were baiting Ran even then weren't you!" Please I've got to bide time… They knew we were there so Megure has to think to look for us.

"Oh please," Vermouth yawned, "I just thought she was a promising young lady! I've taken quite fondly to Angel... and you do realize you've almost entirely given yourself away..."

Shinichi glowered but sighed, "Well if it'll save her-"

Ran's expression was of complete confusion now. "But...it was Shinichi's mother who introduced..." she trailed off, all her past suspicions starting to swarm back along with a few new ones.

Conan winced again, knowing that Ran was puzzling things out, but he placed himself between Ran and Vermouth a little more carefully. Then he thought of something and raised his watch just slightly so it pointed at her.

But Vermouth snickered, "Now, now… don't try that little trick on me again."

Conan's eyes gleamed, "You only have time to shoot one... if the gun goes off then this will knock you unconscious"

Vermouth smirked, "Yes but see? I really don't wish to have to shoot Angel, but you keep pointing those little sleeping darts at me and I might just have to." Shinichi felt his stomach drop and then Vermouth spoke again, "So Angel! I'm sure you must have some questions… surely Jodie didn't tell you everything" she smiled cruelly, "On the other hand... Jodie didn't know the half of it."

Ran's mind was a whorl of chaos, trying to piece things together. "So you're..." she shook her head, trying to clear it and remember what Jodie had told her, "Vermouth?" She tried to get in front of Conan again, "What do you want with Conan?"

She smirked, "Well, see Cool Guy knows a bit too much-" she laughed, "Though really I'm so fond of you both... I did wish to warn you... Vodka and Gin are on to you. I thought I'd tell you first-" she winked, "And as for what I want with you two…"

Here her eyes glistened, "You do realize I could regain the pride I loss with that little affair with Jodie… but since Cool Guy seems to have lost enough today sparing you the time, and I hear the police not very far... I'll let you go,"

She kept the gun aimed at them. "But Cool Guy? Don't' you dare try one of those little darts while I leave.. I'd rather not have the gun go off."

Conan glowered, "Like that your letting us off?"

The woman shrugged, "I've had enough fun for today… but one last thing Angel. As for the rest of your questions? Remember one detail. A secret keeps a woman a secret." She winked and like that sunk into the shadows leaving a harried Conan behind still standing in front of Ran protectively.

Ran was staring unblinkingly at the direction Vermouth had disappeared in. She seemed dazed.

After a few moments of silence, she suddenly punched a fist into a nearby wall in frustration, cracking it slightly. She then grabbed Conan and spun him around. She bent down to his eye level and held him by the shoulders tightly so he wouldn't go running off.

"You...answers...now!" she fumed.

"And no running off or avoiding it like you usually do."

Shinichi sighed. There was no way of avoiding it this time... and while he was still nervous compared to what just happened... no choice. He swallowed hard, "Please Ran… don't..." Looking up at her he slowly took off his glasses, blue eyes meeting hers. "You want the truth? Then what do you think?"

"What do I think?" Ran growled. "What do I think? You should know what I think...after all those times you distracted me from figuring it out!" Her face was just inches from Conan's. "Some how...you're Shinichi...aren't you?"

He closed his eyes. "God Ran... I'm so sorry. I- I didn't want you to find out this way... I thought I'd have the antidote first… I thought it was safer. That they'd leave you alone if you didn't know it was me..."

Something seemed to snap inside of Ran. "You should have told me!" she yelled. "All those times I worried about where you were! And you were just standing feet away from me!" She tightened her grip on Conan's...no...Shinichi's shoulders. "Heiji knows, doesn't he? That's why he keeps disguising himself as you, isn't it?" Her voice cracked slightly, "So who else knows? Why..." her grip suddenly loosened as she looked down at the ground, tears starting to fall down her face, "why couldn't you tell me? After back then...at the start..." Her mind flashed back to that day when she was bringing Conan home for the first time.

"Is there a someone special you like Conan? You know someone who's on your mind like at school?"

"Uhh No way!"

"Well I have someone!"

"Is it that guy Shinichi that you were looking for?"

"Yup!"

Shinichi looked up and seeing her tears and swallowed hard, "Oh Ran… no please… please don't cry again."

"Look at me Ran. I did want to tell you! That first day! Remember? Before you dad fell down the steps," he reached up cursing his small body. Cursing his inability to do what he really wanted and take her in his arms and comfort her.

Gently he brushed away one of her tears. "There were so many times. When I was in the hospital, whenever you were hurt, when Kaitou KID showed up..." here his eyes flashed, "and each time something or somebody stopped me. I thought it was too dangerous. That if you knew then even though you may not slip up... I might. I might get too comfortable and then they'd know..." this time he looked away. "Hattori only figured it out because of that case. Him, my parents, Dr. Agasa, I think Jodie knows, and… well…Haibara."

"But not me," Ran cried, "And you now how much I worried..." She tried to look up, but felt as though a weight were holding her head down. "Why are these people after you?"

"You remember that night at Tropic Land? The night I disappeared?" He didn't know why he bothered he knew that it was as clear on her mind as his own... or so he hoped.

Ran nodded, still not looking up. "How can I forget? I keep having nightmares abut it."

Shinichi winced, "Ran-" he forced himself to continue, "Those two bas- men... in black. They were doing a bargain for guns. One hit me over the head with his gun when they found out I was watching and fed me poison. It was suppose to kill me. Instead-" he motioned to himself, "It did this... sometimes I wonder which was better... If it could've kept you from all the pain..."

"Shinichi..." Ran suddenly put her arms around him and hugged tightly. "If you had died, I don't know what I would have done...this way...this way I had hope that you would come back."

Shinichi felt somewhat self-conscious. He did every time Ran hugged him but now... Damn my stupid condition… Where's one of those 24 hour antidotes when I need them?

"I didn't think it would take this long. I swear to you. I thought maybe a month at most… but two years?" he swallowed, "So many times I thought maybe I should leave…that it would better. Ran I don't know how long it's going to take. Ai-" he didn't know if he had a right to tell but it was too late for that, "Ai was the creator of the drug. The Organization used her and then killed her sister. She tried to commit suicide but failed and turned into a child. She's been working to find an antidote, but so far the closest thing she's found is the 24 hour one. That's what I used that time to see you at the play-"

Ran didn't let go, almost afraid that if she did, Shinichi would vanish before her eyes. "So...this Black Organization is after you...and Ai...who's just like you...and..." she swallowed, "and me."

"And you-" He sighed. "If it means anything Ran... Mum and Dad offered me the chance to go back to America with them…but-" he swallowed hard, "I couldn't leave…"

Ran pulled away enough that she could look him in the face, but still kept a grip on him. "Why not? You might have been safe there, and not have had to worry about the Organization looking for you."

Shinichi forced himself to look at her in the eyes. "I- I couldn't leave you."

Ran felt her heart tighten. "Shinichi..."

Silence hung between them.

Shinichi kept going, feeling his strength returning, "Look I had no idea what would happen. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again if I left…and I couldn't let that happen. It was selfish. I know that, but-" he sighed, "It was worse if I had left and didn't know that you were safe. This way I could make sure. It killed me when I saw you get so upset. Honestly Ran, I wanted nothing more then to tell you I was there. That it was me. But instead I just had to be Conan-kun..." he choked.

Ran said nothing, just continued to watch him.

"I'm sorry Ran…I'm so sorry..." Finally he broke down and felt a tear threaten to fall down his cheek.

Ran gave a weak smile and pulled him into a hug again. "It's alright...you've come back..."