DISCLAIMER: I do not own Detective Conan.

Author's Note: This will be a compilation of short one-shots that I have written. They are unrelated and plotless. Length may vary but they usually have less than 1000 words, some are even less than 500. And of course, the pairing is solid CoAi/ShinShi.

-01-

The moon is beautiful, isn't it?

"Tsuki ga kirei desune?"

Beautiful orange and purple hues paint the sky as the sun starts setting down, making way for the moon to come out. Two teenagers emerge from a parked taxi outside an international airport. Shiho Miyano pays for their cab fare as Shinichi Kudo heaves her light blue luggage out of the trunk. They are now at the airport where, in a few moments, they will separate for good; where Shiho will leave to who-knows-where and where their somewhat short partnership will also end.

Somewhere at the back of his mind, Shinichi feels despondent. He has tried so hard to convince her to stay, to no avail obviously. However, as he always has been, he tries to act casual with her.

Nonetheless, try as he might, the high school detective just cannot erase the feeling of loneliness and anxiety of their impending dissociation. Perhaps, this is merely due to her constant presence in his life as Conan Edogawa which he has greatly taken for granted. Now she is leaving and he doesn't know to where because she will never say. For all he knew, her flight may be in a few minutes, in a few hours, or it may not be today at all. Under normal circumstances, he would probably investigate until he knows everything there is to know, but he has promised her to leave her be for now. After everything they have gone through, this is the least he can do for his self-proclaimed partner.

They walk ever so slowly from the taxi bay to the entrance of the airport and finally up to the lobby where non-passengers are allowed to stay. They are silent for the whole duration as Shinichi pulls the luggage beside him and as Shiho silently walks on his other side.

"Kudo-kun, did you know?" They are too absorbed in their respective thoughts that Shinichi is startled when she suddenly speaks. He looks at her inquiringly, silently telling her to continue.

"In the past, commenting about how beautiful the moon is, is said to be an indirect way of confessing to someone." She is facing forward as she speaks softly with an equally soft expression on her face. She looks peaceful at the moment like they have not just went through hell and back for taking down the biggest crime syndicate a few weeks ago.

The young detective nods and answers, "Oh yes. Apparently, Japanese people of the olden times were reserved and weren't very direct in expressing their feelings. According to Souseki Natsume, the best translation for 'I love you' is that sentence. Nowadays, it is often used to express love." Shinichi says matter-of-factly. He is looking upfront too, not knowing that his companion is looking at him intently this time. "'The moon is beautiful'. It's poetic, don't you think?" He smiles to himself.

Mockingly, she replies, "As expected of one Shinichi Kudo. You know everything, don't you?"

In response, Shinichi rolls his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny." But the telltale smile on his face indicates that he isn't really mad nor insulted.

Suddenly, Shiho stops and turns to face her only companion. "I'm fine here, Kudo-kun."

The young detective looks like he doesn't really want to leave just yet, but he thought otherwise when he saw the unusual gentle smile on her face, something he has never seen before.

Swallowing his protests, he says instead, "Well, I guess this is it. I wish you well on your life free of the organization from now on, Haibara."

The young scientist raises an eyebrow upon hearing her pseudonym. Shinichi realizes his mistake and corrects himself. "Sorry, Shiho I mean." Old habits die hard, he thought.

He is so casual about it but Shiho takes note of his use of her given name. She smiles once again.

She nods once to him and promptly turns. He is left there standing and watching her retreating figure. A myriad of emotions flit through his being, and an unfamiliar feeling of emptiness settles in his heart. Before he does something stupid like call her out and beg her to stay, he turns around to leave the edifice.

However, he stops in his tracks when a very familiar feminine voice calls out his name.

There, several meters away from him, she stands with her hands behind her. People pass by her but she doesn't seem to mind. Shiho says in a loud voice enough for him to hear. "The moon is beautiful, isn't it?" She gives him a beautiful toothy smile and turns back around, leaving him dumbfounded.

He looks outside through the massive glass walls where the orange and purple hues of the sky are darker than when they arrived.

The moon isn't out yet.

It has taken Shinichi a few moments before he realizes the meaning behind her words. When he looks back at where she used to stand, she is nowhere in sight anymore. He is met with dozens of people swarming around the airport, failing to see a familiar brunette with light blue luggage.

Defeated, he slumps down and covers his face with both of his hands. "Dammit, Haibara."

"Yeah, the moon is beautiful," he whispers to no one but himself.

Author's Note: Souseki Natsume was a real novelist, and apart from his literary works, he was also known for pointing out that the Japanese "Tsuki ga kirei desu ne?", which literally means "The moon is beautiful, is it not?", was the best translation for '"I love you". Unfortunately, there was no citable reference to back this up but this had been widely known already, or so I read. For more information, you can search it online. And if I made a mistake somewhere regarding this topic, do let me know. :)

Honestly though, I was merely inspired to write this after reading that fan theory about Shinobu Kocho saying the same line, "tsuki ga kirei desu ne?" to Tomioka Giyuu from Kimetsu no Yaiba. lol they're so cute too