Chapter 4: "Our fault…"

Dark smoke rose from the roof of Agasa's house. Conan nearly collapsed in front of the building and gasped for breath, but he didn't have time for a break. The life of his friend was in danger. "Hakase! Haibara!" The small boy quickly opened the metallic gate which led to the garden around the house. Luckily it wasn't closed. It was the first time in his life that Conan was thankful for Agasa's careless behaviour.

He ran to the front door and knocked hard against the old wood. "Hakase! Agasa Hakase!" There was no response. He could feel the heat even through the door. The fire had to be spreading very fast. Every minute was important now, but what should he do? In this child's body he lacked the strength to break the door down, and there was no time to find someone who could help him. Suddenly, he knew the answer. "Of course! The Power-kick-boots!" The boy kneeled down and rolled on the tiny wheel on the outside of his special shoes to raise his shooting power. "Here it goes!" he shouted and kicked as hard as he could against the door, which immediately burst into a thousand little pieces. Conan's feet were hurting even more now, but he clenched his teeth. A huge wave of fire crackled into him, and he managed it to fold his arms over his face. Black smoke hung in the air and stole the oxygen. The boy put a handkerchief over his mouth, but his eyes began to water. Quickly, he scanned the room in hope to find the doctor, but he wasn't there. "Hakase! Haibara!" he tired again, but still there was no answer. He went further into the building. The smell of burnt wood and plastic grew more and more, even through the handkerchief. Conan coughed, but he tried to keep his eyes open. Everywhere there was fire, smoke and destruction, but there was no sign of the doctor or Ai. Maybe they were already… No! The boy shook his head rapidly. That couldn't be true. He had to be optimistic now.

Suddenly a small crack caught his attention. His ears tried to detect where it came from. "Downstairs! Haibaras room!" he thought, and ran to the small stairs which lead downwards. Carefully, but as fast as he could, he climbed down. One step after another. When he reached the stairhead, and only a few steps separated him from the brown haired girl's room, a small but sharp pain ached in his left foot. "Shi…." He stomached his curse and looked at the ground where millions of pieces of broken glass were scattered. A small piece of it had bore into his heel. He hobbled a little bit to decrease the small pain, and finally reached Ai's private laboratory. He pushed the door open and looked again into a wall of smoke and ash. The air was so dirty that he couldn't see his own hand in front of him. "Hakase! Haibara…!" This time his voice was weaker. Maybe it was more doubtful. But to his own surprise he heard a weak voice, or more of a whimper. It took him a few seconds, but then he saw her sitting on the ground, head above a lifeless body. The small girl had burrowed her head into the lab coat from the doctor, and didn't realize the boy in front of her till he grabbed her shoulders in a silent panic. "Haibara! Are you alright? Quick! We have to leave! Haibara!"
Ai looked at him, her eyes were blank, and somehow scary. She was never an optimistic or happy girl, but now she looked really sapped. He hadn't seen her like that before, but he knew that this wasn't the time or moment to be concerned about it. He looked around and found a window behind the desk with the computer. It wasn't big, but it was large enough to free his friends from the poisoned air. He used all his strength to overthrow the desk and open the window in a hurry. Then he piggybacked Ai, and dragged the professor hard over the floor. He knew that the old man was heavy, but now it was like dragging an elephant. It was difficult to forge ahead, and Conan prayed to the gods that the doctor was still alive, because he hadn't the time to feel his pulse.

The small boy didn't feel the hot flames anymore, he didn't feel the pain in his legs. He was just concentrated on his goal. Finally, he climbed out of the window and collapsed on the grass-green ground from Agasa's backyard. The only sound that he heard was the cracking noise of the fire behind him, and the loud siren of the fire brigade.

Oooooooooooooooooooooo

"C…an-…un? Conan-kun?"

He blinked, and saw into a pair of blue eyes which were watching him with concern. He recognized them immediately. Only one person on this earth could have such beautiful eyes.

"Ran…" he answered, and lifted his head a little bit. It was so heavy, that he felt as if he had stones in it.

"He's awake!" he heard another voice talking. Then he felt a soft grip around his shoulders, which pushed him back into a smooth pillow. Somehow, it was so comfortable that he only wished to lie there, and to feel Ran's tender hands on his skin. But there was something, maybe a thought in the hiddenmost part of his brain that told him that he couldn't relax now. And, at light speed he finally remembered everything. The fire, the smoke, Ai's silent whimper, and Agasa's dead-looking body on the ground.
"Hakase!" Conan screamed and set up in his bed. "Where is he? Is he alive? What is with Haibara?"

"Shhh…Calm down, Conan-kun…Calm down. They are alive." Rans voice was still weak and sad, but she tried to hide her emotions, like always, to make him feel better. Sonoko was sitting next to her, and smiled in a fake way.
"Yeah! They are alright… You should rest a little bit, small one. I won't let you worry Ran even more!" Just then, the small boy noticed a mass of plasters which covered his whole body, and a cast over his left arm. The injuries didn't hurt too much, so he just ignored them, and set his feet on the cool hospital floor. "I am okay, Sonoko-neechan!" he said, and grinned softly before he left the room, leaving Ran and Sonoko behind. He knew that something was still wrong. He could see it in Ran's eyes. He heard Sonoko's shrill voice, but he didn't pay attention to it, and walked slowly through the hospital building. He didn't have to search for long until he found the door with the inscription "Haibara" on it. He knocked on the door. "Haibara? Are you awake?" he asked before entering the small white room. But to his surprise, the girl wasn't alone. Ayumi, Genta, and Mistuhiko were sitting next to her bed on some chairs and smiled brightly when they saw the boy enter.

"Conan-kun!" they shouted in unison, and Ayumi was the first to wrap her arms around his neck.
"You are awake! That´s so great!" He could see small tears in the girl's eyes, and he had to smile a little bit.
"I am okay," he said again, "but how is Haibara?" Ayumi's smile faded away, and when Conan looked around, he saw that Genta and Mitsuhiko both had a concerned expression on their faces.
"She didn't talk..." The young boy with the freckles sighed. "She didn't say a word the whole time…" Conan gulped.

"Where is Hakase Agasa?"
"In the intensive care," Genta said, lowering his head. "His burns are bad! The doctors don't know if he will…if he will…." The fat boy started to sob, and Ayumi was already crying. Conan was anxious, but he made a good face to a bad situation
"I'm sure that he will be alright soon! You know Agase. He is a tough one! No crazy experiment could kill him, remember?" The three kids were looking at each other, and thought for a while until they agreed.
"That's true," Mitsuhiko agreed, and smiled too.
"Yes! He survived a thousand bad explosions!" Genta added, and shook his head in agreement.
Finally, Ayumi found her smile again. "Right…"
Conan grinned again, but suddenly stopped when he heard a voice behind him, and he turned around. Ai was sitting in her bed, and looked coldly into his eyes. Her lips barley moved, but the words she spoke hit Conan's heart like an arrow.

"Our…fault…your fault…That's all meaningless now. We will all die."

To be continued…