"Ran, can you hear me? Ran?? Ran!" Shinichi's voice questioned tiredly.
"Sh...Sh...Shinichi...?!" Ran stuttered. She wanted to yell at him, she wanted to shout. She wanted to scream. But she couldn't wrestle a single syllable past her lips.
"Gomen nasai, Ran. I can't come back. I'm so sorry. I wanted to call you, but I couldn't get the chance. I really wanted to call you..." Shinichi murmured softly to her. When no response came he continued, "I... I'm really sorry... to go back on my promise, Ran."
Ran clutched the phone tightly in her hands. Her eyes were shadowed. A sob escaped her lips.
"Ran..."
"Jerk."
"Ran, I said I'm sorry..."
"You jerk. You promised. You promised me, Shinichi. All I wanted was to see you again. Just for a little bit... Shinichi... you promised you would some see me first."
"I know." Shinichi's voice took on a compassion that was almost never heard from him, "I know, and I'm very, very sorry, Ran. Ran... believe me. I'm so very sorry... Ran..."
The tone in his voice melted Ran's heart. She clutched the phone even tighter in her grasp, tears traveling so quickly down her cheeks. From his desk, Kogoro watched her.
"I'm so tired of waiting, Shinichi..." Ran whispered. "It hurts so much. I can't do this... I can't do this without Conan-kun."
"...Daijoubu, Ran. Mattedyo. I promise... no matter what, I will come home. I'll come back to you Ran. So please. Just wait for me... a little longer. Just... a little bit longer." Shinichi whispered. And then the line went dead.
"K...k...kisama..." Ran murmured, dropping the phone. She let her head fall, burying her face in her hands and proceeding to sob and cry.
"...Ran-neechan?"
Ran's head darted up and twisted around to the door.
Conan stood on the threshold, bag at his side. His expression was innocent as his concerned blue eyes watched curiously behind his thick-rimmed glasses. "Daijoubu, Ran-neechan?" his voice was high and naive.
"C...Conan-kun..." Ran shook, staring at the boy. She got up, stumbling over to him. She grabbed him tightly and continued to cry. "CONAN-KUN!!!"
Conan's expression softened and a slight smile spread his lips. "It's okay now, Ran. I'm here." his arms slowly lifted to embrace her back. "I'm here."
"Conan-kun, haiyaku!" Ran called up the stairs, "If you don't hurry you'll be late for school!"
"Chotto matte, Ran-neechan!" A moment later Conan was rushing down the staircase. He met Ran at the bottom and they both started off.
"Did you get to eat your breakfast?" Ran looked to the boy. Sweat slipped down his cheek slightly, as he didn't respond. Ran narrowed her eyes, "Conan-kuuuun..."
"I-iie, Ran-neechan." Conan finally responded quietly.
"Maybe you shouldn't have stayed up so late." Ran stuck her nose in the air, closing her eyes. "Ne?"
"N-nani? What are you talking about Ran-neechan?" Conan asked in his most innocent voice, a sweat bead dripping down the side of his face.
Ran's eyes narrowed slyly as she looked back down to him. "I saw you in your room reading manga under your covers with the watch light." she raised her eyebrows, "your bedtime had been hours earlier."
Conan stared at her and laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "A-aa... S-Sou desu ne..." he continued to laugh and then turned his head away.
"When you get home from school I'm going to talk to you about that, okay, Conan-kun?" Ran wagged her finger, "It's not good to get into that habit. If you're not careful, you'll end up like Shinichi-kun! He did the same thing, only he stayed up late reading case files." She sighed and shook her head, "Baka na, that guy, I swear. He's so reckless and infuriating... he never worries about his own self, so I'm always stuck looking after him! Making sure he's eating right, wearing a sweater when it's cold out, sleeping well..." she emit yet another sigh, "Shinichi-kun, baka na."
Conan blinked up at her and laughed slowly. "H-hai... Ran-neechan..."
Ran flushed slightly, a memory jumping in her mind.
"Conan-kun!! Ohayou!!"
Ran and Conan both looked up, spotting three children ahead of them. The smallest of the trio was a girl. Her hair was short, not quite reaching her shoulders, and she had a headband. Her blue eyes were closed in a smile as she waved frantically over. Next to her were two boys. On her right was a slender boy with freckles. He wore a blue sweatshirt and jeans. On the girl's left was a large boy with black hair. It was shaved and there was a sort of bald spot on one side. They all had backpacks on their backs and were smiling broadly as Conan and Ran approached them.
"Ayumi-chan, Mitsuhiko-kun, Genta-kun, ohayou." Conan smiled as he fit himself beside them.
"Ohayou, Ayumitachi." Ran leant down. "Ogenki desu?"
"Fine, Ran-neesan!" Ayumi, the girl, smiled up at the high-schooler.
"Ohayou!" The two boys grinned in unison.
"I'll see you all after school, okay?" Ran smiled, looking up to see a brown-haired girl around her age coming towards them.
"Haiii!" All the kids chimed together.
Before Ran had completely left the group she spotted a small girl with brown permed hair behind Genta. She had a sort of knowing smile as she stared after Conan. Ran blinked at the girl before her attention fully turned to the other brown-haired girl in front of her.
"Ohayou, Ran." The girl offered a smile. "How are you this morning?"
"Good, Sonoko." Ran smiled back. The girl, Sonoko, seemed satisfied with this response and they proceeded to school.
"So, how's Kudou-kun?" Sonoko nudged her best friend in the side. "Ehhh?"
Sweat dripped down Ran's cheek, "I don't know..." she muttered, looking away a little. "How's Makoto?"
Sonoko grinned and immediately went off about the karate champ, explaining all of his recent exploits and described them as spectacular battles in the field of karate. Ran seemed rather familiar with this sudden outburst from Sonoko, and took it lightly, nodding when she needed to and actually listening rather tentatively, because she knew Sonoko might quiz her about the conversation later on.
As they walked across a crosswalk, a certain person they passed caught her eye. She blinked, swearing to herself she had seen that face somewhere before, and her attention on what Sonoko was babbling about completely vanished altogether. She stopped and stared after the male brunette teen that had passed her, and when Sonoko realized she wasn't following or listening anymore, she stopped and turned back to look at Ran, and then followed her gaze to the teen.
"Ran?" Sonoko asked the Teitan High School student.
"Oi. Ch-ch-chotto matte kurosai!!" Ran suddenly called after hesitating. She chased after the teen they had crossed paths with, and seeing the green crosswalk light flashing, she chased after Ran back to that side of the street.
The brunette teen turned around to look back at Ran. When he saw her, a cold sweat accumulated on his forehead and he stood slightly frigid, but tried to keep it unnoticable.
However, Ran noticed.
"Gomen nasai," She bowed, "You just... remind me of somebody I know." she blinked and stared up at the other.
He stood about twenty centimeters or so taller than herself and his brown hair was messy and slightly spiked. His blue eyes and face structure were so familiar it was unbelievable. He was dressed in a navy blue T-Shirt and jeans. His hands were buried in his pockets and he stared right back at Ran as she examined him.
Ran had placed where she had seen that face before almost immediately. "You look just like Shinichi!!"
The teen blinked back at her, his rigid stance gone soft and relaxed once more, and as if he were talking to somebody he knew very well, he responded lightly, "'Shinichi'?" A moment later his eyes became clear with realization and he exclaimed, "Oh! Do you mean the tantei? Kudou Shinichi?"
"Hai!" Ran grinned and nodded, glad she might have just been understood.
"Oh, yeah, I've heard that a lot actually." The other teen laughed and scratched the back of his messy-haired head, "They say it's my face and my eyes. Personally, I don't think I look anything like him, but, whatta ya gonna do, y'know?" He laughed heartily. Ran managed to giggle softly and this caused Sonoko's mouth to open slightly in just a bit of surprise. She hadn't heard Ran do that in ages. Okay, that may have been over exaggerating.
"Gomen nasai. I didn't mean to bother you," Ran bowed.
"Maa, maa," The teen waved it off, "That's alright. I don't have school today," he grinned, "our High School is off on teacher's strike."
Ran blinked, her expression going empathetic, "Lucky!" she laughed in a way she only usually did when she was with Shinichi, "I still have class."
The male teen laughed at her slight dismay, "Gomen ne," he sympathized.
Ran flushed, abruptly realizing something, "G-gomen!" She bowed quickly. "I didn't even introduce myself! I'm sorry!"
"That's okay, that's okay, it happens," the teen waved it off, smiling and seeming like a very good-natured person.
"Mouri Ran desu." She bowed once more, then looked up to her new acquaintance who grinned.
"Aa, Mouri? Could you by chance be related to Nemuri-no-Kogoro?"
"Hai! He's my father." Ran chimed happily.
"Well, daughter of Nemuri-no-Kogoro," the teen took a great, fancy bow,
"Boku wa Kuroba Kaitou desu."
Ran blinked, staring. She offered a smile. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
"OI! RAN!" Ran's attention turned back around to Sonoko, "Hai-Ya-KU! We're going to be late!!"
Ran jumped slightly and nodded back at Sonoko, then looked to Kaitou. "Sumimasen, Kuroba-san," She bowed, "But I have to go. It was nice meeting you! Too bad seeing each other again is unlikely." She laughed softly as she quickly went back along the crosswalk, waving. "Ja ne!!"
"Oh don't worry!" Kaitou grinned after her, waving back, "I have this feeling we'll meet again, Mouri-san!"
The sound of the chaimu rang through the afternoon sky. Ran and Sonoko were at the entrance of the school, taking off their school shoes and depositing them in their lockers for their outdoor shoes. Sonoko was discussing how the test in English was, and Ran was simply listening like she always did.
As they exited the school and started for the gate, a familiar face was waiting for them.
"Konnichiwa!!"
Ran and Sonoko looked up to see the teen from that morning greeting them.
"N-nani?? Kuroba-san??" Ran blinked, perplexed. WHY was he waiting for HER? The teen grinned up and approached, hands in his pockets.
"Gomen ne, but there's something I need to discuss with your dad, and since I finished the stuff I was going to do today and realized it was a few minutes before the High Schools got out, I decided I'd go ahead and walk with you." He offered a grin and she smiled back.
"Well, that sounds like a great idea." And they all started off down the sidewalk, Sonoko's expression suspicious at Ran's delight in the situation.
"So, what do you need to talk to Otou-san about?" Ran asked politely, deciding she should pick at a topic that her acquaintance might be generally interested in.
"Oh, nothing too important," Kaitou assured, looking back at Ran. "I have to admit, I DID want to see you again."
Ran flushed, "Aa.. H-hai.." she muttered, and then realized something, "Oi, you know.. You sound a lot like Shinichi too."
"Haha! Maybe I'm his twin that was lost at birth?" He suggested with a shrug. Ran laughed pleasantly.
"No way. That guy's such a freak and you're so normal compared to him," she smiled softly.
Kaitou blinked back at her inquiringly. "Oh? A freak? Please, elaborate," he requested.
Ran nodded as they continued across a crosswalk, "Well... he's obsessed with a fictional character, all he eats, drinks, and sleeps is tough and confusing cases, he LOVES to solve murder cases, he's always trying to catch that thief guy, KID..."
"But he hasn't caught him yet." Kaitou remarked in a way that sounded proud of the fact. Ran blinked and quirked an eyebrow slightly at Kaitou.
"Yeah... he hasn't... but he's gotten very close several times. KID just manages to slip away at the last minute because he cheats or Shinichi's interrupted by something." Ran nodded, seeming very determined to prove that KID was a dirty thief and he was just getting lucky.
"Whatever you say," Kaitou brought his hands from his pockets and put them behind his head.
"What does THAT mean?" Ran eyed Kaitou with a side-ways glance, not looking very happy about his response.
"I'm just saying your opinion is yours and yours alone." Kaitou shrugged.
Ran continued to eye Kaitou until she shook it off.
"Hey, Ran?" Ran looked back to Sonoko. "I'm going to go on ahead, alright? I have some stuff I have to do." she grinned, "I'll leave you to take care of this guy," she nudged Ran in the side and quickly went ahead.
Ran sweatdropped and was quiet then looked to Kaitou and said, "Don't pay any attention to her."
Kaitou smirked and nodded as the two continued walking.
"...So, what did you say you wanted to talk to my dad about?" Ran asked once more to the teen, figuring there was really nothing else to talk about.
Kaitou seemed to figure that since the other girl was gone, he might as well go ahead and tell Ran. He brought something from his pocket, holding it out to shine in the sunlight. As Ran looked over, her eyes went wide.
"Is that... i-is that..!?" she gasped softly. The teen nodded, looking back to Ran with a large grin.
"It's the gem that was just recently stolen by KID, the last time he was almost caught." he nodded in affirmation.
"How–Why– do you...???" Ran stuttered, staring at him, her eyes widening. Now that she thought about it, she had come pretty close to KID a few times, and their faces seemed nearly...
"I found it in my dresser drawer when I was getting dressed one morning." Kaitou closed his eyes, "I couldn't believe it myself. I looked it up and saw how KID stole it and I figured he placed the gem in my room to maybe try and direct blame on me or something," he tapped his head, "I don't know exactly, but I figured if I went to your dad or some other detective he might just take the gem and give it back to the owner and not make me deal with it."
"I don't think you should go to my dad," Ran sweat a little, "he can be a real idiot when it comes to stuff that doesn't relate to murders."
"Heh, that's okay." Kaitou put his arms behind his head, "to be honest with you, I want to see the bouzu." His eyes went to her.
"Huh?" She blinked. "You mean Conan-kun?"
"Hai."
"Why would you want to see Conan-kun?" she blinked again, "he's just a regular little kid... he can't help you with the jewel."
"I know," Kaitou waved a dismissive hand at Ran, "But I know him from a while back. He might not remember me, we met when he was still with his parents. I was still a kid then too, and he was practically a baby." He grinned. "And I'd like to say hi."
"Oh. Well, okay then. If you want. I guess you could see my dad about the gem, but I wouldn't suggest it." She admit.
"We'll see when we get there."
"Otou-san!" Ran called as she stepped through the door, to the office. "Tadaima!"
Conan hopped up from the couch, walking around it. "Kogoro-ojiisan went out to play mahjong."
Ran placed her hands on her hips, huffing. "Mou! It's not even Sunday. That jerk..."
"Ran-neechan, fuuzihii?" Ran could see Conan staring at Kaitou, eyeing him up and down, as if he had seen him from somewhere before. What Kaitou said replayed in her mind and she smiled slightly.
"This is an old friend of yours, Conan-kun. I'm going to call otou-san, you can talk with him. Sumimasen, Kuroba-san." She bowed to Kaitou and then exited the room to get the phone upstairs. Yesterday, her father had broken the one in his office with his idiotic antics, and she made him wait until he could buy another one. True enough, it meant no clients, but that was his own fault.
She grabbed the phone from its cradle up in the living room of the third floor, dialing for the mahjong joint he usually went to. Tapping her foot she waited for him to answer.
A minute or so later she had finished her conversation with her father that had consisted of a lot of yelling and pointing blame and scolding. When she was putting the phon back in its cradle, she heard a shout and a loud thud from downstairs.
"Nanda!?" She ran to check it out.
When she entered the office room, she found Kaitou on the ground with Conan on top of him, struggling. The boy held fast onto one of Kaitou's arms that had been pulled behind his back and the position looked over-all painful.
"Conan-kun, what are you doing?!" Ran demanded, darting over quickly.
"RAN-NEECHAN, RAN-NEECHAN!!" Conan shouted with urgency, "IT'S KID! IT'S KID!!!!"
"N-nani? What are you talking about, Conan??"
"This boy! He's Kaitou KID!"
Silence engulfed the room. Ran stared at Conan and he stared dead seriously back. Kaitou broke the silence with a sudden burst of laughter.
"It's a game we play!" He grinned brightly. "He pretends I'm KID and 'catches' me, like a detective. He's always loved games like this. Haven't you, Conan-kun?" He eyed the boy who eyed him back and shook his head quickly.
"Ran-neechan, it's KID!" He insisted once more. Sweat accumulated on Ran's cheek and she began to pull Conan up.
"Alright, Conan-kun, enough games, let's stop pestering Kuroba-san."
"DEMO! RAN-NEECHAN!!!" Conan struggled with the high schooler furiously. "I'M NOT JOKING, HE'S KID! HE'S KID!!" Conan whined.
"Conan-kun!" Ran snapped scoldingly. "You stop that right now! I'm going to send you to your room if you continue to be so ridiculous. That's enough joking around."
"Demo, Ran-neechan! He has the jewel KID just stole!" Conan pointed at Kaitou. The teen pulled out a jewel.
"What you mean this?" Kaitou blinked over at Conan, who stared with wide eyes, unbelievably.
"Hai, Conan-kun... KID put it in his clothes drawer." Ran laughed in a sort of sympathetic way. "Conan-kun, cut it out."
"D-demo! D-demo!! Demo!!!" Conan shouted. Ran started to pull him off towards the door.
"Alright Conan, you have to go to bed early tonight. Go to your room and come back when you're not going to whine anymore." She put him down at the door and shoved him to the stairs.
"DEMO, RAN-NEECHAN!"
"GO, CONAN!" She shouted at him. He flinched back and looked down at the floor like a scolded puppy, then started up the stairs.
"Hai, Ran-neechan..." He murmured very softly as he disappeared into the door to the house floor.
Kaitou chuckled. "You shouldn't be so hard on him."
"I know, I know." Ran sighed. "He just... What bothers me is that he doesn't normally do stuff like that! Really, normally he's so well behaved. Gomen nasai, Kuroba-san." She bowed to Kaitou who laughed.
"Shinpaimuyou." Kaitou insisted, waving a dismissive hand once more. "There's reason for his overreaction."
"Nani?" Ran blinked. "There is?"
"Hai, hai. But don't worry about it." He started for the door. "Well, ittekimasu!" he waved as he walked out.
Ran heaved a sigh after he had gone. "What in the world is up with that boy?" She looked up the stairs.
Hai, hai. Arigatou for comments!
I'm probably not going to do this in any other chapters rather than this one, see? I'm going to give some tips on some of the words I've said throughout the story so far, the Japanese ones. I'm guessing you can tell what they are, but I'm going to put them down anyway. Just so people will understand a bit more.
Words/Phrases
Hai- Yes
Daijoubu- It's okay now; I'll be okay; (when used as a question) Are you alright?
Matte- Wait; wait for me; hold on a second!
Chotto Matte- (see matte)
Mattedyo- (see matte)
Nani- What?
Nanda- (see nani) sort of like a slang version, and usually used for exclamatory purposes
Nande- Why?
Naze- (see nande)
Okaerinasai- Welcome home!
Kuso- (slang) Damn it!; Shit!
Kisama- Damn you!; I hate you!; Damn him(or her)!
Haiyaku- Hurry up!; Hurry!
Maa, maa- Well, well...; Hold on, hold on... (Used to calm somebody down usually)
Iie- No
Chigao- (slang) That's not right!; No!; That's not correct!
Aa- Usually used in DC, if you watch the Japanese version you'll see XD It's kind of like 'uh...'
Ohayou- Good morning
Ne- Right?; Isn't that right?
Baka- Idiot; stupid; moron
Baka na- He/she's and idiot; it's idiotic
Son na baka na- That's ridiculous!; How idiotic!
Bakabakashi- Ridiculous!
Ogenki desu- How are you?; How are you feeling?; How are you doing?
Sou ka- I see...
Sou desu ne- (see sou ka)
Kurosai- Added at the end of some phrases to make them sound more polite I think
Tantei- Detective
Gomen- (usually used amongst people who know each other well) I'm very sorry; Sorry
Gomen ne- (see gomen)
Gomen nasai- (Long version, usually used to be polite and to people you don't know; see gomen)
Nemuri-No-Kogoro- Sleeping Kogoro (People call Ran's father this due to what he does when he 'solves cases'; Conan puts him to sleep with his stun-gun wrist watch and uses his voice-changing bow-tie to mimic his voice and solve the case, all while Kogoro's seemingly sleeping)
Oi- (Slang; used to get somebody's attention) Hey!; Hey you!
Boku wa (name) desu- I am (name); My name is (name)
(name) desu- (see boku wa (name) desu)
Sumimasen- Excuse me; I'm sorry
Tadaima- I'm home!; I'm back!; I'm here!
Mou- used to express frustration
Fuuzihii- Who's he?
Demo- but; however; still; yet; although; even; even if; or something
Shinpaimuyou- Don't worry about it; there is nothing to fear; there is no need for anxiety; everything is under control
Konnichiwa- Hello; Good afternoon
Doumo; Doumo Arigatou- thanks; thank you; thanks a lot; thank you very much
Onegai- please
Ja ne- (slang) See ya later; see ya; good-bye; bye
Ja- (see ja ne)
Sayonara- Good bye; bye
Konban Wa- Good evening
Oyasuminasai- Good night
Oyasumi- (see oyasuminasai)
Takku- (slang) Jeez!
Shounen Tantei-dan- The Detective Boys! (Conan's group; Consists of Conan, Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ai)
Suffixes/Names
-san- Mr.; Mrs.
-kun- Usually used amongst friends towards male friends
-chan- Used towards ones younger than the person using it; used for friends, usually for females; used between lovers
-han- (see -san)
-sama- Used to show great respect for somebody
-senpai- Used for somebody who's a senior to you; ex: If you worked at a police office and there's somebody who has worked their longer than you, you would refer to them as your senpai, or if you were a Freshman in High School, anybody that was a Sophomore, Junior, or Senior would be your senpai
-sensei- used for anybody in a profession; ex: A teacher, a doctor, etc.
Ojii- Uncle, or used for a man who you don't know (usually causing it to end in -san)
Obaa- Grandma, or used for a woman who you don't know (usually causing it to end in -san)
Otou- Father (Can be ended in pretty much any suffix)
Okaa- Mother (Can be ended in pretty much any suffix)
Hakase- Professor (Usually used by everyone to refer to Agasa; they add it as a suffix to his name: Agasa-hakase)
Onee- Big sister (Usually used as a suffix by adding it with another suffix and most times taking away the 'o'; ex: -neechan; -neesan)
Onii- Big brother (Usually used as a suffix by adding it with another suffix and most times taking away the 'o'; ex: -niichan; -niisan)
Imouto- Little sister (I'm not sure about the rule on this one, I'll ask my friend and change it later)
Ototo- Little brother (Same rule applies as Onee and Onii I believe. Except you take off the 'to' at the end. I'd have to ask my Japanese friend)
Wow, that was a page long. -sweatdrop-. Well, um, if I'm missing any, please drop me a comment and I'll add it. Doumo arigatou for reading my story! X3