Author's Notes: Sorry for the wait. This fandom seemed kinda dead lately. Anyway, things are going to get serious. Here's a new chapter for you, and my lovely Holmesfreak-senpai!

Disclaimer: Gosho Aoyama owns Detective Conan. I only own the plot of this fanfiction.

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently - they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do."

- Steve Jobs

A ray of sunshine filtered in through the thinly-veiled windows. It was early in the morning, but Shinichi was already awake. His conversation with the strawberry-blonde last night still buzzed in his head.

" 'You are the only one who can do this. You are destined to change the world. You are the Silver Bullet, Kudo-san – you are the chosen one.'"

As disbelieving as it sounded, she had insisted on it like her whole life was based on that concept. Changing the world – seriously? He was not a Saint. He would rather spend his life doing more realistic things like solving cases and catching criminals – which, in his opinion, was way more helpful to humanity, than campaigning on streets for human rights.

Shinichi knew it was unfair to say that, but he had completely lost faith in politicians who did it only for show. Their grand promises to improve the financial situations of the poorer citizens, decrease the economic disparity between the richer and poorer groups of people, increase the number of medical facilities – were all talk. When they got the votes of the people, they revealed their true colours.

How sad.

Of course, there were organisations that did make lives better because of the actions they took. Shinichi respected them a lot, but he personally preferred helping people in a different way – bringing criminals to justice. He just knew that he would like it.

It was something that he could never forget.

"Change the world, huh?" he said, smiling bitterly. "I wish."

The female scientist had exaggerated his abilities. Shinichi could never change the world. He could not.

Especially not when he could not even recall his memories.

He sighed, rubbing his head. There was a knocking sound in the other room, and Shinichi knew that the scientist was awake too. He leaned on his bed relaxedly as he waited for her to check on him as usual.

The door opened. "You're already up?"

"Yeah."

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, thanks."

She drew up a chair and sat down beside him. They stared at each other for a while before Shinichi spoke.

"You never told me your name."

She poured him a cup of tea wearily. "Miyano."

Shinichi accepted it. "Thanks." He took a sip. "I want to know your given name."

She did not hesitate. "Shiho. Miyano Shiho." Her shoulders were tense, and her eyes were heavily lidded. Shinichi wondered if her quick reply was due to her fatigue.

"Didn't sleep well last night?" he enquired.

"No," she - no, Shiho - replied curtly. Shinichi took another sip of his tea, looking at her expectantly.

"I was thinking about our conversation," she began. "I wasn't joking yesterday, you know." She looked at him seriously.

Shinichi bit his lips awkwardly. "I know you weren't. I just don't want to disappoint you...this is beyond what I can do. I mean, this whole thing is too abstract to begin with."

Shiho chuckled, some strands of her hair falling to the front of her eyes. Shinichi thought she looked rather pretty when she smiled. "Don't think too much. You will remember everything soon."

"I hope so," he said, attempting to smile.

Shiho grabbed her clipboard and pen from the table, scribbling down words as she spoke, "I haven't examined the severity of your amnesia officially yet. Let's start with some simple questions first."

"What is twenty-five plus seventy-five?" It was already the seventh sum. Shinichi rolled his eyes.

"Hundred."

"What is twelve times thirteen?" The eighth sum. Hopefully the last, too.

"Hundred and fifty-six."

Shiho looked at the test results. "Eight out of eight. Congratulations! Your problem-solving abilities are not affected."

"Thanks," he said sarcastically.

Shiho smirked, handing him his full test report. "You passed most of the sections, except for 'memory' and 'decision-making'. Bet you are quite hot-headed, hmm?"

"When did this turn into a personality test?"

"Nah. It didn't," she informed him. "I just felt the need to point that out, because you are indeed terrible at making decisions. Let's see...you assaulted me - bad move." There was a cheeky smile on her face.

"I thought we were over this," groaned Shinichi.

"Of course, that was not why you failed 'decision-making'," Shiho's voice was serious again. "I suppose it has something to do with your impaired memory. I am not sure. I have to ask my co-worker."

"Co-worker?" Shinichi said to himself. "Where do you work?"

"Hmm...?" mumbled Shiho, preoccupied with writing examiner's remarks. "The Organisation."

Shinichi's interest was piqued. "The Organisation? What's that?"

"It's..." Shiho froze. Did she really say that? She hardened her jaw. "Forget it. Do not ever bring it up again." Shiho wrote the last word on the piece of paper before clipping the pen to the board, and Shinichi shot a look at her. All signs of friendliness in her eyes were gone. It was replaced with an eerie chilliness.

"Is there anything else you would like to ask?"

"No..."

"Well, I will be on my way then. See you later."

Frigid air hit Ran's cheeks as she stepped out of the comfort of her school campus. She trudged towards the school gates slowly, ignoring the concerned looks people were giving her. She had slimmed down drastically, and her skin had become deathly pale, giving an impression that she was a walking skeleton.

All students and staff alike had already heard of the explosion of Shinichi's mansion and his supposed death, but they did not know the truth. Ran's heart throbbed painfully at that thought.

"Isn't that Kudo-kun's girlfriend?" one whispered.

"Yes. Life must have been hard for her..."

It had been weeks since Shinichi's disappearance, which soon became the subject of much gossip. Everywhere Ran went, people would be pestering her for details. Ran was just thankful that those gossipers would back down as soon as she did her signature karate moves. She did not think she could bear saying his name.

Shinichi.

She rubbed her watery eyes, which had turned red from nights of crying. Her father had tried to be sympathetic, and cooked her meals, but Ran was too despondent to appreciate his efforts. She always yearned to tell someone about the real cause of Shinichi's death, but the scientist's warning kept her from mouthing one word about it to another soul.

To be honest, Ran did give that incident a lot of thoughts. She might not be the brightest student around, but she was smart enough to realise that something was not right. For one, why was Dr. Miyano there? A dark alley was the last place for a person with such fame to be. Also, her appearance was just too coincidental. How did she know that Shinichi would be killed? Her precise timing was uncanny. And why did she offer to revive Shinichi? What could she possibly benefit from this?

Something was...off.

Ran thought harder about what transpired back then. It was a peaceful morning, and Shinichi had, on a whim, dropped by her house and invited her to Tropical Land. They went to the fountain, drank coke, took roller-coaster rides...

Ran swallowed, remembering the murder. It was a fun day overall, until Shinichi spotted something, or someone, before dashing off. She tried to follow him, but tripped over her shoelaces. When she looked up, she could not see him anymore, in the sea of strangers.

Despite spraining her ankle, Ran hobbled towards the suspicious-looking alley that must have spiked Shinichi's interest. It was strenuous, moving on one leg, but she strove on, before arriving at the scene, where she spotted an unconscious Shinichi on the cold, hard pavement, sweating profusely.

"Black...transaction...poison..." were his last words.

She had been too absorbed in crying over his death to observe her surroundings. The more she thought about it now, the more suspicious it seemed. Ran vaguely remembered seeing two figures in black rushing off when she tying her shoelaces. Could Shinichi be referring to them?

Or was he referring to other things?

Ran rounded a corner, deep in thoughts. A new street came into view, with several red buildings lining both of its sides. She took the shorter route and cut across the street, heading towards her home.

"Miyano Shiho is a biochemist, right? Could she be the supplier of the 'poison' that Shinichi took?" she muttered to herself. "But then again...if that's the case, why bother saving him?"

Ran stared pensively at the pavement, her feet bringing her closer and closer to her destination. "Black...transaction...poison..." she repeated it over and over in her head. "Black...transaction...poison..."

She stopped before a door. Rummaging through her handbag for her keys, Ran slotted one into a keyhole, and turned the doorknob. She stepped into the darkness, placing her hand on a worn switch, and flipping it. The room lit up. Ran threw her school bag onto the floor, plopping down on the couch with a tired sigh.

Thinking so much was making her head hurt. Ran did not know how Shinichi did it.

She reached for yesterday's newspapers on the table, swinging one leg over the other as her eyes skimmed through the page. The headlines blared: "KUDO SHINICHI: MYSTERY OF THE DETECTIVE'S DEATH" and Ran ignored the whole chunk of text beneath it. She had read it several times, coming close to memorising the entirety of it.

"What bullshit. 'It was extremely unfortunate that the famous detective passed away at a tender age of 18 - in a fire, nonetheless."' Ran grumbled. "Did they even have solid evidence? Good-for-nothing journalists."

Just as she was about to flip to the next page, a row of words caught her eyes: "CEO OF FUJIMOTO INC.: DEAD" Fujimoto Inc. was Japan's most prominent chemicals and drugs supplier, where people shop for medicine and the like for their daily use. Its easy accessibility promoted huge sales, so the company had a booming business, making thousands of millions every year. Ask any household, and they would tell you how significant Fujimoto Inc. was in their lives. With the CEO now dead, a lot of people were surely going to be affected.

"On Friday, 19 January 1994, the CEO of Fujimoto Incorporation, Fujimoto Akira, was found dead in an alley near Beika street. Autopsy reports revealed that the victim died of natural causes, as no wounds or chemicals were detected. However, some passers-by have reported having seen the victim converse with a man in black. It should be noted that this piece of information might not be reliable, as the witnesses have also reported that they might have seen wrongly due to the dim lighting.

Police inspector Megure Juuzou remarked, 'We feel very sorry for the victim's family. We feel their grief and we wish them all the best in recovering from the death of their loved one. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind all citizens to be vigilant at all times, and keep an eye out for suspicious characters.' "

The cogs in Ran's head worked quickly. "...conversing with a man in black," she said softly. Then something struck her.

She scanned the passage again.

19 January 1994. That was also the date of Shinichi's death.

Her eyes widened. How could she not have seen it? It was there all along. Suddenly, the cogs clicked. The truth, Ran realised, might be a lot more dangerous than she originally thought.

Gulping, she fumbled for her phone, and hastily punched in some numbers. She was barely breathing as the background music began playing. What she was doing was wrong, Ran knew, but she had to do it.

For the sake of Shinichi.

For the sake of unexposed truth.

"Please, Heiji...pick up the phone."

Author's Notes: Thank you, all my lovely reviewers! I received all your marvellous feedback, and I really want to thank you for being so amazing! :) Please review and share your thoughts on this! Constructive criticism is always welcome.