--------------Chapter 5: Breaking the Bad News--------------
Back at the house, Doctor Agasa met up with Ai downstairs.
"So what's going on with them?" asked Ai, typing on the computer.
The professor looked to her, "That's what I was going to ask you."
"Do you think Kudou-kun is up to trouble again?"
"Maybe..." he said, as he looked up the stairs. "I just hope he doesn't get into any danger this time..."
Ai made a small, contained, laugh. "Don't you know, Professor? Danger is his middle name..."
Ran sat stiffly, waiting patiently for Conan and Heiji, with Kazuha lying by her side.
Ran got up and looked out the window once more. "Mmm..." she whined quietly to herself.
As the cab rounded up to Agasa's house, Conan noted to Nagi. "This is Professor Agasa's house. He knows about the Black Org, so it's okay to talk about it with him. There's also a girl who lives there but, umm.." He thought for a moment, "Well, you'll get to know her." The boys stepped out and approached the building.
Ran jumped up, "They're home!" she quickly ran outside." Conan!-" she stopped, seeing Nagi step out of the Taxi behind them. "You.." she quietly said.
Nagi looked up and grew a big smile. "Ms. Mouri!" he grabbed her hands.
Conan looked around quickly, to ensure that there were no black porsches around, before glancing up to Ran, "Let's go inside, then we can explain everything." Heiji continued towards the door, looking for Kazuha.
Kazuha was in a deep, quiet slumber on the couch. Ran looked down at Conan, noticing his 'serious' mood he was usually in. She felt like something was wrong. She nodded and headed inside, sitting on the couch beside Kazuha. Nagi stood behind Conan.
Heiji stepped in behind everyone and looked over to the couch. With a short, adoring look, he quickly snapped out of it and went to sit on a nearby armchair. Conan hopped onto a loveseat and waited for Nagi to join him. When they all were seated, Conan and Heiji exchanged a look, before turning to Ran. "This," started Heiji, "Is Nagi Botan, the man you saved the other day... If umm.. you can't tell." He glanced to the man for a brief moment, before looking back to Ran. From the stairwell, the Professor and Ai walked up, hearing some commotion.
Ran turned away. "I remember," she stated immediately. She looked back at Conan, "There is something wrong, isn't there Conan?" She looked at Heiji, then Nagi. "Please tell me.."
"There obviously is." Kazuha said as she rose up, looking at Ran. She exchanged looks with everyone that was in the room. She scratched the back of her head embarrassingly.
"Well, yes," continued Conan. "The people that you met the other day," he looked to Ran, referring to her. He suddenly remembered what Nagi said about her father. A bolt of pain shot through his heart, but he continued on. He'll tell her about that after this man's story is properly told. "Well, they..." he tried to go on, but anger suddenly built up in him. "Why, him?!" he thought.
Heiji noticed Conan's sudden silence, and decided to tell the rest for him, "They are still targeting this man's life. If we don't help hide him, who knows what they could do to him."
Ran confusingly tilted her head. "So, you will be staying with us for now, Mr. Botan?" He nodded nervously. Ran smiled and nodded her head in agreement, "I'm sure my father will help with this situation." She got up, straightening her skirt out.
A doomed look crossed Conan and Heiji's faces. "Actually, Ran-neechan..." started Conan, suddenly struck by how he will have to be the bearer of bad news. "We umm.. We won't have to wait for that..." Conan didn't need to say anymore, as the looks on the boys' faces said it all.
Ran and Kazuha looked at them. "Wait?" Ran said, giving a fake smile. Kazuha looked up at Ran, knowing what they were trying to say. Ran's eyes widened. She quickly walked passed them and out the door, down the sidewalk.
Kazuha quickly got up," R-Ran!" She ran after her.
Conan hopped up as well, and ran out the door behind them. Heiji went to get up, but Ai stopped him. "Wait," she said, making him turn on the spot towards the approaching girl. "If you leave, he leaves." She said, nodding towards the man. Heiji slowly sat back down. "Now, repeat the situation to me one more time." The Professor stood in the background, watching as it all happened.
Meanwhile, Conan caught up with the girls. "Ran-neechan!" He called, looking at her sadly. He couldn't think of any words to say, so he wrapped his arms around her legs and squeezed her tight.
Ran stopped. Looking up at the sky, it began to rain. She didn't cry, at least, not yet. "Please, Conan, let go of me." she asked quietly.
Kazuha stopped, looking at Ran. "Ran-chan.." she whispered. After catching her breath she looked down at Conan.
"No." Conan refused to let go. He held on as tightly as he would for his life. "I'm not letting you go. Especially not at a time like this." The drops of rain started dousing his head, but he did not care.
Ran slowly turned her eyes down to him. She turned around, grabbing his hands away from her legs, gently. "I'll just be out for a little while," she said, not even looking at him. She turned around and walked off.
Kazuha looked down at Conan, "She's going to her house."
Conan nodded, pretending a sadness. "At least I'll know where she really goes," he thought, as he returned to the Professor's house. Heiji had just finished explaining the situation as he entered. But Conan walked on to the bathroom, turning on his tracking glasses.
Kazuha watched Conan walk into the bathroom. She gave a long exhalation as she sat down. Meanwhile, Ran opened the door to her home. Slowly, she stepped inside. She looked over at her father's desk, then turned away, sliding her back against the door behind her. "He can't be." she thought. She looked around, flash backs flew through her head. She looked at the ground, "Oh Dad.."
Conan saw her stop in her house. "Okay. At least she's in a safe place..." he sighed, turning off the tracker and walking back out.
"So, what you're saying is..." Conan heard Ai's voice from the living room, "That this man is wanted by the Black Org, and he needs a place to stay to be safe, so you brought him here?..."
Heiji nervously nodded, "Y-yes... heh heh..."
"Do you have any idea of how much danger the Professor is in?" she stared at Heiji, as a wave of guilt suddenly washed over him. But Agasa denied it.
"No no, it's fine!" He commented. "If this man needs a place to stay, I have plenty of room for him, don't worry." Ai shot him a look, but otherwise said nothing.
Kazuha got up, looking out the window. "What if that man comes back for Ran?" she quietly asked herself. Kazuha sat down, looking down at her feet. "I wasn't the only one that night we were attacked, she was just afraid to tell anyone."
The professor walked over to Nagi to discuss living arrangements. Heiji, no longer essential, stepped up next to Kazuha. "They'll be fine," he told her, as if reading her mind. He turned to face her, with a small, honest smile. "She's a tough girl. The kid's also stronger than you give him credit for." He turned out the window, watching nothing in particular.
Kazuha didn't reply. She just merely turned away in the chair. Ran came through the door. She stopped as she looked over at Nagi. "Why didn't you go to the police?" she looked up at him in anger, shoving him up against a wall, "Why didn't you?!" She began to cry, releasing her hands off of his shirt. She slowly slid against him and onto her knees. She looked down. "Why..?"
"Ran!" Conan yelled, running over to her. But he stopped. If he said too much, he'd be given away. He simply hoped that nothing the man said would give clues to his true identity.
She watched her hands shake as they fell flat on the ground. She looked over at Conan, "My, Dad-" she cleared her throat. "My Dad is dead! Gone!" She covered her face with her hands. "I want to find where he is located." She looked up at Nagi as she sat down in front of him, "Show me."
Nagi looked down at her, he thought of what he should do. Looking at the ceiling, he gave a long sigh. "I'm sorry, I don't know where his body--he is." He looked down at her. "We will find him, I'm sure of it." He said giving her a comforting smile. Ran looked away, getting up. She looked down at her feet, saying nothing.
Conan looked to her regretfully. He knew the chances of finding one's body after the Black Org has dealt with them. He turned off and sat on a couch.
"I-I think we should get going too," said Heiji, looking over to the Professor, Ai, and the nervous Nagi. Conan peered up at him, surprised. Heiji waved his hand in a "come on" motion to him, so he hopped off the couch and followed Heiji, a bit behind the girls.
The Professor waved goodbye, but Ai merely nodded. After the boys walked out the door, the Professor went back to Nagi. "I hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch for a while until I get a cot or something for your own room." Ai turned and stared at the man.
Nagi swayed his hand back and forth twice, "No, no, please, I'll be fine just on the couch." He walked over to the couch and sat down. "Besides, I don't want to be a bother."
"Oh, it's no problem!" repeated the Professor. "I just hope you'll find plenty of things to do around here, since you can't leave the house..."
Outside, Kazuha put an arm around Ran's shoulder. "Besides, I bet Kudou will drop by anytime to help out!" she said, trying to cheer her up.
Ran looked at Kazuha with a surprised expression. "Shinichi... I haven't really thought about him for a while now, and you bringing him up. I just now realized," she said, whispering to her.
Kazuha poked her cheek. "I'm sure he'll come," she said, giving her a wink.
Conan watched the girls whispering to each other. He caught his name and started to blush. Heiji merely stared off into space, or rather, the back of Kazuha's head. They didn't even realize when they were already approaching the Mouri household.
Ran stopped, looking up at the windows, imagining her dad looking outside. She began to giggle to herself, knowing that he would probably be listening to a horse race, drinking.
Kazuha smiled, seeing that Ran was giggling. While walking up the steps, Ran unlocked the door, slowly beginning to open it. Kazuha looked over her shoulder as she stepped inside from behind Ran. Ran turned around, bringing her ear close, "Do you think he'll come?"
Kazuha snickered. "You mean, Kudou, right?" she whispered back. Ran nodded. Kazuha brought Ran closer to her, "I'm sure of it."
Heiji heard the girls' short convo and nudged Conan lightly. He knelt down to his level and whispered to him, "Hey, you know you can't just leave her like this, right? Why don't you use that drug you used last time, and come back for a day?"
Conan gave him a look, "There's a risk of me dying if I take that. She doesn't need two people close to her dying..." He stepped into the house. "Besides, I'm not even sick. It wouldn't work anyway."
Heiji quickly jumped into the house, pushing Conan back outside and closing the door.
"O-OI!" Conan shouted.
"No! You're staying out there till you catch a cold!..." Heiji turned around to face the girls, noticing suddenly how loud he had been.
Kazuha, still with her hand to Ran's ear, rose a brow. "Heiji, what are you...?"
Ran grew a blank expression. "Is Conan outside?" she asked, getting on her tippy toes to look over his shoulder and at the door.
"Uh, yeah! He said he wanted a little fresh air," lied Heiji with a smile, pushing his back against the door while Conan banged on it angrily.
Shoving Heiji away from the door, Kazuha opened it. "You okay kid?" She knelt down to him and patted his head. She then shot a look at Heiji. "Keeping an elementary school kid outside in the cold-" She looked back at Conan, "-how sad!"
Ran was in the background with her normal blank expression in confusion. "Eh?"
Conan shivered and looked up to Kazuha, "Thank you."
Heiji stepped back nervously. "Uh, I'm going to bed!" he called, as he rushed past Ran and up to the room that now only belonged to Conan.
Ran looked down at the freezing boy. "Are you okay, Conan-kun?" she asked, still in a confused tone.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Ran-neechan," Conan shivered again, "Just a little cold..." He looked around for a blanket.
Kazuha sighed, following Heiji up to the room. She opened the door. "You are surely crazy..." she said, while rubbing her head. "What was that about?" she whispered loudly to him.
Heiji turned to her. "Oh, n-nothing! Really! It was just a little joke that we play on each other. We do it all the time! Heh, heh..." He still had a fake smile, but he had a feeling that he wasn't fooling anybody.
Kazuha fell onto the bed. Her legs and arms wide open, "Poor Ran." she muttered. Staring up at the ceiling, she rolled her eyes over to Heiji. "Try to get Kudou to come."
Heiji looked down to the floor. "Don't worry, I'll try."
Kazuha rose up. She looked at Heiji, then turned away, "I hope he will." She had a sadness in her voice.
Ran knelt down, putting her jacket over Conan's shoulders, "Here Conan." She got back up and walked off.
Conan watched Ran walk away. He started to follow her, but decided instead to take a seat on the couch for a bit. He sat down on it, taking the edges of the jacket and holding them over himself more. Her scent was there. It was so calming and sweet. He was so comfortable, he could just...
Suddenly Conan fell to his side on the couch, sound asleep.
Walking passed the couch, Ran looked over, seeing Conan sleeping. She walked over to him and sat down beside him, covering him with a thick blanket. Conan didn't even flinch. He was so deeply asleep not even an airplane could wake him.
Heiji watched Kazuha leave, thinking, "Ugh, Kudou, why can't you just give in this one time?" He closed the door and laid down on the bed. Just as unknowingly as Conan, Heiji soon found himself fast asleep as well.
Kazuha walked downstairs, She noticed Ran sitting beside the sleeping Conan. "Awww!" she squeeled. Ran put a finger to her mouth. "Oh. I-uh, aw..." Kazuha whispered. She pointed up the stairs, "I'll be up in the room with Heiji if you need anything, Ran." Ran answered her by nodding. Walking up stairs, Kazuha looked down at the bed and saw that now Heiji was sleeping. "Why is everyone so tired?" she asked quietly to herself.
As Ran and Kazuha looked over the boys' sleep, they soon fell into a deep slumber. It was night, and snow was falling outside on the streets. Kazuha slept against a wall, Ran, sitting up on the couch next to Conan.
Meanwhile, over at Agasa's house, the Professor and Ai also found themselves ready to sleep. As Agasa stepped under his covers, Ai walked in and closed the door. "Are you sure that having him here is a good idea?"
He looked at her, "Well, you're wanted by the men in black too, aren't you? I don't see how it's any different."
"True..." she admitted, crawling into her own bed. "But at least I look different from the 'me' that they're searching."
Agasa thought about it for a moment, before looking down to her and saying, "Well then... Maybe that's something to keep in mind." He turned the light off, leaving Ai staring into the silent darkness.
Nagi, who was sitting downstairs on the couch, soon fell asleep as well.
--------------End Chapter 5--------------