One Truth Prevails

Chapter 8: Secrets Told

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Richard left the room after making sure Rachel was okay. He went to the Office where Meguire worked to see if Meguire had found anything on those Gin and Vodka characters. For now, Conan and Kagome had some explaining to do, but they figured it was best to leave Kagome's story about demons and fairy tales about of it. That might be a little too much to handle in one day.

Rachel sat on the bed, in complete shock. Her heart stung a little, and she probably knew why - Jimmy had been lying to her the whole time. Though she had her suspicions in the beginning, she had been true the whole time - Conan Edogawa was really Jimmy Kudo. He hadn't died after all, though he had been 'poisoned'. It just transformed him into a kid, along with Kagome, and now her.

The moment she learned Conan was really Jimmy - she had started crying. She was relieved he was alright, and that he was still in the city. She was mad that she had told practically EVERYTHING to Conan - er Jimmy - about how she felt about him, though she blamed him for that because he kept his true identity a secret from her. So did Dr. Agasa, and Kagome now.

Conan frowned when he caught sight of Rachel's tears. It was all his fault she was crying. He had kept a huge secret about his life from her, and although it was for her safety and she knew that now, he knew he'd hurt her...big time too. It wasn't something so easily forgiven, or so he thought anyway. In the next few moments after explanations ended, Rachel was in his arms, crying.

Kagome smiled to herself and left the room quietly to give them their much needed privacy. Conan sat on the bed, with Rachel in his lap. She was slowly calming down, and just relaxed in his arms.

"S-So . . . you didn't tell me . . . to keep me safe?" Rachel whispered softly, and Conan nodded, gently rocking her back and forth.

"That's right, Rachel," he replied, glad she was starting to understand things better now. "If the Black Organization somehow found out I was alive, they would most definitely come after people I cared most about," he told her, and she nodded in understanding. He had only been worried about her safety . . . how could she hate him for that? She didn't have the heart to hate him - or to never forgive him. It's best, in this situation, to forgive and forget.

"So . . . what about those times when we talked on the phone?" Rachel asked curiously. Conan couldn't help but grin now.

"I used this," he told her, pointing to his bow-tie, which was lightly soaked with Rachel's tears. He didn't mind though, Dr. Agasa could fix it easily if needed.

"That bow tie?" she blinked.

"It's more than just a bow tie," Conan told her. "It's . . . a voice changer."

Rachel's eyes widened. "So . . . you could impersonate anyone's voice, like Phantom Thief does?"

Conan nodded. "Yeah, but he doesn't use a voice changer for his, he can do his perfectly," he told her, as realization suddenly dawned on her. . . it had been Conan who solved all those cases, not her dad.

"And this," he pointed to his watch. "Is a stun gun. Whoever I shoot at gets hit with a tranquilizer, knocking them out for a few minutes. Just enough time for me to -"

". . . solve a case," she finished for him, and he nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"That's not fair, Jimmy!" she told him, making him blink. "You should be the one getting credit - I mean, er, Conan should be getting credit. Not dad."

Conan blinked several times in surprise. He had thought for sure she would've stood up for her dad . . . not him. For some reason, that made his ego boost more - and his heart soar high through the sky. Rachel really cared for him . . .

"So that's why Dr. Agasa was calling you Jimmy on that ear-piece phone of yours!" Rachel suddenly realized. "Why was I so stupid!? I should've guessed it then!"

"You were suspicious a few times, and I had to create a distraction for you to forget about it," Conan reminded her, and she nodded. Then something hit her. At her father's class reunion . . . they had been . . . oh god!

Rachel suddenly blushed a deep crimson, and Conan tilted his head to the side.

"U-Um . . . Jimmy . . . that time . . . at my dad's class reunion . . . i-in the hotspring. . ." Rachel trailed off, not knowing how to finish.

Realization dawned on him, and he blushed brightly, covering his nose from the nosebleed that was about to start. Being a kid REALLLLLY didn't help all that much when you thought a girl was beautiful. When you saw her naked as a kid when you were really a teenager, it was even worse. Especially for Jimmy.

"I-I . . ." Conan stuttered, not knowing what to say. Rachel couldn't help but giggle.

"It's okay, Jimmy," she told him after calming down. This was the second thing that surprised him today, and he tilted his head to the side. "You weren't being a pervert. . . although you did get a nosebleed." She giggled again.

Conan blushed as a gush of blood came from his nose again. Rachel gasped and then giggled again, reaching over to the night table, grabbing some kleenex, lightly dabbing at his nose with it.

"There. . . all better?" she asked softly, and he nodded.

He was quiet for a while, and so was she. He noticed her head had come to rest on his shoulder, and at that he couldn't help but smile. He leaned over, pecking her forehead. This caused her to blush again.

"Rachel, I'm really sorry I didn't . . . couldn't tell - "

"Sh," Rachel spoke softly, wrapping her arms around Conan's waist. He blushed but smiled, wrapping his own arms around her once more, very happy to have her in his arms once again, even if they were kids.

In his arms, no one could touch her. He would protect her with his life. He loved her more than his own life. Now that she was a child too, he wished they could stay like this forever, carefree and happy. Unaware of the world around them. But . . .

Sadly, they would have to return to reality soon. And the reality was, the Black Organization was on the move, targeting more of Jimmy's close friends. How many did they know were close to him? His eyes instantly widened, a small gasp escaping his lips.

"Jimmy?" Rachel asked groggily, having been half-asleep when he gasped.

"I have to call them," Conan said, more to himself than to her, reaching for the phone.

"Who?" Rachel sat up, rubbing at her tired eyes. Conan blushed at such a cute sight.

"My parents, they might be on the Black Organization's list," he told her, making her eyes widen.

"Would they really poison your parents?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Poison . . . maybe even kill to lure me out," Conan told her, quickly dialing the phone number. He cursed out loud when there was no answer. "Dammit! No answer!"

"Maybe their just out for a while, Jimmy, you can call back-" Rachel was cut off by a sigh of relief from Conan when he heard a voice on the other line.

"Hello?" a female voice asked.

"Mom?" He spoke into the receiver, and Vivian's eyes widened. "J-Jimmy? How are you, dear?"

"I've been better," he told her honestly. "A lot's happened."

"Oh, like what dear?" she asked and he told her his stories, not knowing that Booker was also listening on another phone.

"Well, a new girl moved into town," he told her, telling the story about Kagome first.

"She survived a burning car accident!?" Vivian asked, clearly shocked and in awe that someone could do such a thing.

"Yeah, but I pretty much got that mystery solved," Conan told her, and she smiled, knowing he would have.

"Well, you're smarter than your father and I are, we would've been stuck on that for weeks," she told him. "What else happened, dear?"

"The Black Organization, Gin and Vodka, attacked and poisoned Kagome, the same poison they gave me," he told her, and her eyes widened once more, as did Booker's.

"At least she doesn't have a family anymore to worry about her, so that makes the situation . . . a little easy, no matter how saddening that may sound," Vivian told him, and he nodded in understanding though she couldn't see it.

"Yeah. . ." he said in a quiet voice.

"Is that all that happened, Jimmy?" Vivian asked with a raised eyebrow on the other end of the phone.

"The Black Organization came after Rachel too," he told her, and she gasped.

"Is she okay?" she asked her, knowing how her son felt about the girl. She could tell when they had 'kidnapped' him, how he felt about her.

"She's fine, she's just a kid, like me and Kagome," he told her.

"I see. . . " Vivian replied, a frown making it's way onto her face. Why was the Black Organization targeting people he knew? "I can't believe you're just calling us to tell us this, Jimmy."

"No . . . there's more," Conan told her. "The Black Organization is targeting people close to me - I just -"

"Want us to be careful, because we might be on the list?" she asked, finishing his sentence. He blinked a few times, and nodded.

"Yeah . . ."

"Don't worry, sweetie, I promise we'll be just fine," Vivian told him reassuringly. "You just concentrate on finding Gin and Vodka, and the antidote. And your girlfriend Rachel."

"Mooooooooooom!" Conan blushed heavily, and Rachel tilted her head to the side, wondering what she had said to make Conan so embarrassed.

Vivian chuckled. "Oh sweetie, you can't fool your mother. I know you've been in love with her the moment we brought you back to their house."

Conan blushed heavily. "Y-You're right but . . . "

"I knew it!" Vivian smiled on the otner end, then blinked. "But what?"

"It's too dangerous, mom," he told her, and she sighed.

"Jimmy, stop thinking about others for a change and start thinking about yourself and what you want," she told him. "Now that you're both the same again, you can protect her even more easily, isn't that right?"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts, mister," Vivian told him. "I want you to tell her how you feel, alright?" she asked sternly. Conan gulped.

"O-okay. I will, mom."

"Good boy," Vivian smiled, making Conan scowl.

"Mom, I'm not a dog!"

She just giggled. "I'll talk to you later, Jimmy, and I'll let you know if we find anything about the Organization, okay?"

"Alright, bye mom," Conan said into the phone. They said their goodbyes and hung up. Rachel tilted her head to the side.

"That was a long conversation," She stated. "What were you blushing about?"

Conan blushed again, this causing her to giggle. "Uh...nothing! Nothing at all."

"Suuure," Rachel grinned and rolled her eyes. Finally noticing the young (now really young) miko was missing, she blinked. "Where's Kagome?"

Startled, he turned around, now noticing she was gone too. Why hadn't he noticed before? He walked out of the room, only to find out she wasn't there.

"Oh no...she left the house..."

TBC

A/N: Wow, I love writing this fic. :3 I'm surprised it got as many hits as it has already.