A/N: I created a new fic "Should've Stayed Home". Check it out? :) Richard's the main character if that makes anyone more interested! ^^ The story Jimmy brings up about the haunted house is something I just made up, not from the actual anime/manga anywhere. Unless there's a similar thing that happened to them?

Chapter Song: Secrets (Hotel Dusk: Room 215...I don't always listen to Conan music you know. XD)

Faded

Chapter 16: Hope Is Not Lost

"Please tell me you're serious."

"I am, Jimmy. Here."

Dr. Agasa handed the boy a small red and white pill. He looked down as he held it in his hands, excitement washing over him like waves. Because of the alcohol that he had taken, and he hadn't taken it since, Dr. Agasa was able to use what was in the alcohol to hopefully create some sort of long-lasting antidute, but it was far from a cure. He was still excited. Even if he didn't remember, he still wanted to be normal.

It had been nearly a month since he started elementary school all over again. His parents, Rachel and even Harley when he was told all found it amusing. So he was happy to be able to return as himself for a little while.

"Now I'm not sure how long this antidote will work for. My estimate is 24 hours, but I can't be sure."

He nodded and swallowed the pill without a second thought. Then the familiar pain started. Dr. Agasa gently lifted him up and placed him on a comfortable position on the couch, then proceeded to call Rachel.

"Hello, Moore Detective Agency."

"Rachel, my dear. Would you like to come over? Jimmy wants to see you."

"If he wants to see me why doesn't he ask me himself?" she huffed slighty, but her anger disappeared at his next words.

"You'll see when you get here."

--

"Jimmy?! Jimmy, I'm --"

She stopped in her tracks, silent and wide-eyed as she stared at the figure sleeping on the couch.

Jimmy...

She ran forward, getting on her knees as she watched him. He looked peaceful, she thought. More peaceful than he'd looked in a while.

Dr. Agasa left the room, to write down the formula for the antidote so he could make more in the future. But he knew if Jimmy took too much of it, his body would start fighting against it and he might never be able to return to his original age.

"Jimmy...?"

The detective groaned, slowly opening his eyes and staring up at the grey ceiling before him. Then his eyes wandered over to see Rachel, who was looking at him with a little smile. He could see tears starting to fom in his eyes.

"Rachel..."

"Thank goodness, you're alright," she said, leaning over and gently kissing his forehead. "I got worried after Dr. Agasa called me and came right over. You've been out for at least an hour now."

Crap.

"That means I only have 23 hours left," he said more to himself. Rachel blinked.

"23?"

"Until the antidote wears off and I become 'Conan' again. According to Agasa."

"Oh."

"But Rachel, I..."

It looked like there was something else he wanted to tell her, something important by the tone of his voice. She frowned, watching him.

"What is it, Jimmy?"

"I-I remembered something...a flashback came to me during the change... the night we went to that haunted house."

They had been seven at the time, ten years ago now actually. Rachel had heard students gossiping and spreading rumors about a haunted house in a supposedly abandoned part of the area. Even though she was always scared of ghost stories, and ghosts themselves, she kind of wanted to go, but not alone. So she asked Jimmy while they were walking home from school.

"But you're scared of ghosts," a seven year old Jimmy pointed out, looking over at her with a raised eyebrow. She frowned.

"I know but I won't be if you're with me! Please, Jimmy?"

He blushed, but when she looked at him like that he just couldn't say no. They ended up sneaking out of their parents houses, which wasn't too hard for Jimmy considering the size of his own but took Rachel a little while to sneak passed her father, who was currently sober at that time.

The two had wandered around the 'haunted' house for a while, until they both heard some noises coming from downstairs. Of course, spooky house, the ghosts were always found in the basement, right?

But what shocked them both the most was that when they both came downstairs, no one was there. Jimmy half-expected it to be a murderer, hiding down here so he wouldn't get caught by the police. But it wasn't.

When the two children were just about to leave, they both felt a brush of cold air. Jimmy thought it was odd since there were no windows downstairs. They turned around and saw nothing.

~Aren't we a little young to be playing detective, hmm?~

The sound of an echoy female voice made them both jump and turn around. There really was a girl standing before them, possibly nineteen years old from Jimmy's deductions. She had curly, long hair that went passed her waist and seemed to be wearing some sort of dress, that covered what it needed to. They couldn't see the color of her eyes, color of her hair, dress

Because she was white. Pale as the moon, and very see-through.

She was a ghost.

Rachel shrieked and hid behind Jimmy. She giggled.

~Sorry but why did you two come if you were afraid of ghosts?~

"I wasn't afraid, but I came because she wanted to," Jimmy said confidently looking up at her. "Were you killed here, miss?"

Well, that was getting straight to it, she thought with a little smile. ~Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. How did you know?~

"There was a big dried spot of blood on the living room carpet. The carpet is red itself, but that spot was darker than the rest. Then there were little drops of it going over to the wall, which made me think someone must have been attacked and in their last minutes of life tried to get away."

Rachel watched him in amazement. She hadn't even noticed the blood. Of course, she had been too scared hiding behind anything she could.

~My, my won't you become a good detective some day?~ she smiled, and nodded. ~I was murdered. I used to live here with my parents, but they died in an accident when I was seventeen years old. I was able to live here on my own, and soon after my parents death, I had a boyfriend.

~Our relationship toogether was good. He was sweet, charming, the perfect guy. Or so I thought. You see he had a small problem. He drank quite a bit, but only at night. He stole alcohol from wherever he could in the house, or went to a bar when he had the money. He lived with his father because his mother passed away soon after child birth. Now, can either of you tell me what happens when someone drinks too much?~

"You start acting strange," Jimmy replied immediately for her. "You might do things you normally wouldn't, and sometimes people drink so much that they don't know what they're doing and it comes to them the next day, when they get a hangover."

~You are a smart boy. Yes, that's right. Soon after I turned nineteen, one night I was expecting him to come over for a while. What I didn't expect however, was for him to be drunk. It was the first time I'd seen like that and I didn't like it at all. He was fine at first though. We shared a few laughs, and we were about to have dinner when suddenly he kissed me.

I thought the taste of the alcohol he drank was disgusting, so I tried to push him off. However, he grabbed me and forced me onto the floor, straddling me.~ Rachel was shivering, she didn't want to know what happened next. ~I think you can figure out the rest from there.~

"So why are you unable to move on?"

~I haven't figured that out yet. I knew he wasn't true love even before he killed me.~

"Maybe that's why...y-you're still here," Rachel spoke up. Jimmy looked at from the corner of his eye. "You need t-to find true love."

The girl smiled a bit and knelt down so she was at their eye level. ~Hmm, that might be it, but who would love a ghost, hm? Well, I thank you children for keeping me company... I haven't had someone to talk to in years. But I think you should go home. Your parents are probably starting to worry.~

"...You remember that?" she asked softly. He nodded.

"Quite clearly... I remember how scared you were too."

"I-I was not!" she blushed.

Jimmy rolled his eyes, but was startled when she suddenly hugged him. Her warmth against his naked body was making him feel different but a good different he decided.

"I'm glad you remember something more," she smiled at him, before she leaned in to kiss him, smiling more as she felt him kissing back.

That meant all hope wasn't lost.

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A/N: Yay, long chapter! Hope you enjoyed the flashback. I decided to actually make a ghost story for once, but never really gave the girl a name..what do you think?