I'm going crazy. I've been hearing Garnet Crow's voice even in my sleep. I never thought you could have an overdose of "Namida No Yesterday". haha. Thanks for the review, guys. I love ya ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan. If I did, Haibara would be in all the episodes since her first appearance.

~~~~CHAPTER 3: IF YOU SAY SO, CONAN-KUN~~~~

BANG!

Conan woke up with a start. He rubbed his eyes, remembered that he stayed over at the Professor's and heard voices in the kitchen.

"Hakase! I thought I told you I'm the one who's gonna cook breakfast."

"Sorry Ai-kun. I just thought that I might surprise you."

"I'd be surprised if I had to eat that-that... thing you call food."

"That's mean, Ai-kun..."

"Really... I don't know how you possibly survived before I came."

"Well, there is fast food delivery..." the voices trailed off.

Conan smiled to himself and said, "Taku, that Hakase. Making such noise this early in the morning. Thank God it's Sunday. We have enough time to clean up." He got up and dressed. Then he went to the kitchen where Hakase and Haibara were still talking.

"Ohayou." he said while entering.

"Ah, ohayou Shinichi. Breakfast will be ready in a few." said the Professor.

"And Hakase did not help in preparing it." said Haibara as she carried a plate of pancakes to the table.

When he saw Haibara, his face turned 3 shades of pink. (haha, got that from some weird romance novel). "By the way Haibara, about last night..."

"Last night? Oh, you mean when you got rejected?" she asked with the usual smirk on her face.

"No! You know what I mean..."

"I'm afraid I don't Kudo-kun. Care to enlighten me?"

"You know! The..." he trailed off. He was about to say more but he saw the glint in her eyes. He realized that if he continued, he would be played and there's no way he'd say such an embarrassing thing in front of the Professor. "Never mind..."

Seeing that she won, she sat down and started eating.

That Haibara... I never seem to win against her... And we're not even fighting yet... Sigh... And what's with that smirk of hers? Now that I realize it, it's always a smirk. I don't think I've ever seen her with a real smile.

With a resigned sigh, he joined her at the table and ate.

"By the way, Shinichi. Ran called a while ago. She was asking when you'd come home." said the Professor.

Oh yeah, Ran. What should I do about her...?

"Ne, Hakase, is it okay if I stay here?"

His question was met with Haibara's eyebrows rising and Hakase's eyes widening.

"What's wrong Shinichi? Don't you want to stay at the Detective Agency anymore?"

"It's not that. Ran's mother is moving back. I just feel like I'm being a burden to them."

"Ara, Kudo-kun, and you don't feel like a burden to us?" asked Haibara.

"It's not like that, Haibara. It's just that... Her mom's cooking sucks and I don't want to suffer like that anymore. Besides... I might remind Ran too much of... me..."

She didn't comment at that and the Professor said, "I don't mind Shinichi. Why don't you call Ran and get your things after breakfast?"

"Thanks, Hakase."

"And take Ai-kun with you."

"I don't see any reason for me to come along."

"Maa, maa... Just in case Shinichi needs help with his things. And I don't want to leave you alone in this house."

"Are you going somewhere Hakase?"

"A friend asked me to take a look at his inventions. I'll be gone the whole day but I'll be back by nightfall."

"Is that so..."

Conan finished his breakfast and announced, "I'm going to call Ran." He went to telephone and dialed the number.

"Moshi moshi. Mouri Detective Agency. My father is out right now so-"

"Ran-neechan. It's me."

"Conan-kun?"

"Yeah. Ummm... Ran-neechan. I'm moving out of your house and I'm gonna live with the Professor."

"What? Conan-kun, why?"

"Well, I don't want to be a bother to you anymore. Anyway I'm gonna come over with Haibara to get my things."

"With Ai-chan, huh... Fine, I'll pack your things so that they're ready by the time you get here."

"Hai. Ja ne, Ran-neechan."

~~~~MOURI DETECTIVE AGENCY~CONAN'S POV~~~~

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Coming!"

Ran opened the door and invited us in with a smile. "Come in Ai-chan, Conan-kun. I have all your things packed in 2 bags. Do you think you can carry them?"

"Daijoubu Ran-neechan. We can handle it."

"Conan-kun..." The sadness in her voice startled me, and I turned to face her. I saw her eyes fill with tears and I felt guilty, guilty that I was leaving her.

What is wrong with me? It's not like I'm going far away. And besides, she was the one who rejected me.

"Conan-kun, I don't want to say this since it was your decision but..." As she said this she wrapped her arms around me in a hug, "Don't go. Don't leave me alone."

Haibara suddenly entered my mind and I saw that she was watching this scene with interest. I was embarrassed of what she might be thinking.

I pulled away from Ran's hug, looked at her in the eyes and said in my childish voice, "I'm not gonna leave you alone Ran-neechan. Kogoro-ojiisan is here with you. And your mother is moving back too. I'll also visit from time to time."

"Do you promise Conan-kun?"

"I promise."

The tears that filled her eyes suddenly started flowing. "It's just that, I don't want you to go, Conan-kun. You know what? You remind me of Shinichi. And when you said you'll go, it's like Shinichi's leaving me forever. And when Ai-chan came with you, I felt like he replaced with someone else..."

"But Ran-neechan, didn't you-"

"You know what Conan-kun? Shinichi invited me to a date yesterday. I was so happy. But then, he told me he wasn't ever gonna come back and I had this bad feeling in my stomach, but I wasn't surprised. It was like, I waited 5 years just to hear him say that. And I turned him away, Conan-kun. When he tried to say something I cut him off and didn't let him finish. I felt bad about that, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I still feel bad about it, but somehow, when I said it, a weight was lifted off my shoulders..."

I was still staring dumbly at her, surprised at her confession.

"I'm sorry Conan-kun. You probably don't understand a word I'm saying."

That's when I realized that she did the right thing. To shed me from her past was the right thing to do. Because now, she doesn't have to wait for Shinichi Kudo to come back, and that's a good thing, because he'll never come back.

I smiled and stared at Ran's eyes. "Ran-neechan, I understand. You did the right thing."

She seemed surprised but then she smiled, as if she realized that the words were coming from Shinichi himself. "If you say so, Conan-kun. Arigatou."

"Ran-neechan, can you put me down now?" I asked, struggling from her hug.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry Conan-kun."

As she put me down, I met Haibara's gaze. We stared at each other for a while and then she flashed that smirk of hers. Heat rushed to my cheeks and I avoided her gaze. "Let's go, Haibara."

"If you say so, Conan-kun" she said, perfectly mimicking Ran's accent.

~~~~CHAPTER 3: IF YOU SAY SO, CONAN-KUN end~~~~

Chapter 3's up. Sigh… I actually finished this the same day as chapter 2. I just wasn't sure if it was good enough… haha…

Anyway, happy reading everyone. Review please. I'm begging you! I'm running out of inspiration here...

More power to Conan x Ai!