The Journal of Conan Edogawa
I do not own Detective Conan!
Chapter 9: Afraid
"What do you think?" Ran asked as she twirled around. Shinichi blushed. He decided to take Ran shopping and even offered to pay for everything. Right now, Ran was trying on a light pink sundress.
"It looks great." Shinichi replied before looking at his watch. "It's almost lunchtime. Want to go get something to eat?" Ran nodded and went back into the changing room. A few minutes later, she came out wearing the clothes that she had come in, smiling.
Suddenly, there was a scream from the changing rooms. Shinichi instinctively ran towards the scream and saw one of the store employees against the wall with a look of terror on her face. He followed her gaze and saw a woman on the ground of the small changing area. There was blood everywhere. Shinichi felt the woman for a pulse. "Call the police," he ordered the shocked employee. There was already a crowd forming around them. "And make sure that nobody leaves!"
Ran watched Shinichi. "I should have expected this! Shinichi is always attracted trouble!" It was as if some unseen force was trying to ruin their time together!
The police arrived in a few minutes. Inspector Megure turned to the employee. "You were the one who discovered the body, correct?" The employee nodded.
"Yes. I noticed that the curtain was open a little so I was checking to see if there was anybody in there." The woman took a breath to calm herself as she pointed at Shinichi. "That boy is the one who told me to call the police." Megure followed the woman's pointed finger and almost jumped when he noticed Shinichi.
"Shinichi!?" He clapped the teenager on his back. "With you here, this case will be solved in no time!" Shinichi laughed nervously.
Time Skip
The police led a man in handcuffs out of the store. Apparently, the victim was his lover and she was threatening to tell his girlfriend everything if he didn't pay her a certain amount money every month.
"Inspector, I trust that you will keep my involvement in this case quiet?" Shinichi asked Megure.
"Yeah, I know. Why are you so secretive, anyway? You used to love all of the glory!"
"I can't really answer that right now. I have to go now." Shinichi turned back to Ran, who had been waiting patiently. It was already 1 o'clock. "It's too late for lunch now. How about we go to the park?"
Ran nodded. "You have to buy me ice cream when we get there!" She said stubbornly.
"Why should I have to do that!? I didn't do anything wrong!"
Ran ignored him and they left the mall to go to a nearby park. As they walked, Shinichi felt a familiar heart-wrenching pain. "I still have three hours left!" He thought. He hid his pain with a smile. He couldn't afford to leave Ran right now. He was too afraid of losing her.
Ran led him to an ice cream stand. Even though Shinichi said that he wouldn't, he ended up buying both of them ice cream. He sat down on a bench, already drenched with sweat. He tried to keep his breathing controlled so that he wouldn't worry Ran.
"Are you okay? You don't look so good." Ran put a hand on his forehead. "You're burning up!"
"It's okay, Ran." Shinichi managed out, giving his childhood friend a small reassuring smile.
"It's not okay! What's wrong with you!?" Ran thought before remembering that Shinichi had always seemed sick right before he always disappeared again. Before Conan would come to take his place. "Is he going to turn back!?" Ran felt like she wanted to cry. She was afraid for Shinichi. Afraid for when he would be gone again. But most of all, she was afraid that Shinichi might not be able to come back as he was. As much as she loved Conan being in her life, she wanted Shinichi to be there even more.
Another jolt of pain went through Shinichi's body. He knew that he would go back to being Conan any moment now. He turned to Ran. "I'm sorry, Ran. I think that I should go now. I'll call you later." He ran off, unable to look Ran in the face. He found one of the park's public restrooms and saw that it was obviously hardly ever used. He locked himself in one of the stalls just in time.
Shinichi felt as if his bones and skin were melting. He bit his lip to keep himself quiet as his body painfully grew smaller and smaller. However, as the transformation reached the climax, he couldn't keep in the loud scream of pain. This was the part that Shinichi hated the most. Not because of the pain, but because of his voice. He could hear his voice become more high-pitched, changing from that of an adult to that of a child. It always made the situation too real.
Ran couldn't keep her tears in as she listened from right outside the bathroom. She had followed Shinichi without thinking but found that she couldn't bear to go into the bathroom. She couldn't be there to help him through this. She ran home in tears. "Is there really nothing that I can do!?"
Entry #9
Ran was already home when I got back. I could tell that she had been crying. I hate having to leave her. I feel like I'm the worst person on the planet for causing Ran so much pain. I'm developing more immunity to the antidote. They never work for as long as they're supposed to! It makes me wonder if it's even possible for me to go back for good.
When I came home, Ran hugged me. All I could do was stand there and try to comfort her as Conan. I'm afraid that I'm losing her. I'm afraid that she'll hate me forever. I wouldn't blame her if she did but I'm still scared that she will. I would have told her the truth if I wasn't afraid of her putting herself in danger for me. I would do anything to keep her as safe as possible.
I want to be there for her. I want to stop hurting her. It seems that no matter what I do, I just end up hurting her even more in the end! What am I supposed to do!? Will I ever be able to make things right?
I hope you enjoyed it! There aren't a lot of fan fictions where Ran is there when Shinichi shrinks back. I really wanted to capture how painful those moments must be for Shinichi both physically and emotionally. I'm not sure if I did a good job but I hope that you liked it! Please leave a review if you have any ideas for future chapters!