Prompt: "Why won't it stop?" and human shield

Rating: M (Just to be safe)

Trigger warnings: Character death, blood, guns, mentions of a bomb

"Hey, Conan," Ran asked as they walked through the shopping mall. "What would you like for your birthday next month? Since you're turning eight, should we throw a party with your friends and classmates? We could make it Kamen Yaiba or Sherlock Holmes themed."

Conan didn't think that the parents of his elementary school classmates would appreciate a murder themed birthday party very much, but Conan would also not be able to enjoy himself at a typical kid's party either.

"It's okay Ran-neechan. I'd rather just go out to dinner with you and Kogoro-ojisan," Conan told her. "Besides, I've never really celebrated my birthday before."

Ran chuckled. "I guess that's something you and Shinichi have in common. He always forgets his birthday until I remind him. Well then, how about dinner and cake? Where do you want to eat? And what flavor should I make the cake?"

Conan thought for a moment. He didn't want to say anything expensive; he knew they didn't have the money, but he also knew that if he said something too cheap, or without alcohol, Kogoro would refuse. "I want chocolate cake! And I want to go to that new family restaurant near the agency."

Ran thought for a moment. "That would be a pretty good place for dinner, and Dad's been wanting to do their "Saturday Half Price Sake" for a while. Okay then, that's what we'll do! And I'll make the best chocolate cake in the world, just for you."

Conan cheered. He didn't even have to force it; he was genuinely happy about the chocolate cake. It may not be his favorite desert, but it was his favorite cake flavor."

The happy mood soon ended when the pair heard a scream ring through the store. A gunshot rang out and Conan was off, running towards the sound, yelling for Ran to call the police. When Conan got to the source of the sound he saw two men, both holding guns and wearing black ski masks over their faces, and their victim a young man who was now very dead, and his girlfriend crying over him. Conan assumed that she had been the one who screamed.

One of the two men yelled for everyone in the store to come to the check-out counter, or he'd starting shooting at random, and he'd aim to kill. Conan obeyed, walking next to the crying woman and putting his hands around her in a hug. The distraught woman reacted by flinching and then hugging him back. She likely thought he was a terrified child trying to get comfort from whoever was nearest.

Conan kept his hug going until Ran showed up, from the look in her eyes Conan knew that help was on the way. When he looked up at the woman who was still shaking, she gave him a small smile and whispered that everything would be okay and released him from the hug. Conan nodded and went to stand with Ran who immediately took his hand and squeezed it tight.

The message was clear. "Stay here with me. Don't do anything crazy." Not that he'd been planning on doing anything regardless. He didn't have his usual gadgets as they were with the professor for an upgrade. The only thing he still had on him were his glasses, badge, and bowtie, and those wouldn't be much help in the current situation.

So instead, he would stay still, and do as the shooters asked, because he was not going to do anything that might cost someone their life. He'd learned that lesson already. Conan squeezed back on Ran's hand, letting her know that it was okay, he wouldn't do anything, and he'd stay with her.

Or at least that was the plan. And unfortunately for Conan, the universe had a way of forcing him to throw his plans out of the window.

Today was no different. One of the shooters yelled for everyone to put their phones into his bag. He shoved a duffel bag into their faces and made everyone put in their phones, threatening to kill anyone who refused at first. Conan was glad that he'd left his "Shinichi" phone charging at the apartment now. And since no one except Ran knew about what his badge could do, Conan wouldn't have to worry about it being taken away.

When every phone had gone into the bag the shooter grabbed a bag of zip ties and started binding everyone's hands together behind their backs and gagging them with duct tape.

The other shooter pointed at Conan and told him to go over to them.

"Why? He's just a kid, leave him alone!" Ran said, blocking them from Conan with her body like a human shield. The shooter said nothing and smashed his gun into the side of Ran's head, knocking her to the ground.

"Get over here, brat," he snarled. "I won't say it again. Refuse and I'll put a round through your pretty Neechan's head."

Conan would not let Ran get hurt. He may not know what they were after, but he knew that they weren't to be taken lightly. They'd already killed one person who's to say they wouldn't kill another.

The shooter grabbed his hand and dragged him to the check-out counter where there sat a corded phone.

He picked the phone up and placed it in Conan's hands, after making sure to bind them together with a zip tie of course, the tone from it being off the receiver blaring in his ears. "You're gonna make a phone call for us, you're gonna say exactly what I tell you, or I'm gonna shoot your Neechan first, and then every other person here one by one until I get to you, understand? So, no funny business," the shooter pointed his gun at each person in turn, finishing with the muzzle pressed to Conan's forehead.

Conan nodded. He could do that. If it wouldn't get anyone killed, he could do it.

The shooter smiled and pressed the numbers he wanted. Conan recognized them as Megure's personal phone number. Then the man stepped back and pulled out his own phone, which he meant to be used as Conan's script.

Megure answered the phone. "Hello? Who is this? I'm busy, so if this isn't..."

"Megure-keibu..." Conan started reading.

"Conan-kun? Why did you call me from this number? I thought you were with Ran at the mall..." Megure seemed to understand. "All right Conan-kun. What are their demands?"

Conan sucked in a breath. He didn't want to read the next part. He knew it was going to cost lives whether he stayed silent or read it aloud. It was down to whether he was willing to trade lives.

His, Ran's, and everyone else in the store's lives.

Or the lives of the officers of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

He couldn't do it. Tears started streaming down his face. He couldn't risk Ran's life.

'I'm so sorry,' he thought as he read the words on the screen. "They want you to start a live stream, they don't care on what platform just make sure it's public. Then each officer is to shoot themselves in the head on the livestream. For every officer that fails or doesn't show, one hostage will die. And if they run out of hostages, they'll blow the whole mall sky high."

The shooters, no the terrorists, were smiling wide. Conan may not have been able to see their mouths, but he knew. He could see it in their eyes, how they absolutely relished in the thought of the police killing themselves to save the hostages or failing and feeling the weight of those deaths on their conscience forever.

Conan continued reading. "You have two hours to set up the stream. Otherwise, the hostages will start dropping in number."

He heard the clatter of the phone as it slipped from Megure's hand. He knew they wouldn't be able to do it. After all, he hadn't been able to either. He'd chosen Ran over the police. If they made it out of this, he'd probably never be able to forgive himself.

One of the shooters reached over and hung up the phone. Then they duct taped Conan's mouth and threw him into the group of hostages so that he landed on Ran. He glared at them for a moment but couldn't reasonably do more than that.

Now it was a waiting game. Would the police follow through? Probably not. He knew that well enough. They couldn't risk the lives of everyone in Tokyo for the people in the mall. He knew that, and he was relatively okay with it. Or at least, he would have been if not for Ran. He wished so badly that Ran were anywhere else. That she was home, clueless about what was happening, but safe.

But Conan rarely got his wishes answered, and he doubted the universe would start now.

The minutes ticked by, marked by the sound of the clock above the employee's only door. One of the shooters got annoyed by it and shot it.

The ticking stopped. Now the minutes passed in relative silence.

Conan wondered if there was way to get out of this. If the men were out of picture and it was just a bomb, he could disarm it. If he had his regular gadgets, he could use them to knock out the two terrorists and get everyone else out to safety.

But he didn't have them, and the men were there.

Two hours passed and the phone rang.

The same shooter as before grabbed Conan and harshly ripped the tape off his face, causing Conan to cry out. Again, the ringing phone was placed in his hands and a script was produced from the phone.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Conan." It was Megure.

"Have you done as they asked?" Conan was mad at himself for half hoping he would say the live stream was set up.

Megure sounded close to tears as he said, "You know we can't do that Conan. I'm sorry." Conan knew. He'd been expecting it. He continued reading regardless.

"Then listen to me die."

He heard the gunshot. He heard the muffled screams. He saw the dark red that flooded his vision, coating his eyes.

He also saw Ran jumping in the way of the bullet that had been aimed at his head. He saw it hit her in the chest and didn't come out the other side.

He heard his screams as he called her name.

"Ran!"

He tried to catch her, but his hands were bound, and his body was that of a child's. He had no chance. She fell to the ground and a steady pool of red liquid spread out under her. His hands pressed on the blood that poured from her chest. His small hands which couldn't hold it all in no matter how hard he tried. The blood didn't stop.

Why?

Why was this happening?

Why was it Ran?

"Why won't it stop?!" Conan screamed as he knew she was slipping away from him.

He noticed as the other hostages seemed to gather their courage as they watched a seven-year-old boy try desperately to save his foster sister, and despite the danger, they ran headfirst at the two terrorists and knocked them down, and the guns away from them. They used whatever they could to free each other's hands, and then bound the terrorists. One managed to find the remote for the bomb and dismantle it. A US marine.

Conan ignored all of this. Ran was slipping away beneath his hands and there was nothing he could do.

Someone walked up and cut the zip tie on his hands. Without missing a beat Conan ripped his shirt off and pressed it into Ran's wound, hard. The person next to him checked Ran's pulse and breathing and started CPR. Conan looked up to see it was the woman from earlier, who's boyfriend had been killed.

He turned his eyes back to Ran.

Her face was pale, and her lips were starting to turn blue. They were losing her. Conan cried, begged for her to come back.

"Don't leave me!" he screamed. "Don't go Ran!"

The police arrived. They began yelling orders while the paramedics showed up. One group headed straight for them and took over, telling Conan and the woman that they had done well, and they'd take from here.

Conan screamed again, he didn't want to be taken away from Ran, didn't want to lose her. He hadn't even gotten to tell her who he was yet. He had so much that he still wanted to do with her, and that couldn't happen if she died here.

The woman who'd been helping him grabbed him into a hug and shoved his head into her neck, rubbing circles into his back and murmuring comforting words.

Had he actually been a child it might have helped, but he wasn't, he was a seventeen-year-old high school detective. He'd seen the worst the world had to offer and survived it. He had laughed in the face of his own death and beaten the grim reaper.

But he couldn't do the same for Ran. And that broke him.

He cried so hard that eventually he passed out.

When he woke up, he learned that Ran hadn't. She'd traded her life for his, and he'd never forgive himself.