File Eleven: To Say Goodbye

"So," the child said, after a full minute of silence. "Will you finally tell me what you two are doing here?"

It was roughly one day after Hirota Masami's tragic death that Conan sat on the couch of his old house, arms crossed in front of his chest as he gave his parents a rather dark glare that, far from intimidating, only made them laugh awkwardly, yet amused at his evident anger.

"Why, Co-chan." Out of the two, it was his mother who answered first. "We wanted to see you-"

"You mean kidnap."

"Well, when you put it like that..." She faltered when her younger child's eyebrow twitched. "Calm down, Co-chan, you don't have to be so angry-"

"Oh, forgive me." His tone was dangerously low. "It's not like you basically pointed a gun, threatened to stab, drugged, kidnapped, pointed a gun again at your own son in the span of a single day. So excuse me if I am a little angry at the recent chain of events."

"In our defense," Yusaku added. "The gun was fake, like you pointed out before."

"Still-!" Realizing he had raised his voice a little more than intended, Conan drew back, averting his gaze before finishing with a soft mutter. "It was… scary."

That quietened his parents down, and made their smiles vanish from their faces, but the boy didn't look up from his hands, which rested on top of his knees, curling around the fabric of his pants. Had he done so, he would have seen them both exchanging looks then turning back to him. He would have noticed his father's apologetic look, or his mother rising from her seat to approach him.

She sat right beside him. "I'm sorry." This time, Conan looked up, if only to blink confusingly at the genuine sorrow audible in her voice. "I made you remember something terrible, didn't I?"

Conan was about to deny it, but soon realized it would be fruitless considering they both knew about it, so he just nodded silently. Seeing this, Yukiko smiled sadly, hand resting on top of his, squeezing gently. His father, like her, sat on his other side, lovingly stroking his head.

The boy remained quiet for a while, eyes still fixated on his feet. Eventually, they narrowed slightly, as if troubled by something, which his parents didn't ask about.

Until he muttered, as if not wanting to interrupt the silence but being unable to help himself. "Mom, Dad..." Yukiko noted the way the little hand beneath hers clenched a bit. "What exactly… happened three years ago?"

Unsurprisingly, both of his parents froze completely at the question, clearly hesitating about how they were supposed to go about this. The child was hardly surprised ─ it had been a touchy subject ever since it had happened, so nobody particularly enjoyed talking about it.

His father eyed his son for a while, "How much do you remember?" and asked, with utmost caution.

"Not much," he admitted. "I was four and kidnapped by my kindergarten teacher. Woke up in a hospital bed about a week later, with little-to-no recollection of what had happened to me."

His mother smiled, yet it was so obviously forced that Conan could not bring himself to believe it. "And that's all there's to it." As she tenderly brushed his bangs away from his eyes, the boy couldn't help but notice how saddened she appeared to be right now. "That criminal committed suicide inside prison. He won't harm you anymore, Co-chan."

"But I feel like there's more to it!" the child protested. "There's something else… And I can't remember it."

"It will be best not to push it," his father said, with an earnest expression. "If your mind decided to forget something, there's probably a good reason behind it." Again, Conan looked away, frowning all the way. "You'll be better off not remembering, whatever that is."

He groaned a little, even knowing his father was probably right, whether he liked it or not. Yet, with a curious, unrelenting mind like his, he figured it would be extremely hard to keep himself from wondering and wondering until he finally grasped the truth.

But guessed that it might be for the best to try to let it go.

"We're sorry we scared you yesterday," his father continued after a long pause. "But we were trying to show you how dangerous your situation is."

"We came back to Japan for a visit, but couldn't find either you or your brother at home," Yukiko explained. "The Professor told us about Shin-chan's disappearance and that you're playing detective with such a scary organization."

"I'm not playing-"

"What we meant to say is..." Yusaku interrupted. "We want you to come back home with us."

Conan stared at his father, not quite understanding what he meant. "What do you-?"

"We're taking you back to America."

The words had been long said by the moment they actually sank into his mind. "Oh," was all he muttered, far too shocked to have a more dramatic reaction. In fact, he didn't know how he was supposed to react to the news.

After everything I have been through… He bit his lip. I have to go back to America?

He just sat there, motionlessly quiet, feeling like, suddenly, he wasn't Edogawa Conan anymore, the overly intelligent, courageous little boy who was growing to become a brilliant detective one day. Without that, all that remained was plain, sad, lost, little Kudo Conan who simply had no idea of what he was supposed to do ─ or what he wanted, for that matter.

Not that it actually mattered since these people were, in fact, his parents ─ even if their parenting methods were questionable, at best. They had the last word on his life choices, not him.

Conan wasn't entirely sure of how he felt about that.

"Just give me a day," he muttered, gaze still fixed on the floor. "There are… a few things I want to do before I leave."

Yusaku nodded at him. "Take your time."

Soon after that, the boy wasn't there anymore, but silently making his way away from the Kudo residence ─ he hadn't bothered to grace his parents with a word after what they had said ─ finally heading back home ─ no, the detective agency, he reminded himself. That was not, by any means, his home.

What was I thinking, anyway? Barging into Ran-neechan's home and calling it my own, when I already have one… Besides, he thought, it was only natural that, without his brother around, he would have to head back to his home in America with them.

Then, that being the case…

Little hands clutched the straps of his schoolbag.

Conan couldn't understand the reason his heart throbbed so badly.

A sneeze forcefully brought him out of his internal musings. This is the worst day ever, he decided, grumbling to himself. Not only did he feel emotionally drained, for both the news of his upcoming departure and witnessing Hirota Masami's death with his own very two eyes, but, physically speaking, he didn't feel all that fine and dandy, so to speak.

Ever since that morning, Conan had been fighting what seemed to be the beginning of a terrible cold, which had not come as that much of a surprise ─ just yesterday, he had been running around in the snow for an entire day ─ but it didn't mean he was any pleased with the development of the events.

So, when his phone buzzed in his pocket, the boy didn't even bother to glance at it before answering.

"Hey-"

An exhausted sigh escaped him, recognizing the voice that greeted him as none other than his missing detective brother.

"If this is about that case that Ran-neechan must have told you about already, I'm not in the mood for a scolding right now," he grumbled before the other could get out another word. "I'm hanging up."

"Wait, wait! I'm not going to. Honestly." Shinichi hurriedly said. When he was met with silence instead of the usual click of an abruptly finished call, the teen detective sighed in relief. "I haven't spoken with Ran yet. I saw you in the newspaper this morning."

Conan remembered that photo with a grimace ─ him, standing in front of Masami's body with a crestfallen, yet blank gaze that wouldn't tear away from his hands. Ran was also there, holding him tightly against her chest from behind. To say he wasn't all that happy with whoever was the reporter, who thought it was a good idea to publish a photograph of a clearly distraught young child, was an understatement.

The same could be said for Ran, even more so. She had wanted to personally hunt and karate-chop the reporter as soon as her eyes had fallen on the article. She would have most likely succeeded, too, hadn't Conan stopped her the moment she began to stomp to the door.

"What about it?" the boy snapped quietly, rubbing his nose. "Why did you call?"

"I wanted to ask you something…"

Conan grew impatient. "What?"

"Are you okay, Conan?"

The boy paused, not entirely sure of how to answer that question. If he was being honest, he had definitely seen better days, but did he really want him to know that? Well, not really. The answer was simple to him, but the words wouldn't come out as easily.

Before he could say anything, however, he suddenly sneezed, loudly, badly startling his brother.

"Did you catch a cold?"

"Take a guess."

For a second, Conan wondered if, maybe, he wasn't being a little too rude to his openly concerned older brother, but immediately shrugged it off because he was having an awful day, so yes, he had the right to be especially rude today.

Shinichi seemed to remain completely unaffected by his attitude, though. "You better stay warm and rest for today." Conan rolled his eyes as he heard him slipping into mother-hen mode ─ it has been a while, huh? "And no weird cases, you hear me?"

"There isn't much I can do about it." The boy shrugged. "Your corpse magnetism seems to have been rubbing off on me lately. Do you think it's contagious?"

"Conan," he said, firmly. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Yeah, yeah." The boy waved it off. "Why are you so worried, anyway? It's just a cold."

"Yes, but your cold is never just a cold," Shinichi replied easily. "You don't just fall ill, Conan, you crash. It happens every single time without fail."

"I'm really hanging up now."

"Wait!"

"What now?"

"Just remember, if you need me, just give me a call. I will be there, I promise."

Had Shinichi actually been there, he would have noticed his little brother's eyebrow raising. "You know," Conan began, hesitantly. "I don't really have your number, so…"

To his further confusion, he heard Shinichi chuckle. "Take a look."

"Wha-?" Doing as he was told, Conan was beyond shocked to find an actual number on the display. "Oh."

"Just call me if you need anything, okay?"

For a second, the boy silently gazed at his screen, until he ultimately scoffed.

"I don't need your help."

Rather than allowing him an answer, the boy promptly hung up, and went to give the alien number on his screen one last glimpse, before shaking his head as he registered it. By the time he had finished, he had already reached his destination, and was slowly making his way up the stairs.

When his little hand effortlessly rested on the doorknob and turned it, a nostalgic smile creeped up on his face.

Conan could still remember the day after Shinichi's disappearance, the first time he had to walk alone from school to Ran's house instead of his own. He had felt so embarrassed, and equally frustrated, when he realized he was too short to reach for the doorknob. At that time, Conan remembered, he had to stand on the tip of his feet, stretching himself as far as possible just to open it.

It wasn't that much of a struggle anymore ─ he hadn't realized the change until now.

Seems like I have grown a little. With that thought, he opened the door. Just in time, however, a sneeze left him disorientated enough to stumble forward instead of gracefully walking inside.

"Conan-kun!" Naturally, Ran was immediately in front of him, a handkerchief ready in her hands.

She raised her hand to wipe his nose. "R-Ran-neechan," stuttered the child, flustered at the treatment. "It's okay, I can-"

"Just stay still."

With that, the boy was forced to allow the girl to fuss all over him, rubbing the piece of cloth against his sore nose. So much for 'growing up'. Conan grimaced.

"Shinichi was right. You really are sick," she said, worried. "You should have told me. I could have called in sick for you."

"Kudo was right, you say?" It was only then that Conan spotted the dark-skinned stranger standing in the corner of the room, arms crossed over his chest and a baseball hat atop his head, even if he was indoors.

The fact that he had not noticed him there until he spoke was a little unsettling, but Conan attributed him to the fever he was definitely sporting.

"Did you talk to him recently?"

This guy was not from here, that much Conan could tell, judging by the strong kansai accent in his voice. Whatever he was doing there escaped him completely, yet Conan realized he did not exactly mind, as he gathered Ran's attention to himself and away from the child.

"Shinichi called just a minute ago," she explained. Conan noticed a slight tint of annoyance in her tone. "He must have known about Conan-kun because they usually speak through the phone."

The teenager remained pensive for a solid second. "I guess the rumor is true," he finally said. "You are Kudo's girl."

"G-Girl?!" Ran sputtered, her face bright red as a tomato.

"Well, yes, it is true."

"Conan-kun!"

Usually, he would have grinned sheepishly back at her as he usually did when he teased her and his older brother, but as he was now, he did not feel up to it. All he did was move to the couch, all but collapsing on it ─ goodness, it really felt like an awful cold incoming.

Maybe Oniichan wasn't overreacting, he thought, allowing his head to fall back into the couch, massaging his temple to soothe the headache that had started to crawl up into his skull. It feels like it's going to be kind of bad…

Feeling a stare falling onto him, Conan forced his body up, sitting a little straighter. With the two teenagers talking amongst each other in front of him, there was no doubt who it belonged to. I must look like hell, if even Occhan is concerned, he thought, mentally sighing.

At this point, the kid considered calling it a day and retreating to Kogoro's room, leaving those two to deal with this person. Assuming nothing out of the ordinary happened, he would get up later to… do some stuff before he was forced to leave.

For all that, he needed to be in optimal condition.

"By the way, oniisan…" But curiosity obviously won out. The guy turned to him, showing he was listening, so he finally asked, "Who are you?"

"Oh, right. I haven't introduced myself yet." With a cocky smile, the teen turned his hat over ─ an action that Conan considered highly unnecessary, but guessed he would allow. "My name is Hattori Heiji. I'm a high school detective, like Kudo."

Both Ran and Kogoro were shocked beyond belief. Conan felt his interest dimming drastically.

"Now that you mention it," Kogoro commented, after a while. "I've heard about you before. They said that there was this great detective in Kansai."

"Yeah, they always say that western Japan has Hattori and eastern Japan has Kudo," the high school detective replied. "I was always compared to him."

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure Oniichan has absolutely no idea who this guy is.

As Hattori continued to talk with a smirk stretched all over his face, Conan could not help but feel a little bad for him. This guy was obsessed over the thought of competing with his older brother, to prove he was 'obviously' the better detective… And Shinichi did not even know about his existence.

He either has been compared with him for so long that he has developed such a strong inferiority complex he cannot move forward until proves himself and everyone else he's better. Conan hopped off the couch, deciding enough was enough. That, or he's just a mystery-obsessed freak that genuinely wants to compete against a brilliant detective.

Oh, I wonder who that reminds me of…

His line of thought was interrupted by another sneeze ─ this had to be the eleventh time this hour, Conan estimated. I hate this, he decided, wiping his nose, which, obviously, was beginning to ache.

"Hey, kid," Hattori suddenly said. "If it's a cold you got, then I've got the perfect medicine."

Conan tried not to look too hopeful when the teen reached for a bottle inside his bag and poured some of its contents on a glass. Eager for relief, the kid hurried to accept it.

But instead of drinking it right away, the boy gave a long, analytical look at the transparent liquid he held between his two hands. Leaning forward, he sniffed it.

While the sight amused Ran, it did not surprise her, as she knew the little boy had been raised around detectives and, Ran was certain, he secretly hoped to become one himself one day. Therefore, it would have been weird if he did not, at the very least, give this strange medicine a curious gaze.

What confused her, however, was the weird grimace on his face. "Hattori-san?" he called. "This smells like alcohol…"

Ran was stunned at the revelation. Smells like… what?!

"You have a good nose, kid." Hattori grinned, unaware of the girl's gaze shifting from the little boy to himself. "It's a Chinese alcohol called Paikaru. I figured I'd probably cause trouble until Kudo got here, so this is a gift for you-"

He halted, however, when a hand suddenly plucked the glass from the little child's fingers. "Why would you give alcohol to a kid?!" Unconsciously, Hattori took a step back. "He's only seven!"

Conan would have been lying if he hadn't retreated out of fear himself.

"I-It's fine-"

"It is not." Ran raised the glass over her head, taking a step forward, and for a moment Conan worried she would throw it at him. "Besides, why are you still here?! I already told you Shinichi's not here!"

A knock on the door saved the detective from such a fate or similar. All gazes instantly fell at the doorway, where a woman stood, wearing a long brown coat and sunglasses.

Even though Conan had never seen this woman before in his life, he could tell he would not like her. Especially when the first thing she did was glare at all of them, complaining about them taking too long to even notice she was there.

Apologizing for it, Kogoro quickly welcomed inside, and Ran left to make some tea.

Conan watched her go, disappearing inside the kitchen, and stole a look at the client sitting in front of Kogoro. Sure, he was curious about what her request was, but he decided against it.

His little head poked from the kitchen's doorway, eyes silently following the girl inside as she moved around. I have to tell her. Fingers clutched the doorframe. That I'm leaving for America tomorrow.

I need to thank her for everything she has done for me… I need to properly say goodbye… I-

"Conan-kun?" Startled, he flinched back. The girl was blinking at him, confused. "Is something wrong?"

A lot was wrong, actually, but Conan could not force himself to say it out loud. Pressing his lips together, he stared at her, watching her head tilt as if trying to tell what was going on in his mind just by looking ─ and, being honest, he wouldn't be surprised if she could.

Knowing it was time, he opened his mouth, ready to tell her he was leaving tomorrow, that he did not know if he was seeing her ever again.

But the knot in his throat did not allow it.

A pleasantly cold hand resting on his forehead brought him back to reality.

She hummed, concern dancing behind her gaze. "You're a little warm," she stated, with a soft, but gentle, tone. "And a bit too pale for my liking…"

He could not bear looking at her any longer ─ he averted her gaze.

"Why don't you go lie down for now?" she suggested.

"I'm okay, really. I just have a bit of a cold." He tried to wash her worries away with a timid smile, but Ran could see pain behind those blue orbs. If it was physical or emotional pain, however, she couldn't tell. "I wanted to ask you if you needed help with anything."

Ran gave the boy a hesitant look, yet, eventually, she seemed to give up. "I'm almost finished here," she said, her smile back in place, standing back up. "Now that I think of it, Shinichi once told me you're a truly skilled chef for your age."

Conan rolled his eyes. "Not that it's hard to, when you live with someone like him." He could not help the snort from escaping him, however. "Did you know? Last time I was sick, he tried to make me some congee and added lots of salt. Somehow, he believed you could cancel it out by adding three big spoons full of sugar."

The girl burst out laughing. "That's so like him!"

Conan could full-heartedly agree with that. He giggled a little at the memory ─ even though he swore he had almost died from food poisoning back then.

"Say, do you want to help me with dinner tonight?" she asked. "I could use some help."

He did not hesitate and nodded at him, smiling brightly as he nodded, before following the girl making her way back to the office, carrying a tray with the teacups. Once she settled them on the coffee table, Conan finally decided to focus on the woman, hoping that he hadn't missed much on the case.

Apparently he hadn't. All this client ─ Tsujimura Kimie, apparently ─ wanted was Kogoro to make a background check on her son's soon-to-be wife. Conan did not know this young lady, but if this woman was to be her mother-in-law, he certainly felt pity for her.

She stood up immediately after finishing her story, but not her tea. "I'll go into more detail after we get to my home and talk with my husband."

"Uh… We're going there now-" The unfriendly glare the woman shot Kogoro answered his question. "If that's the case, you should've come here with your husband in the first place!"

"Like I said before, my husband is a diplomat. If people found out he came to a place like this-"

"-it'd be a scandal," Hattori completed, then said with a confident smile, "Alright, I'll join you guys."

"What?" Kogoro gasped.

"Instead of that old man there going alone, doesn't it look less suspicious if he brings his 'family'?" the teenage detective explained, then turned to Ran. "Why don't you come along?"

Ran did not understand it right away. "Why me?"

"More the merrier, right? And there's a chance that Kudo might show himself."

Her reaction was almost instant ─ her eyes had widened, just at the mere mention of his name, and for a moment there, Conan saw something akin to longing glimmering on them, and could not help but blame his brother for all this.

Ran-neechan doesn't deserve this.

His fists clenched at his sides. "He's not," he said, sounding so secure that took Hattori by surprise. "Shinichi-niichan is probably solving a tough case somewhere far away from here."

Hattori raised an eyebrow, likely wanting to ask him how he was so sure about it, when Ran beat him to him. "I want to go." It seriously startled the little boy beside her. "If there is a chance that Shinichi might be there, as slim as it is, I want to be there." Her fists raised, and a wilder glint took over her whole expression. "To teach him a lesson or two."

Conan sweatdropped. This entire thing might be his brother's fault, but being at the receiving end of Ran's fury was something he did not wish for anyone.

He shook it off right away, "Then, I want to go, too," and declared.

"But Conan-kun, your cold..."

"Ran-neechan, please!"

Now, the boy wasn't sure what made her yield ─ if it was the desperate look in his eyes that pleaded her to let him come along, which she attributed to the desire to meet his brother again, after months of not seeing him. In reality, however, the child just did not want to spend his last day in Beika resting in bed ─ whichever was the case, Conan ended up joining the group, even if he had to ignore the deep tickle crawling in the back of his throat.

Katsuragi Yukiko looked like the sweetest person ever.

Sure, Conan knew it was not wise to judge a book by its cover, and that there certainly could be a monster lurking behind her innocent smile, but that did not mean he could see a single reason this woman would need a background check on her.

"Why are you here?" Or the sudden animosity she displayed just at the sight of her.

"I called her." A young man, who Conan assumed to be the client's son, appeared from behind, passing his arm over his fiance's shoulder. "Dad won't meet her, so I'm making him meet her… But he hasn't left the study yet."

Despite the lousy treatment she was receiving, Yukiko still tried to be friendly. "Mother, are they friends of yours?" she asked, her smile still in place.

"It's none of your business!" Yukiko flinched, not expecting such a reaction. "And I don't remember giving you the right to call me 'mother'!"

"I-I'm sorry."

Followed by that, Kimie cast a look at the group behind her. "Please follow me."

Conan gave the upset young lady a last look, before turning back to the client, eyebrow raised. What's her problem? he thought, rushing to climb up the stairs and follow the rest. Honestly, he wasn't sure if the most condemnable action was of the client treating the poor girl like this, or her husband who, besides looking pissed, said no word in defense of his fiance.

Eventually, however, his annoyance dimmed, taking another good look at Kimie, then at her son's fiance downstairs. Those two actually look a little alike, don't they?

Suddenly, however, he noticed Kimie had stopped. "Oh, Father," she said, sounding surprised and looking at the older man standing on top of the stairs. "You came today?"

"What are you talking about?" he said, pretending to be irritated, but unable to hide his grin away from sight. "I came to talk about my fishing stories!"

"Oh, you're right." Kimie barely batted an eye at that, however. "I'll be with you in a minute. Please wait in the tatami room."

The man did not protest and just lowered his head, marching towards the tatami room as requested in an almost dejected fashion. Conan, having witnessed it all, could not help but frown profusely.

Okay, is there a reason for this woman to be so rude with every single member of her family-?

He stopped his line of thought right in the middle, realizing he hadn't been exactly nice to his brother this morning, or his parents for that matter ─ though he felt that with them was somewhat justifiable ─ he wasn't exactly the one to talk. So, he settled with a shrug, and continued on with his own business.

"Dear, they're here." Kimie knocked on the door to her husband's office, yet got no answer. "Dear?"

The woman found it strange, but thought little of it. She plucked the keys from her purse and unlocked the door so that they could enter.

"You're here after all!"

And true to his words, the diplomat sat at his desk, slumped behind a pile of books, presumably asleep. He did not move, even as his wife called for him.

But what was really impressive was that he did not seem to mind the loud opera music that boomed in the room. Too loud… The kid complained, holding his head and hissing ─ it had made his headache ten times worse than before, if that was possible.

But when his wife tried to shake him away, to no avail, Conan felt it was more disturbing than anything else.

"Dear-"

She halted.

That was because the diplomat had just dropped to the ground. Conan took a step back out of surprise, watching as the woman worriedly tried to shake him awake.

"It's no use." Hattori's fingers pressed against the man's neck, confirming what the child already knew. "He's already dead."

With that, Conan decided he had been right all along ─ and that he absolutely hated it. Shinichi's death magnetism was definitely rubbing off on him.

A/N:

Published: 04-01-2020

Last edited: 02-18-2022

Based on the Diplomat Murder Case.