Dedicated to the little sis who has been asking me for one of these and who needs to know that I appreciate a constructive review better than a plain " Hi- " one. ;c)
- Like a Gun. -
- o -
There was the shout, the words were mingled, but the feeling of dread in them came through loud and clear.
She could feel the fear in the voice… And then she realized that it was her voice that sounded so terrified.
And she noticed that she was running… But she didn't know how or why. She just was.
And then there was a bang. A feeling of pain and her world went blank.
She woke up.
- o -
- Chapter One: The empty Box. -
- i -
Picking his way slowly through the drawers and boxes of paper, magazines and various other objects, the young man desperately tried to ignore the thundering rain outside. He looked at each and every item, studied it, and gently weighed it in his hand as he focused on a point only he could see, apparently reaching a decision." Green Box… " he muttered, throwing an old fashion magazine into the described container.
The publication was quickly followed by a couple of other issues, some random leaflets and scraps, a small red purse and it's matching belt, some more periodicals, and a small stuffed White Lion doll on a key ring. He had stared at the soft toy quite a while before deciding where it went. He remembered it, although he didn't remember seeing it often. He remembered being quite sarcastic about it…
He never did understand why she did certain things…
Curses. Not that train of thought again.
The rain outside was battering down seriously now. The insistent dripping of some annoying leak into a bowl underneath it reminded him that he was going to have to empty it soon.Good, anything to stop him thinking too much about Her.
Dumping "Leo" into the green box, he headed to the cupboard, pulled out a bigger bowl, went to the leak, changed recipients, and emptied the smaller bowl into the sink.There he sighed, rubbed his forehead and got back to work, still ignoring the pouring noise from outside.
This time there were quite a few items for the other box, the black one. Mainly science magazines, some news articles, a few books, including a rather complex one on advanced chemistry if he was to judge, some computer disks, a few boxes of pills, sachets of powder and bottles of chemicals… Then his hand reached out for a pile of photos.
He stopped before reaching it. Then cursed himself for being such a wimp, and picked up the pile. The top one stared up at him reproachfully, he winced. It was a copy from the article on a certain Hirota Masami's suicide. 'Suicide, my foot!' he thought.
On the photo could be seen a body, lying on the ground, as teams of policemen and ambulance doctors could be seen arriving in the background. Beside the body, was the figure of a young woman, crying as she hugged the small boy beside her. The small boy simply stared in front of him, his expression guarded, and hidden by his overly large glasses. His tiny taut fists were the only indication of his inner turmoil. He was the only one to know what had really happened. He had seen the dead woman die, he had been the only one to hear her last words, to know of her murderers. Hirota Masami, no, Miyano Akemi rather, had been killed. And he, Edogawa Conan, had arrived only seconds after the shot.
Kudo Shinichi stared at the image, mixed emotions boiling inside him. Why was it always like that? Why was he always too late to save the victims?
He remembered his helplessness, the sadness. He remembered the tears, and his determination to see them pay.
…The tears…
"Black Box..." he muttered as he put the photo into it, passing onto the next.The rest of the photos were mainly group shots. Five small children more or less grinned up at the camera. The small boy with glasses, Conan's smile was a bit forced… The auburn haired child at his side was generally either amused or stoic. The other three seemed very childish indeed compared to those two… Although there were enough shots of the two 'not-so-childlike' children actually being childlike to even that out. These images made it into the green box. But only after a long consideration.
A voice called him from upstairs as he opened the next drawer.
" What? " he shouted back. " Oh, lunchtime? Already?"
He looked at his watch. Indeed. He closed the drawer and headed to the door of the lab. Shinichi hesitated a moment, as if there was something he was trying to figure out, before going upstairs.
-i -
When they entered the room, the patient had been staring vaguely out the window. At Doctor Asami Herschel's greeting, the girl merely nodded, before returning her gaze to the rain outside. It pained Ran to see her gaze so blankly. It was as if she was a hollow doll. No thoughts, no emotions, nothing. The three children she had brought along expressed their innocent concern long enough for her to turn her gaze away from the glass pane. The doctor checked a few things with her patient, before leaving the visitors and their friend alone. The children chattered on as the Sleeping Kogoro's daughter pasted a comforting smile onto her face. The bigger of the two boys had pulled a Get Well card from his satchel, and handed it to the cute girl with a head band beside him. Ayumi took the card and solemnly presented it to the person on the bed."Here!" she said, her sweet face showing off it's cutest smile. A bandaged hand hesitantly took the proffered piece of cardboard…
"What is it?" she asked.
"A get well soon card!" said Genta.
The -Duh- thought was visible even on her face.
"We got all the class to sign it! So did Ran, and mister Mouri, a couple of teachers and even the professor's neighbour! " Went Mitsuhiko.
Ran smiled at the thought that Shinichi had actually been able to sign the card… He hadn't been home that long in ages! The only thing that really was unsettling were the circumstances of his return.
"Oh. Thanks. " said the girl, her eyes drifting down to the card with that sad glint on them. Maybe Kamen Yaiba hadn't been a good choice after all.
"It's a pity that Conan couldn't sign it… " murmured Ayumi to no one in particular.
Ran flinched. The patient looked at Ayumi, a perplexed look on her face.
"Conan who? "
Oh, yes, that's right. Haibara Ai had lost her memory. That did explain her blank look.
Ran tried not to sob thinking that Conan was no longer there... She desperately tried not to think about Shinichi appearing out of no where, the Professor Agasa's young charge bleeding in his arms. She didn't want to remember Shinichi's face when Doctor Herschel had declared her amnesic.
"Are you all right, Ran?"
She sighed, and simply shrugged off the children's concern with a half-felt smile, while Ayumi proceeded to tell Haibara all over again of Edogawa Conan's great exploits… The one question coming back again and again: "Don't you remember, Ai?"
-i -
Lunch consisted of some sandwiches, fruit and a cold drink. The professor hadn't felt able to do more than walk to the local convenience store. He wasn't that bad a cook, but it was slightly disturbing to walk into the kitchen unit and wonder whether one's amnesic charge would remember cooking there. He sighed, looking at Shinichi Kudo's blank expression. One would think he was the one to have lost his memory, the way he simply stared out the window at the falling rain."Are you alright, Shinichi?" he asked.
"Hmm?" The teen answered distractedly. The was a sad gleam in his eyes.
"Shinichi! Is something wrong?" The professor asked louder this time.
Shinichi's face turned as Agasa's voice jerked him from where ever his thoughts had taken him.
"Wrong? Oh, no. Nothing wrong, don't worry." He smiled up at the professor. The professor had trouble remembering the last time he had seen Shinichi so unfocused. It was both unusual and out of character. Agasa was worried.
"Are you sure, Shinichi? " He asked again.
"Yes professor, I'm sure. " Shinichi sighed. " I was just thinking… "
'What about is what I'm wondering.' thought the professor. Seeing that Shinichi was obviously not in the mood to share, he decided to change subject.
"How is the sorting going? " He distractedly nibbled at his sweet potato bun. He noticed that his young friend hadn't touched his beef sandwich yet.
"Oh, fine! " He answered, a bit too cheerfully. "Only a couple of drawers left and I'm finished… What about the data?"
Shinichi was referring to the files Agasa was supposed to read through.
"Nothing yet. The passwords you gave me work, but so far it's only been trials and basis formulas. No final yet."
Agasa looked thoughtfully at Shinichi as it occurred to him that the youth might have been worrying about the antidote. Ai had finished it and made the necessary pills. Shinichi was now tall enough to prove it's efficiency, and normally she had kept a pill for herself somewhere safe...
Where was the question.
Shinichi hadn't found it anywhere, and Ai hadn't kept any surplus in the lab… So, in case it was needed, Agasa was trying to find the finished formula in Ai's files.In case it was needed…
Professor Agasa looked thoughtfully out the window.
It seemed such a reasonable idea…
Shinichi pulled his chair back.
The professor continued to stare at the falling rain.
Agasa answered absent-mindedly, before realizing what it was Shinichi had said.
" Oh! Oh… Yes, you do that… "
Shinichi was already at the top of the basement stairway when the old man called out to him.
" Hm? "
" You… Just take it easy, okay? Your arm is still damaged. " He said.
" Sure thing professor! " grinned Shinichi, flexing said arm before going down stairs.
Agasa looked out the window again, slightly annoyed to notice Shinichi's sandwich had been left untouched. He sighed, returning to his thoughts.
It was such a reasonable idea… He thought. Yet why did he feel deep down that it was somewhat wrong?
- i -
She blinked.Somehow she must have fallen asleep again some time after lunch. Must be all that medicine, she thought. She groggily sat up on her bed and mentally asked herself the questions that were now becoming routine.
Who, What, Where and Why.
-Who am I?
'I am Ai Haibara…' That was what they called her at least. She didn't know why it felt odd though.
-What am I?'
I'm a small eight year old girl…' That answer felt strange too, but she didn't believe she was a dwarf either.
-Where am I?
That question was easy. 'I am at the Beika Central Hospital.' And she'd been there, as far as she could remember, for four days already.
-Why am I here?
'I am here to be treated for some burns and injuries, as well as amnesia…' The last bit was both bothersome and annoying… And she wasn't even going to try answering that question metaphorically either.
She wasn't…
'Why am I still here…?'
She looked up, slightly startled, as the phrase treacherously slammed itself into her thoughts.She remembered hearing it before… She believed she was the one to have said it… But why?
- Thump - Thump -
" Owe… " Stupid headaches were back. She should stop thinking so hard.Rubbing her temples in an effort to alleviate the pain, she glanced towards the window. It had stopped raining. That was a relief of sorts. The rain had been niggling at her every waking moment. Something important was associated with it. At least now she could try not to think about it until her headaches passed.
The dwindling light outside suggested that it was late. She looked around to see what time it was… And saw the card. She smiled, as she looked at the garish picture of a man with a giant Y down his front. With this kind of thing, it was the thought that counted, not the appearance.
She opened it and re-read the good wishes of various strangers…
The " Detective Boys ", Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta, had visited her quite a few times, so it was easy for her to put a face to their scrawled names. Their message was friendly and obviously heartfelt.
It was harder for most of the other names. Childish scrawl after childish scrawl, and even one by the form teacher that had been written for those who hadn't quite mastered spelling yet. Their get well wishes where rather general and non specific, so she had the feeling it wasn't that bad that she couldn't remember who they were. The same applied to some other random names.
The only exceptions were as follows.
One very messy scrawl, rather carelessly phrased, was from the 'Master Detective: Mouri Kogorou', who, she had been told, was Ran's father. She felt somewhat relieved the man hadn't paid her a visit. Ran's neat scrawl and encouraging message underneath was quite contrasting. Ai liked Ran, although she always had this strange feeling when Ran was around… As if she reminded her of someone… Someone else. She tried not to think too hard about that.
Then there was Agasa's note. The kind looking old man had been quite preoccupied by her health on his visits, and she really felt bad about not remembering him. Especially since she was, apparently, staying at his place. She had the nasty suspicion this was because her parents were dead…
As intriguing as these entries were though, her attention was drawn to the last one.
Crammed in one of the seemingly last corners of space left, was a defiant and bold handwriting. The text was most confusing…
" I wish for you to be happy. Get well soon! "
It was signed Kudo Shinichi…
She had inconspicuously asked Ayumi to remind her who he, amongst others, was. She had said that he was Ran's boyfriend, and that he was an ace teenage detective. She also mentioned that it was him that had saved her from the explosion… Wherever that had been.
"I wish for you to be happy."
What a strange thing to write down in a get well card. She remembered vaguely seeing the famed detective. She had barely awakened from a drug-induced nap, some short time after she had been diagnosed with amnesia… Her head had been painful, and she had the remnants of some dreadful dream still in mind. She had glimpsed his face when doctor Herschel had been talking to him and some others, before drifting off again…His face..
'Kudo…' A voice in her mind said.
-THUMP-
" Ah! "She gripped her bandaged head with her hands, as a nauseating feeling rose in time with the migraine.
It seemed quite a while before the pain receded… Haibara Ai then sank back into the restoring depths of sleep.
- i -
- End Chapter One -
Author notes:
a) Yes, it's an amnesia fanfiction. I'm not planning on doing any research, so it probably won't be very realistic. And, knowing me, it probably won't be as fascinating as some of the other amnesia fics out there (winks at blu-chan, among others…) Hopefully it won't be too bad though!
b) For any who wonder, Asami Herschel's name was inspired by a wish to make a reference to one of Ai's fictional name sakes: V.I.Warshawski. Read the books if you want to know more. Here Asami's a rather minor original character, so I probably won't be developing her. I guess I'm just justifying her name by saying 'her dad's foreign'. There, done.
c) If I really get to the end of this, expect me to go plunny hunting for Ran-Shinichi ideas. Just for the sake of my karma… (Looks sheepishly away. Yeah, I'm not a Ran basher.)
d) The length of time between updates will be random, mainly due to when inspiration jumps at me, and when I have time.
Detective Conan and Case Closed Name Refs:
Conan is Shinichi who is also called Jimmy.
Ran is Rachel and Kogoro Mouri is just another name for Richard Moore.
The Det' Boy threesome (Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko) are known in the dub as Amy, George and Mitch.
Haibara Ai also known as Sherry, but born Miyano Shiho, has yet to be dubbed.
Thank Goodness the Professor (aka Doc') keeps his original name!