[AN] My first fic in a while and my first Detective Conan fic.
[Notes] Well just in case anyone gets lost, this fic is mostly for people who are pretty familiar with the characters and the manga series. I only read what I could of the manga, I don't have all the books yet and I haven't seen too much of the anime, only the first 50 episodes and a few scattered her and there, out of 368? and still counting. I tried to see Movie 8 (Fan girl scream Oh sorry... Slaps self Major Kaitou Kid fan ) but I think it wasn't playing in theaters around the area I was in when I went, but I have seen the first four movies and the seventh one. I had no subtitles, so I only understood like 25% of them... Hey, at least I'm being honest! Anyway, this may hold some spoilers for those who don't know the series too well, but here's a start to help if you need it-
Jimmy Kudo is Kudou Shinichi. (In Japanese, the last name comes before the first)
Conan Edogawa is Edogawa Conan. (Of course!)
Rachel/Rachael (Sp?) Moore is Mouri Ran.
Richard Moore is Mouri Kogorou.
Amy is Yoshida Ayumi
George is Kojima Genta
Mitch is Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko
Eva (Ran's mother) is Kisaki Eri
Serena (Ran's friend) is Suzuki Sonoko
That's all I can think of for American vs. Japanese names. If you have any questions on who anyone is, I'll try to help you as best as I can in the (hopefully) next chapter. I'm not that familiar with the English names, so I didn't add some last names, sorry. Also, I only added people who appear in this chapter, save for Haibara Ai, Dr. Araide and Jodie. I'll give a quick sum up of them; these are spoilers for those who only watch the English version of Detective Conan/Case Closed so... If you don't want things spoiled for you now, stop reading, otherwise-
Jodie Saintemillion- She appears later on, I'm not sure when(Well after Volume 20, I'm sure), as the high school English teacher, a foreigner in Japan and is thought to have connections to Vermouth. But it is later revealed that Vermouth had actually killed Jodie's father and Jodie works for the FBI, trying to bring Vermouth down. So, she's a good guy =) Yay. At least, I think...
Vermouth- A very dangerous women who's a master of disguise and posed as American actress Sharon Vineyard and supposed daughter Chris Vineyard. She's very high up in the Black Organization (the one that had poisoned Shinichi/Conan) and Vermouth is a name for some alcoholic drink, most of the higher members of the organization have code names dealing with alcohol. Go figure.
Araide Tomoaki (Dr. Araide)- He's a doctor and hangs around Teitan High School (School that Shinichi and Ran attends) and started off as a temporary Basketball Coach. First appeared in Volume 24. He must hang around Teitan High since he volunteered to be the black knight in the play for Teitan High in volume 26.
Haibara Ai- She was one of the 'brains' for the Black Organization and her true identity is Miyano Shiho. Her nickname for the organization was Sherry. She stopped working for the organization when her sister, Miyano Akemi, was killed and because of that, she herself was to be killed. She is the creator of the drug that was used on Shinichi/Conan, APTX 4869. She had been handcuffed and waiting for her execution by the organization, but took her life in her own hands by taking the APTX 4869 herself. Instead of dying, she shrunk and realized this must have happened to Shinichi/Conan and sought him out. Professor Agasa found her outside of Shinichi's home, passed out and took her in, giving her the name Haibara Ai and enrolling her into the same school as Conan. She can be very cryptic at times.
Kaitou Kid (Added because if you don't know Kaitou Kid, shame on you!)- The sexiest--ok, let's start on the facts first. Even though, yes, he is in fact sexy. Kaitou Kid is an international criminal, or at least, the first one was. This Kaitou Kid, however, is the second one and also the son of the first Kaitou Kid. Only 17 and a genius, a magnificent magician and an unusual thief who usually returns everything he steals. So why does he steal? Just for the thrills of it? Not exactly, he actually is in search of the Pandora Gem, something his father was killed for. He wears a white suit with a blue dress shirt, red tie, monocle on his right eye and a white top hat. Pretty stylish and bold, especially when he's trying to pull a heist in the dark and stands out like a sore thumb. He's also the only criminal to match Shinichi's wits, but he must be a little better since he always finds a way to slip out of Shinichi's grasp. But they are pretty evenly matched; I think Kaito just has more luck (and Gosho's favor. Aoyama Gosho- Creator of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito. Yaiba too.)
Okay, I'm getting really tired, so let's move on shall we? Any question or corrections for me, just comment/e-mail me. As long as it's not like a flame or anything of the discouraging sort. Enjoy the story!
[Disclaimer] I don't own Detective Conan. If I did, they'd still have their original names. Even if they would sound a bit funny.
Faraway
America
[Kaku]
Mouri Ran had adjusted to life over the past year quite well, if she did say so herself. After all, not only did her best friend disappear from her life without so much as a farewell. Edogawa Conan seemed to appear out of nowhere for her to take responsibility of. In a way, she was a little grateful for the latter. Then there was her father's sudden genius when it came to being a detective, after months of being jobless. This also started on the day Shinichi had left and Conan had come into their lives. Then there were all those cases, many of which that dealt with murders...
Sometimes I think Conan is the only one that keeps me sane... Ran shook her head to dispel the more depressing turn her thoughts began to take and tried to focus on the notes being written on the board.
Ran really had been doing well, living life as best as she could. It was true that she constantly had the famous high school detective in the back of her mind, but with the occasional (now rare) phone calls to update her on his life. Well, it wasn't really much of an update, but just the usual of 'Where are you,' 'Another case,' 'Come home soon!' etc.
But it was suspicious, wasn't it? Shinichi disappearing the same day Conan appeared in her life. Whenever she felt so hopeless and tired, a call from Shinichi would come just in time to lift her spirits. How similar Conan and Shinichi looked, yet just when she was about to find the truth, something bizarre would happen and have all the clues and evidence being swept away. It happened often enough for Ran to question her sanity, but no matter how many times she had been shown that the possibility of Conan's true identity being Shinichi was absurd, she just couldn't completely disregard it.
Shinichi, you idiot, Ran thought angrily, yet with a hint of endearment. You're hiding something from me, aren't you? What kind of case are you on that could keep you away for so long?
"Hello! Ran?" Ran blinked as she found Sonoko waving her hand before her eyes in an attempt to grab her attention. Ran straightened up at once, looking around the room to find everyone packing up and leaving.
"Jeez, Ran! I've been standing here right in front of you for a while now. Something on your mind?" Sonoko's voice took on a slyer tone that Ran recognized so well, "Or is it someone-"
"Oh, look at the time!" Ran interrupted, standing up abruptly as she looked up at the clock that hung on the wall at the front of the classroom over the blackboard. She bent over and gathered her things hurriedly. Stuffing the last of her notes into her bag, she swung a strap onto her shoulder and smiled at her friend. "Karate practice, you know! Championships are coming up so I can't miss a single one!"
Before Sonoko could protest, Ran was out the door and flying down the hall. She silently apologized to Sonoko for her sudden exit, but she wasn't in the mood to reflect on him. At least, not with anyone else.
I don't need to have Sonoko telling me he's an idiot, Ran justified as she slowed down to a walk and pushed open the doors that led to the courtyard, I can do that on my own.
"So this weekend--"
"--Been ages--"
"--that movie."
"I know--"
"---Great detective---"
Through all the chatter of scattered students in her path, those words caught her attention at once and Ran faltered in her steps. She stood where she was as she frowned, trying to find out where that conversation was coming from.
"You mean Kudou-kun?"
Ran's hearing seemed to sharpen as her attention focused onto a small group of girls, some she vaguely recognized from some of her other classes, passing by slowly. They were too engrossed in their conversation to pay attention to anyone else that could be listening in, huddled together and shuffled a bit across the ground.
"Of course! It's been a while since he was last seen here."
"Well, it was kind of odd, wasn't it? I mean, he wasn't even around for the end of our second year[1] so maybe it's true..."
"It has to be! This is our last year, after all, unless he's coming back for second semester. I think that would be the best time to come--"
"It's a shame that we lost such a cute guy, isn't it?"
Ran, who had been confused for the most part of the conversation, was wondering if they were still talking about Shinichi at all. It was possibly that she may have misheard, but she had a feeling that if she asked, she would get the answers she had been desperately searching for. The question was, however, if Ran really wanted to know.
"I heard it from a guy who heard it from the secretary in the office--"
"That can't be very reliable--"
"But the secretary heard it from the principal, so I'm sure it's true!"
"So last year--"
"I'm not sure if it applies to last year, but this year Kudou-kun's not going to be here."
Ran's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Shinichi's name and took a step forward. She immediately pulled back when she realized how conspicuous she must have looked as she had stood out in the middle of the courtyard, her eyes focused on the girls a few feet away. She swallowed hard and tried to loosen out her tensing muscles and casually walked by the girls slowly, glancing at them out of the corner of her eye as they continued their conversation without missing a heartbeat.
"But all the way in America?"
"Well, considering who his parents are and how well he speaks English..."
"Do you think he might come back?"
"Who knows? I just heard this from..."
Ran missed the rest as the girls finally shuffled out of hearing distance. She soon found herself on the school steps to the main entrance before she stopped right before the doors.
Her heart sank.
America?
"America?!" Conan shouted into the receiver, his eyes widening as he nearly fell out of his seat.
"Well, how does that sound?" His mother's voice chirped over the phone eagerly, "It'll be so nice, all of us together for once, won't it?"
"I told you," He snapped back at her, after getting over his initial shock, "This is my case, I'm handling it on my own."
"But Shin-chan[2]..." He could practically hear the pout in her voice, "It's been over a year now..."
"Look," He began slowly, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm his temper, "this isn't some simple case where there's only one culprit to catch, this is a syn-" He paused on that word, frowning as he realized how bad it would be if someone had been listening on their conversation. It had happened before and even if they had taken out the earlier bugs, that couldn't stop anyone else from trying for long. He nearly hit his head at his carelessness as he remembered his mother's reference to him by his pet name. But they probably had an idea of who he was anyway, but it was best to stay as cautious as possible.
"It's just not the usual thing for me, all right?" He eventually substituted as his mother prodded for a response at his prolonged silence, "You know this case is mine alone and very critical to me. I'm trying to keep a low profile so why are you spreading word that I've moved to America with you?" He had barely managed to keep from succumbing to his temper and raise his voice. He had to respect his mother and wait for her explanation before he could chew her out.
"What else could we do?" She asked him with a sigh, "They were getting worried since you haven't completed your second year. Just up and disappeared. You don't want to repeat your second year, do you? We had to cover for you somehow and it would seem strange if you had changed schools for no apparent reason, since we are still here in America."
He kept silent as he reviewed the reasons his mother had.
"Am I right?" He grunted in response. "I thought so. Don't worry; I didn't really expect you to come back. We only did it to take out any suspicion and attention that your disappearance may have caused."
"Couldn't you have made a less extreme excuse?" He mumbled under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing." He replied back quickly, "Anyway, even if you say you had to do it, tell me first. Before you do anything."
"Mmhmm... Well, make sure you've been studying normally too, because I don't want you struggling in your final year in high school. I'll probably assign you a tutor, even if you are very smart--" That didn't sound good.
"Are you listening to me?" He interrupted her, glowering as she started off with her own plans concerning him, but not consulting with him. "Tell me first, don't just go and do things on your own--" In the background, he could hear movement and the sound of the door opening and closing.
"Oh, would you look at that! You're father's home--Welcome back!" His mother chirped enthusiastically. He narrowed his eyes. He knew his mother was trying to get rid of him.
"Don't lie to me--"
"Lie? Would I do such a thing?"
"Yes--" He yelled with no hesitation, but was cut off once again.
"Of course I wouldn't!" She continued as if she had heard him, "Well, I have to go! Good luck with your case, I'm sure you'll solve it soon Shin-chan!"
"Wait--" But the line was already dead. He sighed as he let the phone fall onto its cradle carelessly, raising a hand to rub at his temples in exasperation. It would have been a waste of time to continue their conversation anyway. There was nothing more he could do and his mother actual did help him. A smile began to make its way onto his lips as he recalled her words.
"Well, make sure you've been studying normally too, because I don't want you struggling in your final year in high school."
She's so sure I'll actually return, He thought. There wasn't any hesitation in her voice... nothing...
It gave him hope, with his mother's faith in him. It had been a while, but they were getting closer, so it won't be any longer. Right?
"It's not that bad, is it?" A cool voice asked him from his right. He jumped at the sudden intrusion of his thoughts as Haibara made herself known. She stood next to him with the phone exposed to her gaze. It had fallen off the table at some point, the receiver dangling on its curled cord inches above the floor and the constant beeping could be heard to alert the occupants of the room at its incorrect placing.
She raised a brow, even as her expression never changed. Only Haibara could make him feel like a fool when she would be the one standing with a glass of juice in hand. A glass that was decorated in little moons and stars even, but it did nothing to clash with the sophisticated air she always carried about her.
Conan hastily pulled the receiver by the cord and placed it back on its cradle, correctly this time and effectively cutting off the continuous beeping. He frowned at her, "What do you mean by that?"
"It'll put a stop to the many inquiries around your disappearance and make things a little less troublesome for you, won't it? Even if they caught wind of that little tidbit," She paused to take a sip from her glass, despite Conan's impatient stare. They obviously meaning the Black Organization. "They would assume you would be in America and set their sights there. Or maybe not even bother with you."
She crossed the room to the couch on the opposite side of him and took a seat, taking another sip from her glass graciously. "Then again, I'm sure they wouldn't want a loose end like you flying around so unattractively."
"Loose end..." Conan repeated, unconsciously bristling. He stopped himself, taking a deep breath before letting a slow smirk cross his face, "I see. I didn't really take you as one to eavesdrop like that."
"It can hardly be considered eavesdropping when you're talking on the phone in the same manner as yelling across the room." She replied.
"Now, now." Professor Agasa broke in as he entered the room with his own decorated glass and taking a seat as well. Unlike Haibara's, the rockets exploding in colors and patterns about the glass seemed to match with his personality very well. "But I believe your mother was right to do what she did. Ai-kun[3] is right. This may actually help you in the long run, Shinichi-kun."
"I know." Conan replied tersely, placing his elbow on the arm rest of the couch and placed his chin on his upturned palm.
A companioable silence spread throughout the room as they let the topic fade from their minds and engage in their own musings.
"Jodie e-mailed me." Haibara spoke up suddenly. The silence that followed after was nothing like the first; full of tension and a bit of curiosity.
"Why? What did she want to talk to you about?" Conan ventured when Haibara did not follow up, choosing to fix her attention on her glass. Turning her drink in her hand as she watched the ice cubes circulate in the mini whirlpool she had created and further diluting her beverage.
"Haibara-" Conan began when she continued to stay silent, but another presence made itself known.
"Conan-kun! Ai-chan!" Ayumi chirped from the hallway, her voice drifting into the room. Two other voices called after her, confirming the entrance of the rest of the Detective Boys.
Conan sent Ai a look that spoke clearly of his expectance of an answer. She met his gaze without a bat of her eyelashes, then turning her head dismissively as Ayumi and the others appeared in the doorway.
"Why aren't you ready?" Ayumi admonished as she viewed all three of them sitting quite comfortably on the couches with a drink in hand, save for Conan. Mitsuhiko and Genta frowned at them from behind Ayumi, adding to her scoldings as she placed her hands on her hips. "Well?"
"Wha--Oh!" Professor Agasa blinked as he stood up quickly. "Right, right."
Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko beamed as the Professor downed the rest of the contents of his glass and went in search of his keys and coat. Conan continued to stay where he was, looking at the other three in confusion. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ai getting even more comfortable with a soft smile on her lips as she plucked one of the nearby novels that the Professor had scattered around his home. She opened it up at the bookmark, removing the slip of paper, before becoming lost in the story.
"Conan-kun!" All three called to him, his attention now focusing on them.
"What?" He asked, blinking as he realized they were now only an arms length away from him.
"Come on! Don't you remember on Monday that we planned to go out today with the Professor to see that new horror movie?" Genta explained to him as he looked over at the older man. "He said he would take us if our parents wouldn't mind and it's way more fun to watch it with you guys than my parents."
"That's right. We were looking forward to this all week." Mitsuhiko reminded him as crossed his arms over his chest, "This is a rare chance for us since it's an R rated movie!"
"Yeah!" Ayumi chirped, practically gushing with excitement as she fixed her wide, sparkling eyes on him. "I heard it's the scariest movie yet! With a lot of parts to make you SCREAM!" She ended the last word with her own little scream, causing the boys to flinch back in surprise.
She grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and yanked him right off the couch. "Let's go, let's go! We don't want to get back home too late, so we should hurry now!"
Stumbling, he caught his balance before he could crash into the coffee table. He lightly pulled his sleeve from Ayumi's grasp, fixing them with a skeptical look, "I seriously doubt any of your parents would let you see an R rated movie."
They blinked at him simultaneously, and then smiled as they looked over at the Professor slyly.
Conan glanced over at the elder man as well, eyes narrowing in suspicion as he seemed to stiffen at all the glances he was receiving. Professor Agasa looked over at them, smiling nervously as he placed on his coat and headed for the door, "Come on, let's not dawdle. You don't want to miss the show, do you?"
"Of course our parents wouldn't let us see this movie. They think we're at the arcade or something!" Genta told Conan nodding, a grin widening on his face. "But thanks to Professor Agasa, we're going to get to see it without their permission!"
"Really..." Conan mumbled as he stared after the Professor. Genta and Mitsuhiko followed suite with Ayumi trailing behind to make sure Conan didn't miss out on the 'fun.'
"If you paid a little more attention, you'd know why, Conan-kun." Ayumi giggled as she took his wrist and urged him to the door. "Come on, let's go!"
"Wa-wait!" He frowned as he looked over at Haibara who remained unmoving with the same serene smile on her lips, "What about Haibara?"
"Oh no, she can't come Conan-kun!" Ayumi frowned, and to his surprise, looking a little angry, "See, if you listened, you wouldn't even think of asking Ai-chan to come with us!"
"Haha... Sorry about that." He laughed nervously, trying to placate her anger, "Want to fill me in on why she gets to miss out on this chance of a lifetime?"
"Ai-chan's too scared to see a horror movie! Especially a really scary R rated one, like this one!" Ayumi told him as if it was obvious.
Of course... Conan thought, laughing humorlessly as he looked over at Haibara. Did he just hear a chuckle from her? Scared of horror movies my as--
"Don't worry about me Edogawa-kun." Ai murmured, never taking her eyes off her book. "I'll be fine here. It would be better than wasting my money on a movie that I'll be watching with my hands over my eyes."
"See? We'll bring you back some popcorn and candy, okay Ai-chan? We can even have our own movie night right here, just so you don't feel left out okay?" Ayumi offered. Conan grimaced at the thought of stale, butter popcorn and a great assorted mix of half eaten candies that would be stuffed into their pockets just for Haibara.
At least I won't be eating it...
There was a loud honking noise and muffled shouts flowing in through the open doorway. Realizing how long they had been standing there, Ayumi bid Ai a quick goodbye, nearly dragging Conan out by the collar of his shirt.
When the door was shut and the sound of the engine running had faded into nothing, Ai finally closed the book and placed it to her side carefully. She slipped off the cushions and onto her feet, slowly making her way to the laboratory and the computer.
As she descended the steps to the computer room, the emptiness of the house seemed to settle in and remind her of the times where she had worked alone in her room for days an end for them--
Her calm disposition faltered for only a moment as she was pulled into memories that had long since been suppressed, but with the pressing silence and overwhelming loneliness beginning to consume her... Ai found herself on her knees and her hand placed on the doorknob of the computer lab. She shook her head, gripping the door handle tightly as she leaned up against the wooden frame to help herself to her feet.
A moment of weakness...
She turned the knob and pushed the door open, but made no move to enter. Staring into the darkened room where the only source of light could be found from the hallway of where she stood and the small, square screen of light that illuminated the room at odd angles.
There the words stood out bold and clear, simple white on black. Those few words that stood apart from the rest of the message held a great significance, but no meaning to Ai.
What are they planning?
"Wow!" Was all Sonoko could manage as she stared at the spread in front of her. Mouth watering and her stomach rumbling, she managed to tear her eyes away from the heavenly sight and stared across the table at goddess before her.
"I love you." Sonoko whispered, meaning every word as she grabbed her spoon and dug into the creamy, chocolately goodness of her sundae. Ran smiled at her brightly.
"Of course." Ran agreed as she took a sip of her plain glass of ice water. Despite the many plates filled with sugary cakes, shakes, and varieties of ice cream that stood on the table before her, she took no notice as she fixed her eyes on her friend.
Lucky me, Ran thought, despite how light her wallet felt in the pocket of her skirt. Sonoko actually forgetting her wallet and missed out on lunch today.
"Mm..." Sonoko moaned in delight as she continued to shovel it all down. Ran was momentarily thrown off at the ravenous appetite that had taken over the other girl, but there were more pressing matters at hand. Steeling herself, Ran fixed her eyes on her glass and carefully chose her words.
"I heard something strange today."
"Mm!" Sonoko acknowledged through a mouthful of ice cream and a bit of cake. "Mm?"
"Something very strange about some guy at our school. It was funny, really. I knew it couldn't be true." Ran said as she followed up with an innocent giggle. Sonoko took a gulp of her vanilla shake, pausing to take a breather as she glanced over at Ran.
"A rumor, right? Well, with the guys you never know. If you mean the one about Keita in the locker room--"
"No, no..." Ran cut her off, shaking her head. Even though that caused her to blink (I never heard about that one...) she had to stay focused, "It's not that."
"Oh. Well, then what did you hear?" Sonoko asked. Ran waited until Sonoko had taken another bite of her sundae to answer her question.
"Shinichi is in America right now." Sonoko choked, dropping her spoon into her bowl with a soft clink. "But that can't be true, right?"
"O-of course not." Sonoko managed to cough out, trying to smile reassuringly at her. Ran's eyes narrowed as she fixed her with a glare.
"So, you did know."
"No!" Sonoko denied a little too quickly. Catching herself, she grabbed her shake and tried to take nonchalant sips. "I'm just as shocked as you are. Shinichi in America? No way, right!" Sonoko finished off with a rather mechanical laugh.
"Mika told me. She also said she heard it from you."
"What?! That stupid--" She stopped at Ran's darkening look. "... Mika didn't really tell you that, did she?"
"No." Ran responded flatly.
"This is why I didn't tell you!" Sonoko defended at Ran's hard glare.
"I didn't say anything." Ran told her calmly, glad to see Sonoko squirming. "But since we're on the topic, why don't you tell me everything you know?"
"No."
Ran nearly fell out of her seat, her calm exterior breaking, "What?!" She asked her incredulously.
Sonoko crossed her arms over her chest and stuck up her nose. "I said no."
"Sonoko!" Ran hissed, slapping a hand on the table in a show of frustration. "What kind of friend are you?"
"Shouldn't you be asking him that?" Sonoko countered back sharply and just as angrily. That had caught Ran off guard as she leaned back in her seat, staring at her friend's angry glare that nearly matched her previous one.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Sonoko relented suddenly, her arms falling to her sides as she fixed Ran with a sympathetic look. Ran winced at the pity she saw there and started to shrink back.
"In the beginning, I thought you knew. I believed you were the first to know, since you're the closest to Shinichi-kun and when you never mentioned it to me, I thought it was too painful for you to think about (but I was mad that you wouldn't confide in me) so I never brought it up. But," Sonoko emphasized, "when Dr. Araide came up to you that day..."
Ran winced as Dr. Araide asked her to flex her swollen wrist, unable to move it more than a centimeter before a pain shot through her arm.
"You sprained it pretty badly, Ran-san[4]. Don't worry, nothing's broken at least. Try to take it easy, will you?" He refered to the gi[5] that she still wore. Having no time to change into her school uniform one handed and risk making her injury worse.
"That's what I told her." Sonoko added as she stared at Ran's wrist, looking a little pale. "Ouch."
"Ouch is right." Ran mumbled as Araide rubbed something cool against her injury as lightly as he could and wrapped it up firmly.
Smiling, he helped Ran on to her feet and held open the door for the two girls, "Nothing too strenous or it'll take longer for that to heal."
"Yes sir, thank you Dr. Araide!" Ran told him as she stared at her wrapped injury despairingly. To say the least, Sonoko's constant remainders weren't helping the situation.
"I told you to call it a day!" Sonoko reprimanded her as they started down the hall.
"Ran-san."
Ran and Sonoko stopped at the call and turned around in the hallway to find Dr. Araide emerging from the health room after them.
"Yes Dr. Araide?"
"Ran-san..." Dr. Araide began as he took a step towards them. Sounding like he had more to say, they both stood where they were, blinking up at him curiously.
Dr. Araide finally managed to smile, "I'm sorry for what happened. It must be very hard for you." and with that he turned away and headed out of sight.
Sonoko nodded slightly besides Ran, giving her a side glance. Her eyes widened as Ran stared at Dr. Araide's retreating form in confusion.
Ran looked over at Sonoko, stilling looking perplexed with a hint of concern as she held up her wrist, "It wasn't that bad, was it?"
"... And that's how I figured it out!" Sonoko told her, finishing the remains of her shake.
Ran blinked, "I forgot about that... I guess it makes more sense now."
As Ran continued to think back on that certain memory, Sonoko gathered her things and slipped out of her seat. Ran looked up at the movement, watching as Sonoko headed for the door, waving over her shoulder with one of the cakes in her hand.
She stuffed it into her mouth before making her escape and managed to mumble something that sounded like, "Sorry, I gotta go! Thanks for everything Ran, I'll make it up to you!"
"Wait Sonoko!" Ran called out to her friend as she hurried grabbed her own things and headed for the door, but it was too late. She exited the small shop and looked down the sidewalk in either direction, but Sonoko had already slipped away into the crowds.
Concluding that Sonoko had probably run home was the most likely possibility. Then also deciding that even if she did track down Sonoko, nothing else could come from it, she decided to call it a day. Sighing, something she was starting to do constantly, she started in the direction of home.
One foot in front of the other, her eyes fixed out ahead of her. Her movements were coming to her unconsciously as her mind wandered and her legs carried her home. The way her body turned and flowed in an effort to avoid colliding into anyone else was like a familiar dance she would do every day as she walked home from school.
I shouldn't be mad.
She paused at the crosswalk, reaching over to press the aging metal button covered with rust. She felt her fingers fall into an indent from years of abuse from the outside world that it had endured, pulling her hand away slowly and letting it fall to her side.
It's not like anything's changed. Even if I know where he is now, that doesn't mean he's coming back home any sooner.
Ran frowned on her thoughts. Home? Can I call this place home for him? She looked up at the sky that was overcasted with dull dark grey that seemed to match the conflict that her eyes showed. Despite the absense of the sun obscured by the clouds, it was still hot enough that had her temper shortening and rationality leaving her by the minute.
His home is in America. He is home, right now. The light changed and the flow of pedestrians started across the street in waves. She followed, tugging at the tie of her uniform, causing one of her buttons to come undone as well. She laughed somewhat forcefully as she looked back on the conversations they had before. I always told you to come home soon, didn't I? Well, looks like I got my wish. You're home right now, aren't you?
Before long she found herself in front of the Mouri Detective Agency, fueled by her anger and despair. She found her vision blurring from tears of frustration as she fell into self-pity from the unfairness of it all. The reality called life. She stomped up the steps, her book bag swinging wildly in her hand as she made her way to the door, fumbling for her keys in her skirt pocket. She managed to pull them out, handling them roughly, and caused it to fall to the ground as she tried to fit it into the lock.
I bet you're laughing right now, She thought angrily as she bent down on one knee to pick up the keys and viciously slammed it into the lock. Laughing at stupid, naive Ran who can only cry and whine while you're gone. Stupid, stupid...
The phone rang out shrilly just as the door swung open. Ran caught it before it could hit the wall and slammed it shut with such ferocity, it had the windows rattling. It would have been enough to wake her father, had he been there at the time. Instead, only a few empty beer cans and packages of assorted snacks shook and some fell off the table.
The phone rang again.
Her attention was focused on the now active device and crossed the room in quick strides in order to reach it. Ran just barely stopped herself from snatching up the phone, standing only a foot away as she took in deep breaths. She was surprised to find herself panting, as if she had just been a marathon and knew she couldn't answer the phone in her condition.
Breath, breath... She repeated in her head like a mantra as she took control of the torrent of emotions threatening to break her. Eventually, she managed to get her breathing under control as she leaned against the desk for support. You just need to talk to him. Then you'll feel better.
She continued to assure herself, calming down a little at a time. A sudden ring broke through her thoughts causing her to remember what she was trying to do in the first place and wonder just how long it had been ringing.
She took one last deep breath as she reached over and pulled the receiver from it's cradle in mid-ring and brought it to her ear.
"Hello," She spoke calmly, not a hint of emotional break-down here, "Mouri Detective Agency--"
"Hey Ran, sorry for--"
She slammed the phone down and started the mantra all over again.
[AN] I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I like to stick to Japanese, since I really love the country and prefer it over my own =P Shh, don't tell the government! I know some Japanese and I have a lot of friends who are fluent in the language and (mostly) well-informed in the culture, but I could be wrong in some things, so please excuse my mistakes, ok? I only write in the notes to help anyone who might be confused with the terms, because I'm sure it must be irritating to read a story and not understand what the terms are for or what they mean, their significance, etc. But you can skip this part, of course, if you already know!
[Notes] [1]Second Year- in Japan they usually have elementary schools, but then after their Junior High is grades 7-9 and then High School is 10-12. Second year is 11 grade, so they were talking about their Junior year and are now starting their third year, grade 12. They usually talk about their grade levels like 'Year One, Junior High,' or 'Year Two, High School' etc. I might be a bit wrong, but that's the basics of it.
[2]Shin-chan- -chan is suffix used with children and mostly girls. Also can be used with people you really care about, an endearment. Shinichi's mom always refers to him as her Shin-chan. Cute, huh?
[3]Ai-kun- -kun is actually a suffix for boy names, first or last. I don't think it's grammatically correct to use it with girl names, but Megure-keibu (Inspector Megure) and Agasa-Hakase (Professor Agasa) use -kun for pretty much everyone. Examples being Ran-kun, Mouri-kun, Shinichi-kun, etc. I'm not sure why they use it, but I guess that's just how they are, I think like it fine, though.
[4]Ran-san- Suffix meaning Mr. Mrs. Miss, polite way of saying someone's name, first or last.
[5]Gi- The name of the uniform Ran wears for Karate. Also could be referring to a Judo uniform, since they are very similar. Difference is that Judo gi's are thicker, I think.
[AN] Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that and if you did, commenting me or e-mailing me would be great to let me know how it is so far. It's nice to know what other people think of it. It'll help if you guys review and make me happy knowing that other people enjoy reading this =P just don't be too hard, okay? If you didn't enjoy reading this... at least you learned something from my notes, right?