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elfchensdcartblog · 9 months

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Special Summer Vacation (7)

For the HeiZuhaWeek on @heizuhaevents Day 7!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

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It was one of those street festivals that took place in Japan in the summer. The girls loved to dress up in their best yukatas just for these festivals and stroll through the stands with friends or even their crushes to watch the big fireworks at the end.

Right through this bunch of couples and giggling girls, a 17-year-old high school detective was dragged by his best friend, wearing his baseball cap backwards on his head and a summery shirt. The brunette, who was holding him by the wrist so as not to lose him in the scrum, was dressed in a beautiful yellow kimono with pink patterns and an equally pink obi. She wore her hair today not in a sporty ponytail, but in an elaborate upswept hairstyle.

She kept almost tripping over her sandals, which she just wasn't used to. And a small stubborn strand had been finding its way onto her cheek all evening, only to be once again relegated to its place behind her left ear with a fleeting wave of her hand. Just like now, when they came to a stop in front of a stand where one could fish small balloons out of the water with a fishing rod. "Look, Heiji, let's do this!" A pair of emerald eyes looked at him enthusiastically. The addressed one scowled a little. "We're getting too old for this. It's no longer a challenge!" He could see directly how the face of his best friend darkened. "Shall I remind the adult who kept me waiting for three hours yesterday?" "It's yer own fault if ya don't remind me sooner!" "Jeez, Heiji! I called ya an hour before!!!" "A lot can happen in an hour!" For example, a murder. "Besides, I didn't answer the phone!" "Yes, you've had already noticed that you've forgotten me!" Heiji didn't want to take this lying down, but a clearing of the throat abruptly stopped the argument between the two sandpit friends and they looked over to the source. The stand owner, including the current customers, apparently felt disturbed by the two brawlers and made it clear to them with their looks that they were no longer wanted here. Wonderful, so he would at least escape this stupid game!

With cheeks flushed with embarrassment, the two high school students walked on, strolling along the other booths that offered everything from food to gift items to mini-games.

Heiji finally raised his arm and glanced at his wristwatch. In half an hour, the fireworks would already begin. By then, they should have secured good seats. Without further ado, he stopped at a stand selling fresh takoyaki balls. Kazuha stopped next to him. "What's the point now, Heiji?" she whined. Heiji looked at her a bit miffed. "Ya think I want to starve while ya eat yer way through at my expense? So tell me if ya want some too, or just wait." "Ahou! Of course I want some too!", she murmured a little more reservedly.

So Heiji bought two portions of the delicious squid balls from the man and passed one directly to his friend. Silently they walked side by side, while after extensive blowing one takoyaki ball after the other found its way into their mouths. From time to time, they stopped briefly at one of the stalls, but there was not nearly enough time to take a closer look at all of them.

Slowly they reached the destination of their today's excursion, a small dike at a canal. The fireworks would take place above the canal, so they would have a good view of the show from here. They looked for a free spot and lined up next to each other with a tense look towards the sky. "Actually, it's the same fireworks every year…" "But it's become a tradition, hasn't it?" "It could also become a tradition that I eat Takoyaki every day!" "Man, you're a big chunk." "Better than kitschy." "If ya eat so many takoyaki, you'll soon like a black octopus yourself!" Kazuha puffed out her cheeks and made him imagine what he would look like then. "Bl-black octopus?!" At first Heiji wanted to retort something quick-witted, but he already had to suppress a laugh. "You'd be a much more authentic octopus!" he snorted, whereupon she began to laugh as well.

Suddenly there was a bang in the sky and everyone's eyes - including those of the two sandpit friends - lifted to the sky. The starting signal for the fireworks had been given.

At first there was just a bit of preliminary banter, as you might expect, it was pretty much the same as every year. But for his best friend, the high school detective would continue this silly tradition every year. Until she got tired of it. Of course, he would never admit that though!

Heiji continued to watch the lights in the sky, but at some point he squinted out of the corner of his eye at Kazuha next to him. Her gaze was fixed on the sky, and each flash of light created a play of colors on her face that was also reflected in her eyes. A slight glow of red settled on the student detective's cheeks. How he would love to just tell her what was bothering him all the time, what he always wanted to tell her. But it never worked out and it annoyed him that he couldn't even say it.

Briefly, his eyes closed and when he opened them again, they were again directed to the sky, where the fireworks slowly picked up speed towards their climax. The noise was so great that one would not even understand his own word. Perhaps this was the reason why his lips began to move by themselves. He didn't even hear himself what exactly he was saying, it wasn't always just friendly, yet exactly what he thought of the brunette next to him.

All the things he found annoying about her, that he would love to shoot her to the moon because of them, and all the things he liked about her so much that he would sorely miss them if she was no longer by his side.

Gently, the back of his hand collided with that of his best friend next to him, a light touch that sent a slight jolt of electricity through him, causing him to pull his hand back and scratch his neck in embarrassment.

~*~

Unnoticed by him and his still-running monologue, muted by the fireworks, Kazuha's green eyes abruptly turned to him as she felt the back of his hand against hers. Like fireworks, it had passed through her, a shallow touch, as if he were taking her hand. But he had withdrawn his hand and disappointment spread through her, as her expectation had been a different one - an unlikely, yet desirable one.

To her surprise, however, she could see his lips moving, but she did not understand a word. Did he want her to understand his words? Perhaps she should point out to that fool that he could not be understood through the fireworks.

The light from the fireworks colored his face in a variety of colors, but apparently the student detective wasn't really paying attention to it. He was far too busy with his monologue. A circumstance that made Kazuha look a little skeptical, when suddenly the fireworks fell silent for a moment - a dramaturgical pause. "…and all I want to do all this time is just tell you that I love you!" his voice cut through the pause in the fireworks before a bang ended the pause again.

And like a shock at this bang, two pairs of eyes widened in shock at once. Kazuha stared stunned at Heiji at her side, cheeks flushed and burning with heat. Had he really just said that!? But he continued to stare up at the fireworks, not giving them a glance. Nevertheless, his eyes, like hers, were dilated with surprise….

~*~

Silence reigned between them.

Except for a few mumbled words, nothing more had come out of the high school student's mouth. Only enough that they managed not to get lost on their way down from the summer festival.

He was too embarrassed by the situation. His cheeks still burned with shame and he hadn't even turned his gaze to the brunette at his side since this mishap had happened to him. Just when he didn't expect her to hear! What kind of a crazy world was this, where he was straining to make her the perfect confession of love and just when he didn't plan it, it all comes out?!

Kazuha had not spoken to him about it either, perhaps she had not heard anything or even thought that it had not come from him. Or maybe she thought he had said something else. His head was smoking with jumbled thoughts, unable to put them into any meaningful context. His mood was at a low point right now anyway, and he would be happy if he could just let this evening end chilled in front of the TV.

The farther they got from the festival, the quieter the music and voices became, and the more silence pushed its way to the forefront, interspersed with the clacking sounds of Kazuha's sandals and his shuffling sneaker steps.

~*~

The girl in the kimono next to Heiji was busy with her own world of thoughts during the continuing silence. Had she really heard that earlier? Had Heiji really said those words? Were they meant for her?

They had hardly spoken a word to each other since the situation, and he didn't even look at her. Just like he was known to do when he was miffed. But much more than that, he seemed embarrassed. She didn't understand the world anymore, it had been the words she had always hoped, dreamed of, from him and now there was such a strange silence between them.

It didn't suit them at all, but at the same time, maybe they both didn't know how to deal with the situation. It certainly wasn't any better if she didn't react to it at all now.

Maybe he was even waiting for a reaction from her.

Nevertheless, she did not know yet for sure whether it had been really meant for her ears and she decided to approach simply cautiously. It was convenient for her that he had only one hand in his pocket and the other hung loosely next to his body, while he walked next to her.

Very slowly and tentatively, she reached for his hand. A tingling sensation gripped the sensitive skin of her palm as she clasped his hand with hers. With reddened cheeks, she didn't even dare look up at him to observe the reaction.

But the answer came even so, nonverbally, as his fingers intertwined with hers after a moment's hesitation. Kazuha raised her eyes to her best friend, but he had pulled his cap into his face. Only vaguely could a dark red glow be seen on his ears, which extended to his face. An understanding smile settled on her lips as she whispered, "Me too, Heiji…"

end.

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That was a busy week! I wasn't taking it too seriously to finish a piece for every day... But I had so much fun!

This last story was lying around unfinished for years and I decided, it would now fit perfectly into this week!

I hope you had fun!

#heizuhaweek #heizuhaweek2023 #heiji hattori #kazuha toyama #dcmk #heiji x kazuha

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subbe93 · 3 years

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Day 3: Those lucky ones

A/N: Fact: I'm sooooooo weak for Black Knight & Princess Au! I always thought that there is not enough material for this Au, that I should make some, but as much as I have been thinking of that Au, I haven't got much out of me xD Is anyone surprised? Because I'm not :'D But I still kinda hope that I'm going to write more about it, because I have many thoughts to share :3

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Shinichi had always hated dances. Well, he has to admit that it was nice to see how everyone was dressed in their best, kept up good behavior, ate and drink as much as they could, and dances as much as they liked. Like now. Everyone was having fun, the music was great and if he and other knights have luck, maybe they got some of that food, which was always so great. Mouri has probably the best cook that any kingdom could have. Well, it’s most likely that every kingdom said the same of their own cooks.

When you look at things that way, there shouldn’t be anything to complain about. Yet Shinichi found himself in a bad mood every time they informed him about dances. And every time he hoped that there would be some reason to cancel them. Well, it never happened.

So, there he was again, standing in one corner of the ballroom, doing his best not to be noticed and watching how people were dancing. Luckily, like every other knight, most of his face was hidden behind a helmet, so anyone couldn't read anything from his face. No one could see how those blue eyes narrowed when one of those young men asked the princess to dance, and after getting a positive answer, he led her on the dancefloor. Shinichi looked at how that prince put his hand on her waist and the other gripped her delicate hand. He watched how they start to dance, how the princess smiled, laughed… How she looked so happy.

And Shinichi has to use all of his willpower just not to grin. No one needs to see him biting the bullet and wonder what’s wrong with that knight. There was nothing wrong with him! Except that his heart got a new crack and part of him dies every time, but nothing more, nothing less… Nothing which he hasn’t used to already.

Well, that was a lie that he kept telling himself.

It was unbelievable how after all this time it still hurt to saw how the love of his life was there, enjoying everyone’s attention, dancing with all those young men who all promised to her their land and everything she ever dreamed of. And the worst part was that she enjoyed it. Well, maybe not precisely enjoyed it, but she was nice enough to look like she enjoyed it, and sadly it was enough to make Shinichi feel jealous and sad.

He couldn’t ever promise anything to her. He was only a knight, he didn’t have practically anything. Well, he has a roof over his head, food, and uniform, and a few clothes, which king Kogoro thought would be enough. Well, Shinichi didn’t think it was fair, because at least he was one of those who was working particularly 24/7, but he didn’t want to fight with king and queen about it. He knew that the king had drunk too much money, so he could see how this kingdom hasn’t much money to do anything. And in the end, he was there only because of the princess. He knew that it would have been probably wiser to leave and find a job which he got paid enough, but then what? After that, he probably couldn’t even take a step towards the castle. After all, he would be just a normal citizen. The only reason why he was grown up in the castle was that his parents worked for the royal family. But if they wouldn’t, Shinichi wouldn’t be in this situation.

His life and love were all he could give that girl, and because he hadn’t royal blood in him, they meant nothing. All he could do was being obedient and do his job as princess Ran’s personal guard. Well, being her personal guard was much more than he ever dared to dream of. At least he could protect her with his life and make sure that she would be safe and sound. And happy. That was all that mattered.

That was all he could ask for.

And yet he wanted more. There was always something more, even when he had more than he should. Even now, when he looked at her on the dancefloor... If he could just have one dance. Just one chance to take that beautiful and kind princess in his arms, run her over the dancefloor, be the reason why she would smile, laugh, look happy…

“Hey, Kudo?”

Shinichi took his gaze away and looked at the knight who just stood beside him. Well, that knight he recognized easily.

“What’s wrong, Hattori?” he whispered loud enough that Heiji could hear it over the music. “Did something happen?”

“No, just…” He looked away before smiled at him. “Actually, Kazuha has free night today, so I thought that maybe I could sneak out and… You know…”

Shinichi frowned even though he knew Heiji wouldn’t see it. “Come on, Hattori, we have a ballroom full of people, and right now all you can think is a girl?”

“What’s the problem?” Heiji snapped. “There is everything good, isn’t it? I don’t think there is going to happen anything. And it was rare that we have some free time at the same time…”

“Rare?” Shinichi laughed and looked again at the ballroom. “And this morning I just saw you and Kazuha-san spending the lazy morning in the garden, smooching…”

“What?”

“So yeah, you have more than enough free time with her if you ask me”, Shinichi continued and glanced at him. “But if your father is okay with that, then it’s fine. I don’t think you need my permission for anything.”

Heiji sneered. “Yeah, but even if he is knight commander, he respects you pretty much.”

“He respects you too, you know”, Shinichi answered.

“Well, I still don’t want to go to him, at least not now when he stands close king and queen”, Heiji answered and looked behind him. Shinichi followed the gaze and saw how king and queen were talking to some other royals. Behind there was the knight commander, Heizo Hattori, watching closely. “I don’t really care to share my goings to them.”

Shinichi smiled. “You don’t want to go to tell them that you are more interested in your girlfriend instead of keeping this kingdom safe?”

“Haha, Kudo”, Heiji answered dryly, and Shinichi could imagine how his friend just gazed at him angrily. “You sound jealous. Maybe you should give up and find someone…” He stopped and Shinichi had to do everything that his smile wouldn’t fade away. “Ah, sorry, Kudo, I didn’t…”

“It’s okay”, he interrupted and turned to observe the ballroom again. “Go to meet Kazuha-san and have a fun night. I call if I need you.”

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, Kudo. I owe you one.”

Shinichi nodded and observed from the corner of his eyes how Heiji left. His smile disappeared when he turned his attention back to the princess and her partner. Her eyes were so bright, she smiled beautifully… At least princess Ran was happy. In the end, it didn’t matter who made her happy, as long as they made her happy.

And it was one crack more in his heart.

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Shinichi hated dances. It didn’t matter if they were birthday, summer, Christmas, or whatever dances, he never liked them. Because when the clock passed over the midnight and everyone was drunk enough, all the guests become so irritating. They made fun of him, underrated him (even though he was the one who would sacrifice his life for them), and treat him like a slave. Shinichi didn’t mind helping people and make sure that they have everything, but what he couldn’t take was the attitude of how those royal blood bastards treated him and others who worked in the castle. Like those noblemen were better than they. There wasn’t any hint of gratitude or humility. And it made Shinichi angry every time. How they could survive if there weren’t servants, cooks, knights? What would happen if they all just stopped doing their jobs and leave those nobles alone here?

Yeah, those nobles weren't any better than they were. They were only humans, like them. They just were lucky bastards who just happened to be born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Who just got everything and they didn’t have to even do anything to deserve it. Hell, all they could do would be showing even a little gratitude and humility to their servants who happen to keep them safe and sound. But no.

That’s the one reason why he liked princess Ran so much. She was still humble and kind, grateful. She never thought of herself top of others. She even put everyone else before her. She was a princess who just wanted to make sure that everyone was fine and happy.

Well, like his opinion mattered. He still needed to stay calm and just smile kindly to those guests.

So he was so relieved when almost every guest has landed in their rooms to sleep. Or doing whatever they wanted, Shinichi didn’t care. It was those knights’ problems who happened to have night sift on those corridors. Shinichi’s only problem was what happens in the corridor where the princess sleeps, and just because he was in a bad mood, he would kick anyone out if they even try come close to the princess’ room. Just because he can.

And that was the first thing he needed to do when he got on that corridor. One of those princes stood on the princess’ door knocking it, shouting something about letting him in, that he has something important to talk to the princess. He even had some flowers in his hand. The worst part was that he looked like he was a little drunk. Shinichi wanted to laugh. Really, that looked so pitiful. And how happy gardeners would be tomorrow when they see that someone had stolen flowers from the garden? It was probably too much to ask that this prince had cut them nicely.

So once again he needed to hear how trash he was, just because he was a worthless knight, whose only job was to die. Sadly for the prince, Shinichi had heard that so many times that his little smile wouldn’t twist one way or another.

“Listen, your highness”, he said a tip of mock in his voice, though he was sure that prince didn’t even notice it. “Princess Ran is sleeping, so as her personal guard, I ask you to go back to your room and come back tomorrow.”

“But this is important, you know! I need to meet her now!” prince muttered and turned to slam the door again. “PRINCESS RAN, I...”

Shinichi grabbed his hand making him stop. Prince broke from it and stepped away. “DON’T TOUCH ME YOU FILTHY…”

“If you please, would you go back to your room”, Shinichi said calmly and stepped in front of Ran’s door, making sure that the prince wouldn’t try anything anymore. “Come back tomorrow, thank you”, he continued and bowed a little. Just enough to make sure that he has respected that brat, and no one could give him an earful later because of this.

Prince throws his flowers towards him, which was pathetic because they just dropped on the floor between them. Then that young man started to walk away, murmuring something himself. Shinichi straightened himself and let his eyes follow how the prince's shadow disappeared.

Then he heard a little click behind him. He took a step away from the door, looked at it, and saw how the princess slowly opened it a little, just peeking outside.

“Is he gone?”

Shinichi looked at the end of the corridor. “Yeah, he is gone.”

“Thank god”, Ran sighed and opened the door more stepping back to her room. Shinichi realised her having a dressing gown which only was above her knees. He hasn't seen it before, though he was pretty sure that it was a little too short for her. He looked away. Well, in the end, it wasn't his place to judge. Though he wouldn't mind if he would be the only one who would see that...

Just do your check-up and leave, okay?

“I really thought he would never give up”, Ran continued while Shinichi stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “So persist…”

“You could have just said you’re not interested”, Shinichi smiled and took his helmet off. Ran shook her head and Shinichi looked around him. “And it seems like Sonoko got lost on her journey in here?”

Ran laughed. “No, I gave her this evening free”, she answered with a mischievous smile. “In the end, Kyogoku-san was one of the guests, so I thought she wants to spend some time with her prince.”

Yeah, there was another lucky pair.

“You have weird maids”, Shinichi said and looked at Ran, which was a mistake. Somehow his eyes managed to see how her dressing gown was too loose on her chest and whatever nightshirt she was wearing under the gown, it showed a little too much. He felt like she was doing this on purpose. She didn't do this easy for him, not tonight. So he looked away, pretending to check the balcony door behind her. “Both of them have free time at the same time even though they had job to do. Can you believe, even Hattori slipped out midway of dances?”

Ran giggled and made Shinichi look at her. “You can’t blame them, can you?” she asked and before Shinichi realised it, her fingers took the helmet from his hands. “It’s a beautiful night, people are partying beginning of the summer… It’s pretty romantic time to spend some time with the one you love.”

Shinichi wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn’t. He wanted to argue against it, yet he knew that maybe he would have wanted to spend some time with his special someone tonight if he would have had a chance. So he kept his mouth shut.

“And truth to be told”, Ran continued when she let his helmet resting on the bureau, “I would have also loved to be somewhere else than here tonight.”

Ran turned to him, and Shinichi felt how his heart raced on his chest. He wanted to say that he would have taken her everywhere she ever wanted, but he didn’t. He just stares at those beautiful eyes wondering how far he would get if he took that young woman and just escape. Would there be a place where they could hide the rest of their lives?

But this kingdom needed their princess. They needed this kind and fair princess to be their queen one day, to be the one who would restore this land. People loved their princess, and they would wait… Shinichi couldn’t be selfish enough to steal their hope.

So instead, he let himself smile a little. “Well, I can take you somewhere when you have some free time.”

She smiled and shook her head. “It’s not the same”, she said and stepped closer to him. He didn’t move, not even when she stood in front of him, so close to him. Both of her hands laid on his chest and Shinichi was so sure that she would feel his heart beating fast. And even if her closeness isn’t enough, she raised her face and he met her bright light purple eyes, red lips, pink cheeks…

“I would have loved to be with you... See those fireworks with you.”

Somewhere in his head, there was a voice that said not to fell for it. The voice reminded him that if he wouldn't give up on this now, it would be much harder later when the time comes. It reminded him that he should just do his check-up and leave.

But his heart said that he should just continue. He should just go for it, enjoy what they still got...

And even if it wasn't his heart that would fight against his brains, he still got his weaknesses. And when it came to Ran… Voice of reason never won. He was never strong enough. Never.

His hands found her lower back and while he closed that little gap between them, he lowered enough to meet those red, soft lips against his. Those lips which he has stolen too many times before, lips which he wanted to keep only himself. Lips that could become his early death. Lips that he should leave to someone else.

He never was able to turn around and leave.

Shinichi withdrew from the kiss a little, his lips touching hers when he spoke: "I would have loved that too."

#ShinRanWeek2021 #ShinRan #Day 3: Black Knight & Princess #Black Knight #Princess Ran #Au #Detective Conan #Shinichi Kudo #Ran Mouri

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azure-bliss · 3 years

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shinran oneshot

Fandom: DC

Pairing: Shinran

Excerpt:

“Shinichi,” she whispered, warm blue orbs losing focus as she looked at him, though her smile remained. She rose her hand to caress his cheek (she’s so, so cold). “You found us.”

Her chapped lips met his, and then, “Arigato.”

A/N: I swear that this was supposed to be fluffy but brain said nope, angst-infused it is. Also, I’m no expert in medicine nor the Japanese police system, even criminology for that matter. Spare me. Enjoy!

Day 9

“I should write a book.”

Shinichi’s first instinct was to snort, as he was reminded of Kogoro-ojisan’s—who he should really be calling otousan nowadays—intention of becoming a mystery novelist, much like his actual father. Kudo Yusaku had made millions writing his thrillers, and today, years after the older Kudo patriarch decided to publish his final novel, he was still adding money to the Kudo fortune.

Perhaps his mother playing the titular character in one of Night Baron’s spinoff adaptations, Lady Baron, played a huge factor too. His parents were weird that way, almost like a tag-team, because the moment Kudo Yusaku announced his writing retirement, Kudo Yukiko came out of hers.

It was as if they thought that the world could not handle more than three (he was pretty sure his popularity was on par with his parents, despite his lack of big screen appearances) famous Kudos at a time.

“Finally jumping on the full Kudo experience?” he teased, adjusting himself on the hospital bed where his wife sat, left arm wrapped around her whole frame, right palm covering hers.

Eyes focused on the little bundle in her arms, she hummed before answering, “A best-seller for sure.”

As if on cue, their newborn squirmed before revealing twin orbs that matched his mother’s, unfocused eyes looking up to the woman who went through hell and back prior to his birth.

“Anata,” she called, her tired voice laced with a hint of excitement. “He’s beautiful.”

Day 1

He stood in an abandoned room of an equally abandoned motel located just 50 km on the outskirts of Tokyo, the very location that had him and nearly the whole Tokyo Metropolitan Police Taskforce wrecking their brains and exhausting their resources to find. The identified suspect was one Seisaku Miyazaki, a serial rapist and killer with a tendency for flairs. The 27 crime scenes he left always had distinct blood splatter to them, resulting from either gunshot wounds straight to the temple, or intraoral ones.

Shinichi had never seen a crime scene so gruesome in his life.

As soon as Shinichi stepped into the room, the first thing he should have registered was the blood-spattered left wall and Seisaku’s limp and lifeless body on a chair in the same left corner, his riffle trapped in between his legs.

Instead, Shinichi’s frantic eyes zeroed on the figure on the bed in the middle of the room, merely 10 feet away from Seisaku’s body. The woman had her back against the headboard with an ungodly amount of blood running down her bottom half, arms cocooning a small bundle wrapped with a violet-colored cardigan—the same one she was last saw wearing before her disappearance.

She had her eyes on her baby, as if the newborn was the only person who mattered, seemingly unbothered by the chaos unfolding before her. It took the lead detective a full five seconds to notice that the newborn—oh God, their newborn—was not crying.

He was beside her in her flash, holding her tighter than he should. His wife was again, unbothered, but he noticed that she closed their baby more to her semi-naked chest. The cuts and bruises on her face and torso did not go unnoticed by him. All of Seisaku’s victims had the same markings, but unlike those women who bled from their heads, she was bleeding from bottom down.

Kudo Shinichi screamed for the medic.

It was only then did he hear a soft cry, and he released a breath he did not know he was holding.

“Anata,” she called, finally removing her gaze from their son to look at him “He’s beautiful.”

Her face was pale and hollow, but there was no mistaking the warmth in her eyes and the gentleness of her smile.

His heart both bloomed and broke for her.

“Ran,” he choked out the name he’d been desperately calling for the past few hours. “You’re going to be okay.”

When the medic team finally appeared, his wife first handed the closest medic the baby, “Take care of him, onegai,” she requested, sounding too much like a plea. “He’s a good boy.”

Releasing her son’s warmth, the brunette fell back onto her husband, who caught her naked shoulders, throwing her full weight onto his.

“Shinichi,” she whispered, warm blue orbs losing focus as she looked at him, though her smile remained. She rose her hand to caress his cheek (she’s so, so cold). “You found us.”

Her chapped lips meet his, and then, “Arigato.”

With a sigh of relief, she shut her eyes, and rolled limp further into her husband’s embrace.

Shinichi’s world stood still, the only things registering in his mind were his wife’s cold body, and their newborn’s loud cries in the distant.

Day 8

She was in pure fight mode, forcing her body to function and conscious to stay awake. Once she knew that her child was safe, all the injuries and agony finally caught up to her, and she welcomed the numbing darkness.

The last thing Ran remembered was Shinichi’s rapid heartbeat drumming her ears.

The new mother woke up a week later, on an unfamiliar bed, to the familiar but tormented eyes of her husband.

“Baby,” she mustered breathily, and her husband’s eyes all but softened.

She knew that they were safe.

Day 10

It was another two whole days before she was deemed fit enough to hold her newborn.

“Anata,” she beams, “He’s beautiful.”

“He is,” the Heisei-Reiwa Holmes agreed. “The brat gave the doctors and nurses a fright with his fever, would not stop crying too.”

If his wife was worried, she did not show it. “Is that true?” she cooed, “But you’re okay now, aren’t you sweetheart? Your Papa found us after all.”

Day 0

Kudo Ran did not fit Seisaku Miyazaki’s victim profiles by the slightest. The females he preyed on were usually late teens to early twenties, lived alone, physically petite, and had questionable practices in their private lives.

Or, in the words of Seisaku himself, whores.

Catching the serial killer had been the detective’s top priority, with the death count at 27 and the most recent killings at the heart of Tokyo, it was one of the most challenging cases for him to date.

With half of the murders in Tokyo and the other half in Osaka, it was a no brainer for both Detective of the East and West to join hands, special taskforces from Tokyo and Osaka rallying under their (unofficial) command. The investigation had been ongoing for more than four months before special unit finally made a definite progress, being able to identify a potential victim, shadowing her day and night, coming in to save her just in time from being abducted, and arresting Seisaku’s paid minion.

Genzo Okubo was no Seisaku, the two detectives figured. The latter was confident, methodical, a true psychopathic mastermind, yet the man they caught fumbled with his words, sweated profusely, and most importantly, had little loyalty as he quickly confessed to everything.

The unit rejoiced, but Shinichi and Heiji knew that it was too simple, as if Seisaku wanted Gento to be caught.

By the time they were finished with the guy, it was already 2 a.m.

The lack of miscalls from him wife caught him off guard.

He tried not to panic, reasoning to himself that Ran was probably at her parents’, fell asleep, and his in-laws forgot to inform him. After all, it would not be the first time this had happened. If anything, the Mouris had not stopped fussing over their daughter, and with this case constantly on his mind, Shinichi had not really been the doting husband and father-to-be that he ought to be. Their six-year-old twins were away with his parents somewhere in New York, the elder Kudo couple wanting to give the once-again new parents space to get ready for the youngest Kudo’s arrival.

Halfway through dialing Eri’s number (because his mother-in-law was a light sleeper), Heiji burst into the break room with a suspicious package in his hands.

“Kudo,” the dark-skinned detective panted, as if he just ran up flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator, “that bastard’s got Nee-chan.”

Inside the package were two things: a picture of a very pregnant Kudo Ran, blindfolded and gagged, and a lone platinum wedding band.

Day 10

“He panicked.”

“Hmm?”

“Seisaku-san, he panicked.” His wife stated, the name of her kidnapper rolling of her tongue like she was mentioning a student of hers. “I started having contractions, started bleeding too. He mumbled something about ‘not following his plan’.”

Shinichi rose his brows, puzzled by Ran’s statement, but he let her continue.

“I think,” she paused, readjusting her hold on their son when they boy started to writhe, “that he was halfway out when Seisaku-san decided to shoot himself.”

Her voice was cool, too indifferent, and deep down, Shinichi knew that his wife may be scarred for life.

“Three sounds,” she gulped then snickered. “Me screaming during the final push, the baby’s cries, and the riffle going off.”

Shinichi held her tighter.

“His blood was everywhere, Shinichi. On the walls, the carpet, the bed, my face,” There are now cracks in her voice, the memories flooding her overwhelmed mind as she remembers it all again, “On our baby boy.”

“Ran…” He trailed off, not knowing what to say. His wife and son were alive, but the trauma she went through was something he wished on no one, not even Seisaku himself.

“I didn’t want him to get cold, so I wrapped him with my cardigan. Not the most hygienic, I know, but I didn’t exactly have many choices,” a chuckle. “He locked the door, so I couldn’t escape, and I couldn’t exactly kick the door open, my energy was spent on giving birth. So, I started breastfeeding the baby, burping him…making sure he was alive long enough for you to find us.”

Something in him shattered even more.

Ran averted her eyes away from their son to look at her husband, their faces only a few centimeters apart. There were no tears in their eyes, the pain and regret that remained in their hearts too crushing to be expressed by mere crying. “I’m safe, our boy is safe, because you found us. None of this is your fault, so please, Anata,” she kisses him before continuing, “don’t blame yourself.”

Shinichi could not imagine what life would be without her. She was his wife, partner, lover, best friend, soulmate, the mother of his children, his world, his everything.

“Okay,” he promised simply, capturing her lips for a second time before kissing her forehead. “I love you.”

He felt her smiling into his neck, and at that moment, nothing was wrong; they were whole.

They stayed like that for a few more moments, savoring the peaceful yet short time they had with their baby boy before one of the nurses took him away for the night.

Day 11

“Your book,” Shinichi remembered far into the night. “What are you going to write about?”

A mischievous look twinkled in Ran’s eyes, and the man knows that his wife will heal just fine. “Kidnapped 101.”

- end

A/N: Nope, not their firstborn. And I also imagine that Ran has had her fair share of getting kidnapped so might as well write a book on it lmao.

#shinran #shinichi kudo #ran mouri #fanfic #detectiveconan #hurtandcomfort?

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intpstyle · 4 years

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Detective Conan Meta: Trauma, being seen & the Inner Child

Okay, so it’s 6AM and I woke up with this essay half-formed in my mind and I need to talk about DC. Yesterday, I saw a quote on tumblr that read

“to be loved is to be seen”

and it literally haunted my dreams. I dreamt of Shinichi being unable to tell Ran who he is for so long now (we won’t go into the half a year debate (in this post)) and it got me thinking about the unbearable loneliness of it all. Then I thought of Heiji and of how liberating it must be for Shinichi that some people do know him for who he really is - that some people see him, that some people are able to love him, all of him, because they’ve recognised him even when he looks like a child. And that got a chain reaction of symbolism going in my brain because THINK ABOUT IT, Shinichi is literally forced to live as his own inner child.

So, we open with this lovably weird 17-year-old (fuck no, in the manga he’s actually only 16) with barely any survival skills who’s been left alone in a huge mansion because his parents went adios, who doesn’t have a whole lot of close friends because he always found it difficult to connect with others because he’s so focussed on his detective work and who, when he finally manages to ask the love of his life out on a date and inevitably stumbles over another murder, claims that “you get used to it”, that corpses don’t affect him, that nothing really affects him and, worst of all, he actually means it. This is our protagonist. He’s All Grown Up. He always tried to be All Grown Up. Frankly, with parents like these, he always had to be All Grown Up. And it’s okay! Because he found something he loves doing (finding the truth, restoring justice, helping people) and he’s good at it and people actually love him for it (look at all these fan letters, Ran, look at them!)

And then Ran (bless you, angel child) starts crying because - because so many reasons. One, she’s still affected by what happened. Two, she sees the love of her life being strong - and he always has and had to be strong; it must be so bloody exhausting and he’s not even aware of how tired he is, but to ask him to take a break, to take a look at what all this death and suffering and loneliness really means, to take it in, to stop, would be to take the one thing away (apart from her, but she doesn’t know that) that keeps him stable and grounded and to risk having him fall apart. I don’t think she knows this consciously, but Ran is empathetic and has been around Shinichi all her life - this, I think, is the moment it really hits her that this brutality (a literal decapitated corpse that spews blood like a fountain on a roller coaster!!!) has become her best friend’s “normal”. She is scared. She is worried. And she shows it.

And then Shinichi (bless you, cool child) tries to play it down, to make her feel better, to show her that this is nothing to despair over. He, too, is trying to be considerate of this incredible girl who always takes on other people’s burdens and their pain and grins and bears it. But it isn’t all compassion - he frankly also does not have the tools to deal with someone being so vulnerable and innocent and, dare I say?, child-like. And what does he do? Does he stay and engage with her side of things? Does he hear her out and consider that he HAS become callous and somewhat addicted to shedding light on the dark sides of other people? That he feels uncomfortable feeling the light turned back on himself? No! No, of course not! He’s 16 and has the emotional range of a tea spoon (#relatable). Instead, he latches onto the next sign of mystery and turns back to his quest for truth where he feels safe and needed. He LITERALLY tells Ran to “go ahead” and that he’ll “catch up” and boy, will he ever (emotionally).

We all know what happens next: he bites off more than he can chew. He stumbles over a case that even he admits is “serious” and is LITERALLY hit over the head with the realisation that this - socio-economic corruption, systemic criminal organisations, being vulnerable and opening up to a loved one - is the world of adults and he is NOT ready for it. So he, like everybody else, is given the choice to call it quits or to choose life, start over and re-learn the things he missed out in childhood to become an adult. He becomes his inner child again (the first chapter literally ends with the dialogue

“You okay!? Can you stand up, little boy?”

“Huh?”

and he’s trying. He’s trying to stand up, okay?) and it smarts. In this old/new form, he is taken care of, but not taken taken seriously by the policemen (”You must’ve been scared”) and it freaks him out that they treat him (the master detective!) like a child again. At this height, he fails to get into his own house (some more symbolism right there) and he is not recognised by Professor Agasa until he shows him some impressive deduction work, demonstrating that this really is at the core of his character - he enjoys and is good at mysteries. That was never the problem. Neglecting just about everything else was (- the same goes for OG Holmes, I’d argue). Seeing how the situation he went through literally (damn that’s a lot of literally) turned Shinichi back into a child, Professor Agasa warns him not to inflict the same traumatic damage on others - especially since the situation is not yet resolved. (...but Agasa’s involvement is another can of worms)

There’s a whole other post in Shinichi’s choice to call himself “Conan Edogawa” and wearing his father’s glasses as well (aka trying to redefine his identity by viewing the world through the lense of the people he admired (notably his father’s frames without the lenses though!)), but the most interesting thing happens when Ran shows up. He tries, desperately, not to be recognised - not to be seen - by her in this form because it’s not HIM (it is though) and because it would involve Ran in danger; would put her in the adult world he couldn’t deal with and couldn’t protect her from, thus, ironically, infantilising her and (although in an attempt to be heroic, nonetheless still) limiting her agency.

And this is where the irony really kicks in - because Ran finds it much easier to talk to this raw, vulnerable version of himself that he doesn’t allow her to see as a “grown-up” 16-year-old. It is now, as a child that asks straight-forward questions, that he learns that Ran really does love him and that she knows the good (dependable, brave & cool), as well as the bad (full of himself, bit of a jerk and obsessed with mysteries) sides of him better than he does. At the very moment, he, touched by her vulnerability and wanting to open up, decides to tell her the truth, he is again reminded of the Men in Black by Kogoro falling down the stairs like a sack of potatoes and he (dependable, brave & cool) decides not to involve anyone in the mess he brought upon himself until he can stand up to the world of adulthood that he shrank from.

The beauty of the series is that Shinichi slowly realises, bit by bit, drop by drop, excruciating chapter after excruciating chapter, that the way for him (an INTP) to become an adult is precisely by letting others see him as he is and thus forming lasting, real and dependable relationships (by developing his Fe). This tragically begins with Akemi Miyano (a first step and another reminder that he is not capable enough yet), is slowly built up with the Detective Boys (who are honestly so important for him), continues with Ai (#bestpartners, for both of whom Professor Agasa, the eternal child-inventor, is a safe haven where they can catch up on what they missed out on, Ai obviously much more so than Conan), reaches a really, really sweet high with Heiji (#bestbromance), a rather dissatisfying conclusion with his parents (who, and I cannot stress this enough, decide the best way to convince their traumatised son that his life is in danger is to point a literal gun (okay, it’s a pistol) at his face in disguise) and climaxes with Eisuke Hondo (at which point he is confident enough to proclaim who he is even while still in the form of a child (although that doesn’t make the context of the situation any less stupid (thus proving that he IS still a love-struck teenager at the end of the day))). tl;dr By being both the professional adult “Sleeping Kogoro”, as well as the cooky child “Conan Edogawa” at once, Shinichi can play with both facets of his teenage life until he reaches a level of stability that allows him to integrate the child mind into his adult mind - and that will be the point at which he’ll be able to fully become (not just temporarily play the role of) Shinichi Kudo.

PS: It is also interesting to compare Ai’s and Shinichi’s approaches to being stuck in their childhood selves. Shinichi, not as scarred and slowly building up a network of people he trusts, is eager to move on and begs Ai to give him the temporary antidote as often as he can - he WANTS to grow up and be a grown-up so badly. There is so much (Ran) waiting for him there.

Ai, on the other hand, is much more cautious and warns him not to jump the gun. To her, much more scarred and still rather alone, this is an invaluable second shot at life and she is as careful with it as she humanly can, constantly worrying and on the look-out that someone could drag her back to the prison of responsibilities and obligations. That’s why it was SUCH a pivotal moment for her when she used and realised the use of her adult form when she saved the Detective Boys from the fire. She, too, is slowly connecting the two halves of herself but I suspect that it’ll take her an entire childhood to do so. (Also, interestingly, as an INTJ, she puts down her roots in a very different way from Conan. She cherishes her new relationships and protects them fiercely, but the real signs of her settling down ever-so-slowly is her growing willingness to reconstruct her internal moral system (Fi) and to acquire and find security in material possessions (Se), like her designer handbags and her little football-man-phone-strap.)

#so this is why i got a ba in literature huh #good to know #detective conan #intp #shinichi kudo #meitantei conan #psychological development #growing up #adulthood #inner child #manga #conan edogawa #shiho miyano #ai haibara #detective conan meta #manga meta #trauma #recovery #healing

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trouvelle · 4 years

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You Might Melt Me

Fandom: Detective Conan/DCMK Pairing: Heiji/Kazuha (mentioned Shinichi/Ran) Rating: PG Genre/Tags: Fluff, Comedy, College!AU Warning: Implied smut (a tiny bit of dirty talking) Summary: “So what?” Kaito asks, “Do you watch her eat and stuff?” “It’s like a ritual,” Shinichi tells Kaito helpfully.

•

Heiji is only twenty and he’s already facing a quarter-life crisis.

It’s not the fact that he has an entire class period (which dares to take up any normal person’s lunch time) every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. Yes, having to have late lunch just so he can attend his class dutifully does sort of bothers him. And no, Heiji does not hate studying. Not at all. Especially when it’s chemistry, one of the areas of study that he excels in, aside from maths... and biology. And physics. Yadda, yadda, he’s smart.

The unfortunate quarter-life crisis he’s currently facing, though, has been one and the same for as long as he can remember.

And it’s also right here, in his class, as of the moment.

Heiji pushes down the urge to bang his fists on the table surface as he tries to listen to the professor’s explanation. Trying would be so easy. In fact, scoring a perfect score would be a piece of cake with a cherry on top if only the girl beside him would stop spending the entire class period stuffing her face with food and making Heiji want to scream at him to please freaking stop for his sanity.

She doesn’t stop eating, the ends of her chopsticks stained with sauce and mouth munching at a piece of glorious fried chicken, and doesn’t seem fazed by Heiji’s intense glaring.

This is why it’s a serious crisis and not some random matter that he can shrug off and forget. He has to pass this chemistry course with flying colours but concentrating on the lecture isn’t easy when Toyama Kazuha is eating right beside him, a box of karaage on her lap and without a care in the world, and Heiji seriously considers smacking the packaging right at her cute face. Beautiful face. But also undoubtedly annoying face. Not like he pays her extra attention or anything.

Kazuha pokes a piece of chicken into her mouth and turns sideways to glance at him and he is absolutely not staring at the way the piece of chicken visibly pokes at her cheek from inside her mouth as she continues to munch nonchalantly and the way her mouth moves rhythmically as she chews and swallows down her food. He ignores the way his heart is thumping excitedly in his chest. There was a time when there is no possible way Heiji would ever think that Toyama Kazuha is cute. Nowadays, whenever he sees her, his mind is always spelling out at him, in capitalized bold glittery letters, the word CUTE.

Kazuha raises a perfect brow at him, looking like she is sizing Heiji up and has a judgmental remark at the tip of her tongue ready to be thrown at Heiji, only that she’s too busy munching to do that. She only looks away when Heiji does.

She spends the rest of class occasionally looking up to nod at the professor’s words. He spends the rest of class trying not to notice.

•

Today is Tuesday.

Tuesday means pizza at the campus cafeteria.

That doesn’t mean Heiji is going out to buy two boxes of pizza for both lunch and dinner so he doesn’t have to wait for his beloved roommate Shinichi to return to their dorm with his girlfriend’s homemade food. Well, that too, but Pizza Tuesday mainly means that Kazuha gets to eat pizza for lunch. In class.

Pizza Tuesday also means Heiji slumping down in his seat as he listens to the boring lecture (boring, because Heiji always comes to Organic Chemistry II academically prepared and knowing that he’s already had firsthand knowledge about the materials anyway) and tries not to watch the way the slice of pizza disappears into Kazuha’s mouth.

Said girl looks too cheerful for twelve at noon.

She is also wearing a sleeveless and cropped sports tank top today and he chokes on his own saliva when he sees the band of her black freaking bra as she moves to bring a slice of pizza into his mouth. Damn that top of hers with armholes too wide to even qualify as a shirt. He reaches for his water bottle and ignores the way his mouth waters at that delicious piece of… pizza! Yeah. Definitely the pizza. Heiji is undoubtedly craving for pizza right now.

Half way into the lecture he finds Kazuha turning to him with a mildly pitiful look on his face. She’s definitely thinking Heiji is salivating at his pizza. Which Heiji is. Definitely.

Heiji slumps further down his seat and grumbles into his sweatshirt.

•

Heiji wonders if it’s possible for him to react with excess oxygen to form water and carbon dioxide because at this point, he might as well just combust. At least then he won’t have to listen to the constant sound that she lets out as she eats, the sound so loud and distinct Heiji wouldn’t be surprised if she had been eating her cookies right in front of his ears all this time.

He feels like crumpling his desk into a makeshift ball of anger and smacking it at her face as she won’t stop snacking her pretty and pouty mouth off, seating relaxedly on her chair as the sound intensifies, and he thinks he’s going insane because no one else, not even the professor, seems like they give a damn about Kazuha eating extra loudly and practically disrupting the lesson. He doubts they even notice, which is probably the case with their professor.

Heiji wants to scream.

•

Heiji doesn’t scream.

Not in class, anyway. But he does scream when he goes back to his room, lying face down on his bed with his feet resting on the headboard. It’s a very comfortable position.

“Hattori!” Shinichi growls from his desk as Heiji continues to scream and scream and scream into his comforter because if Kazuha can disrupt his studying period by making the loudest and most enticing noises possible, then he has all the rights to yell as much as he wants.

“Hattori, I swear to your pathetic wrinkled ass that if you don’t stop that—”

“My butt is amazing!” Heiji yells back at him, still into the comforter, because getting up and shifting into a different position just so Shinichi can hear him is too much work and a waste of valuable energy.

Shinichi makes a disgruntled sound.

Something flashes in Heiji’s mind and he halts his screaming to a stop. Shinichi is gathering his stuff up when Heiji lifts his head to look at him.

It’s only happened too many times, Heiji can’t even pinpoint when exactly he became entranced by the sight. He vividly remembers that one time wherein he was walking behind Kazuha (they usually walk side by side) and didn’t waste his chance to stare at Kazuha’s back figure and the way her jeans hugged her toned legs and the curve of her ass so wonderfully.

Heiji sighs, almost dreamily. She looks amazing. Shinichi makes wild, incomprehensible gestures with his arms that Heiji thinks make him look like a ridiculous flailing pigeon. Heiji sighs again, this time more heavily because he has too many unnecessary feelings. He turns to Shinichi, hoping that the pout on his face makes him look pathetic enough for Shinichi to sympathize with him.

Shinichi merely gives Heiji a disapproving look before coldly closing the door behind him and leaving twenty minutes early for his date with Ran. Lover boy.

•

Heiji confronts Kazuha one morning, on the hallway just outside the lecture hall. She doesn’t look the least bothered by it, instead sporting an amused smile on her face as she licks at her chocolate ice cream like the irksome ahou she is.

“Can you not eat in class?” He asks, looking her in the eye and trying not to stare at the way her tongue drags down the side of the ice cream. Oh, how he misses their high school days when food is absolutely forbidden during class time.

“Why?” She asks, peering up at him. She has really long lashes.

“Because,” Heiji says and wets his lips when she licks at her ice cream with a torturously slow drag of her tongue. “Campus regulations prohibit food and drinks in class.”

Kazuha merely blinks at him before bringing her ice cream up so that she can suck at the swirling tip of it. His breath hitches involuntarily, which results in him inhaling a waft of what is probably her scent that strongly smells like citrus and vanilla. “I don’t know,” she says, an innocent look on her face. “Professor doesn’t seem like he minds.”

Heiji wants to strangle her. And maybe dip his finger into Kazuha’s mouth so he can feel how that ice cream must have felt like to be licked by that⁠—wait, what?

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Heiji growls instead, voice dropping an octave lower to show how serious this matter is for his future.

“Why?” A wet tongue darts out to lick ice cream off her lips that curl upwards at the end into a mischievous, kittenish smile and Heiji feels his insides melt and twist and swirl and explode into a myriad of feelings. “Does it bother you?” Kazuha asks, looking up at him and her mouth working, savoring the taste of milk chocolate. He might also be wondering how her lips might taste like, though nobody else has to know about how long he’s been having that thought for. Too goddamn long.

“Yes,” he says before his mind can register. After it does, he quickly adds, “No!” with his forefinger pointed at her because he’s supposed to be angry. “I’m supposed to concentrate on the lecture but I can’t because you’re right there beside me and won’t stop snacking in class and it’s getting on my nerves, you ahou!”

She ignores him and runs her tongue around what’s left of her ice cream and Heiji feels like he’s the one melting instead of the ice cream.

He must look really dumb standing right there with his mouth hanging open as he stares at her speechlessly.

She watches and studies him, still with that same mildly amused smile on her face, as he tries to find something to say and fails miserably. “Ahou.” Kazuha says with finality when she’s decided that he doesn’t seem like he’s got anything else to say, and continues to munch and bite into her cone as she walks away. Just like that.

•

Heiji decides the best decision is to unleash all of it to Shinichi and Kaito after class and make them listen to a verbal showcase of his concerns because that’s what friends are for.

“Oh. You’re early,” is Kaito greeting, the man not tearing his eyes away from his bowl of noodles as Heiji barges into his room and drops himself on their couch. Shinichi barely looks up before turning back to his laptop. He’s probably gotten tired of being exasperated by Heiji at some point.

“Are you not going to ask me how chemistry went?” Heiji gurgles into the couch.

“How was chemistry?” Kaito asks, monotonously.

“That ahou brought another food to eat in class again today,” Heiji says, sighing emptily.

“So what?” Kaito asks, before he seems to get it. Is this guy even more hopeless than he thinks? “Do you watch her eat and stuff?”

“It’s like a ritual,” Shinichi tells Kaito helpfully. When Heiji turns to look at them, Shinichi is still typing into his laptop, probably doing some essay for his literature class.

“She eats too goddamn loud. I can hear everything—her chewing, munching, swallowing—it drives me crazy! And it’s so annoying because I can’t hate her,” Heiji states, jabbing his finger at the couch and totally making a point.

“Why would you want to hate her?” Kaito asks, using his chopsticks to swirl around the remaining ramen in his bowl. “ I thought you⁠ li—nevermind.”

“Because she’s loud and she’s distracting me from studying in class,” Heiji says, glaring at the other boy.

Kaito looks up from his bowl. “She’s distracting you? Not.. you’re distracting her?” he asks, eyes narrowed looking cat-like and a lot more invested in the conversation. If there’s one thing Hattori Heiji is good at, it’s being ridiculously distracting at any given circumstance.

“Yes, and I don’t disturb nor distract people,” Heiji defends himself.

“So she’s loud… and you’re not.” Kaito repeats, this time more of a statement than a question, “And she’s distracting... and you’re not.”

“Well, yeah,” Heiji shakes his head exasperatedly.

He’s about to snap at Kaito because this is getting ridiculous, but Shinichi joins in, looking up from his laptop. “For the record, Hattori, you’re the only one who thinks Kazuha eats that loud.”

Kaito says, with a quirk in his mouth, “The problem is on you, not her.”

What? “I don’t—”

“Kuroba is having a bowl of ramen and you don’t seem to even realize how messy he’s eating.” Shinichi points out, trying to get his message across the thick-skulled boy, earning an unamused look from Kaito instead.

Nobody says anything, the slurping sound Kaito’s making as he eats his instant ramen is the only sign of presence in the apartment. Heiji briefly recalls what she looks like eating a bowl of ramen. With broth smeared around her lips and still looking effortlessly delectable nonetheless.

“Exactly.” Shinichi finishes with an exasperated look dead set in his eyes, like the wise old man he is, and Heiji really, really hates his friends.

“I hate all of you,” he groans at them both.

“Nah, you don’t,” Shinichi says, turning back to his stupid laptop with that stupid smile on his stupid face.

Heiji trashes his limbs around their stupid couch just so he can make their living room look a lot messier. Very mature. Heiji is proud of himself.

“Nah, you don’t,” Kaito reiterates, getting up to put his bowl into the sink. “Also, you’re on dish duty today.” Heiji doesn’t think they’ve helped him at all.

“You should consider the fact that your brain simply shuts down and all your other senses are heightened whenever Kazuha is present,” is what Heiji hears and ignores before he shuts the world off with his arm draped across his forehead to cover his eyes and sulks away to his sleep.

•

Heiji drops in his usual seat beside Kazuha’s. She’s not here yet, so he concludes that her other class is running late. She walks to class with what looks like soft milk breads in her hand and has an almost unnoticeable smile on her face that she tries to hide by biting into her bread when she catches sight of him.

The next hour he finds himself trying to subtly catch glimpses of her eating. She’s so fucking adorable, sparkly eyes focused on the lecture and cheeks bulging out cutely as she stuffs her face with food. That bread must be so soft and delicious, but Heiji is more curious of how soft Kazuha’s cheeks would feel again under his palm.

It’s stupid, but he doesn’t try to suppress the smile that creeps up his face as he stares at her fondly and thinks that, yeah, maybe he can finally accept this.

•

It has become a habit that Heiji forgoes lunch every Tuesday and Thursday in favor of coming to chemistry class on time. That doesn’t stop him from getting some snacks, though, because food is a must and is absolutely important, even more so than chemistry.

Usually, he stops by the nearby vending machine to get a pack of chips before the lecture and no more. This time, Heiji buys two. He finishes his pack of chips and chucks the empty packaging into the trash can and walks to class.

The professor walks in right after and the lecture starts just as he takes a seat, placing the pack of chips on his desk and dropping his backpack onto the floor. When he looks to the side, Kazuha is sulking in her seat, slumping into her oversized camel coat grumpily. He still thinks she looks the cutest in them.

“Want food,” She whines audibly into the desk, frowning cutely. He makes no effort to resist the urge to reach over and pinch her cheek, so he did. Not before throwing an “ahou” her way to make him seem more sincere, of course.

He glances at the pack of chips on his desk.

Kazuha looks up when he places it in front of her. “Food?” she asks, sitting up and looking at Heiji with an adorable, confused look on her face.

“Food,” Heiji says unintelligently.

The lights are turned off for a powerpoint presentation the professor is currently doing, but he can see the way her eyes narrow at him in mild suspicion. “What did you put in this?”

He turns at the expected accusation. “Nothing!” he says defensively, feeling attacked. She has apparently not forgotten their middle school prank wars. He sighs. “I just bought it. For you.”

She looks at him intently. There’s a moment of pause, and he shifts in his chair anxiously, before she raises a brow and gives him a small, knowing smile. “I thought you hated it when I eat in class?”

He is ready to respond to her with a snide remark, but it doesn’t come. Instead, he feels bold, confidence growing as he says, “I like watching you eat.” She is toying with the plastic packaging of the chips and grinning when he smiles happily at her.

“Not surprised. Because I eat very gracefully, unlike you.” She throws back at him, a teasing glint in her eyes as she continues to smile at him. Heiji never noticed until now, but their obligatory daily arguments have blossomed into something more comforting and teasing like these ones. He wonders why they used to yell at each other so much when they were younger.

Heiji tunes out the professor’s words as he watches Kazuha throw chips into her mouth, the frown gone from her face. He keeps his gaze until she’s done with the chips. "Do you want something else?" Heiji asks, keeping his voice down and leaning in.

She turns to him. "What do you mean?"

She doesn't tear her gaze as he reaches for his backpack and rummages in it. He smiles as she leans in curiously, trying to peek into his bag with that cute pout on her face. Her eyes widen when he fishes out a bar of chocolate and places it on Kazuha's table.

"Heiji," Kazuha whines, eyes narrowing as she stares at the chocolate bar. "You've eaten half of it," she states as a matter-of-factly.

He indeed has, just yesterday, because he was hungry and who wouldn’t if he knew he had chocolate in his bag? But he still wants to give it to her, because a hungry Kazuha without food is a sad Kazuha and a sad Kazuha is the recipe for a sad Heiji.

He shrugs, pretending to reach for the chocolate. “If you don’t want it, then…”

Her hand quickly lands on the chocolate before his does, covering it with her hand protectively. "Thanks," she says, reaching over to brush the back of her hand against his and smiling up at him with those expressive eyes. She unwraps the chocolate so she can bite into it even though they're clearly in the middle of a lecture, and Heiji can't even be angry at her. Instead he feels like vomiting butterflies and unicorns because Kazuha is so freaking cute and he has never been happier.

•

If Heiji had known that being Kazuha’s boyfriend would be this amazing, he would have stopped burying his feelings years ago and started looking for all the things he can hate Kazuha for since day one.

They’re in Heiji’s room, laptop perched at the end of Heiji’s bed and a bowl of half eaten popcorn left to rest beside it. Having kicked out an exasperated Shinichi and Kaito out of the apartment half an hour back, Heiji made sure that they have the door securely locked, just in case. It’s a fortunate thing, because, as it turns out, Kazuha has a completely different plan for them that does not involve watching the many Avengers movies he has saved into his laptop, and it’s not like he is complaining, anyway.

Kazuha has a downright feral grin on her face as she trails a palm down Heiji’s naked torso, fingers brushing lightly at the hem of his pants as she looks up at him with twinkling eyes. Her hair is tousled up from where he buried his fingers in her dark locks as they made out earlier and he gulps because he’s never seen anyone look so distractingly adorable and suffocatingly hot at the same time.

Heiji shudders at the lingering warmth of her breath on the skin just above where his pants are pulled taut because he’s so achingly hard and her teasing isn’t helping.

“Heiji,” Kazuha purrs, peering up from under long lashes and the ends of her lips pulled up into a feline smile.

He breathes out, grip tightening on the sheets as he pushes down the urge to buck up because it’s only been fifteen minutes and he’s already so desperate.

“Heiji,” He really likes the way Kazuha says his name. “Remember when I had that ice cream? Want me to do exactly what I did to it⁠—” a wet tongue darts out to lick at where skin meets the seam of jeans to leave wet trails behind and he groans as she smirks in satisfaction “⁠—to you?”

“Kazuha,” Heiji hisses out as a warning, feeling like he’s on the brink of exploding because she is so torturously slow. Too slow.

“Want me to lick you up?” Kazuha dips down to take the head of his pants’ zipper in between her teeth. “Suck you dry?” Her palm is hot and welcome as it leaves a burning trail down Heiji’s sensitive ribs. “Swallow you down?”

“Kazuha. Just—” Heiji chokes into a stop when she hushes him up with a soft sound.

The kitty grin on her face makes him want to curse. “Do you want it?”

He looks down at her, chest heaving as he breathes hard. He closes his eyes, willing himself to think because thinking is hard when the body wants otherwise.

Fuck it. “Yes. Fuck, yes Kazuha. Do it.” He all but groans as soon as his mind registers, and doesn’t bother restraining himself from bucking up when she drags her head down, pulling the zipper open with her teeth. Her lips look so beautiful wrapped around the piece of metal and Heiji feels like the luckiest man on Earth to be the sole witness to that. He’s about to melt, physically and mentally, in all sense of the word.

Later, he finally finds out how the ice cream has felt with Kazuha’s lips wrapped around it in a tight, warm heat, and feels so damn happy because, let’s be real, now that he has her, he’s luckier than the luckiest man on Earth.

#Hattori Heiji #Kudo Shinichi #Toyama Kazuha #Detective Conan #DCMK #Kuroba Kaito #heizuha #heiji x kazuha #college au #shinran #shinichi x ran #comedy #fluff #fic #university au

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vgckwb · 3 years

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P5R: Rebel Girl (A FeMC Story/P5R Rework) Chapter 32: 3 Targets

Friday morning, and Ren has just finished getting dressed for school. She turned around. “Alright, you can look now. Huh?” She was surprised to see Morgana not perched upon the windowsill. Instead, Morgana crawled out from under the bed. Ren sank down to meet him. “What are you doing down there?”

“You said I shouldn’t look when you’re changing,” Morgana said. He hopped on the bed so that Ren could stand up. “I wasn’t looking.”

“Right, but when you do that, you usually look out the window,” Ren said. “What happened?”

Morgana seemed a little embarrassed. “While you were out with Mishima last night, this woman almost kidnapped me…”

“WHAT?!” Ren said, shocked.

“I was worried that that woman would see me and try to take me again,” Morgana said. “Man, why do I have to have this cat body?”

“What happened?” Ren asked, picking up Morgana.

“Wha?” Morgana said, shocked at getting picked up. “Well, uh, I was walking around, minding my own business, when I heard someone shout ‘SNOWBALL!’ At first I didn’t pay it much mind, but she ran up to me and tried picking me up. I ran away from her but she just kept chasing me.

Eventually, I ran toward this old man in the neighborhood. He was confused initially, but when he heard her screaming ‘SNOWBALL!’ he seemed to pick up on what was going on. He tucked me away and shooed her off. If I never see her again, it’ll be too soon.”

Ren set Morgana down and then sat down herself. “Did you happen to catch a name?”

“Well, oddly enough, yeah” Morgana said. “After she left the old man sighed and said ‘Crazy ol’ Ryoko Aino at it again.’ He also looked at me and said ‘She keeps taking cats. How many would you be? 11? 13?’ Why?”

“Well, I was thinking of getting the gang together and paying her a visit” Ren answered.

“Huh?” Morgana said.

Ren giggled. “You’ll see.” Morgana popped into Ren’s bag and the two headed off to school.

After school, Ren got a message from Mishima.

Mishima: Hey, I just noticed a dire request on the Phansite.

Mishima: And guess what? It’s from our school.

Mishima: Apparently this one kid named Daisuke Takanashi is hardcore bullying a bunch of students.

Mishima: Sometimes it even gets physical.

Mishima: Do you want me to make it known that the Phantom Thieves are after him?

Ren: Sure.

Ren: Also, could you do that for two other people?

Mishima: Of course! Anything for the Phantom Thieves!

Ren: Great!

Ren: Do that for Heiji Ono and Ryoko Aino.

Mishima: Done and done!

“That’s what you meant?!” Morgana yelped.

“Shhhh” Ren said. “People might hear you.”

“We’re going to change her heart?” Morgana continued.

Ren nodded. ”If she keeps kidnapping cats, the streets of Yongen-Jaya won’t be safe for cats… Or you…”

Morgana fussed. “I guess it’s fine in some contexts.”

“Alright! So, let’s get everyone together” Ren said.

“Huh? We’re doing these today?” Morgana questioned.

Ren nodded. “I figure it would be easier than jumping three basically unaware people into a palace.”

“Makes sense,” Morgana said. “Hey, wait! Was that a snide remark at me?”

Ren smiled. “Perhaps. But at the same time, I think we needed to steal Kamoshida’s heart in order to get people to believe us. So it’s even.”

“Well… alright…” Morgana said.

Ren messaged the group chat.

Ren: Alright everyone, we’re meeting up today!

Soon, they all met up in the access hall. “Alright! Are we going to give Madarame what’s coming to him?!” Ryuji said.

“Not so loud!” Ann hushed him. “We’re still in public.”

“Sorry,” Ryuji said.

“Well, to answer your question, not yet,” Ren said. Everyone was surprised. “I was thinking of doing a bit of training first.”

“Training how?” Sumire asked.

Ren turned to face Sumire. “Remember that place where your Persona first awakened?” Sumire nodded. “That place is called Mementos. It serves as a palace for the general public, and it’s where we can steal the hearts of people without a palace.”

“Huh” Sumire said.

“So, you wanna head down there?” Ann asked.

Ren nodded. “I figure it might help Sumire, and Yusuke get used to the Metaverse some more, and maybe get Jose some Phantom Thief experience..”

“Well, I could use some practice,” Yusuke said.

Jose nodded. “I guess I might need some assistance working as a team.”

“Well, do we have any marks?” Ryuji asked.

“Three” Ren answered.

“Well let’s hear them,” Ryuji said.

“Yeah, we do have to agree on them before we can go after them” Ann reminded them.

Ren nodded. “First, there’s a bully at our school; Daisuke Takanashi. Apparently he’s even getting physical.”

“No way!” Ryuji said. “We can’t let that stand.”

“I agree,” Yusuke said.

“Daisuke Takanashi?” Sumire said. She thought. “OK, let’s do this.”

“Alright, second is this old man who keeps disturbing the peace in Kichijoji named Heiji Ono. Apparently, he’s also feigning ignorance about it every time he does it.”

“Huh? What does that mean?” Jose asked.

“It means he says he doesn’t know what he’s doing when he does,” Ann explained. “And although it might seem a bit harsh, I say we go for it. I can’t stand people who keep getting away with things due to some special treatment.”

Ren nodded. “And lastly, poor little Morgana here almost got kidnapped last night”.”

“Don’t… Don’t phrase it like that” Morgana said. “It makes me sound less cool.”

“Awww, poor Morgana” Jose said. He started petting him. “It’s OK. We all have weak moments.”

Morgana was slightly embarrassed, but he did enjoy the petting. “Thanks…”

“Taking Morgana would not have been the first time she kidnapped a cat,” Ren continued. “We need to change her heart to keep her from taking cats in the future.”

“I agree,” Sumire said. “Taken away by a stranger to a place you don’t know. It sounds harrowing, especially for a cat. … Oh, but I don’t mean to compare you to just a regular cat, Morgana-senpai.”

“It’s… fine…” Morgana relented. “In this case, I’d be no different than an actual cat.”

“So, it sounds like we’re all in agreement then” Ren said. Everyone else nodded. “Great. I had Mishima alert them on the Phansite already. Now, let’s head to Mementos.” Everyone prepared and headed out.

Once they arrived, Yusuke was taken by surprise. “Oh my. What a strange garden.”

“Oh yeah. Yusuke hasn’t been here before” Ann remarked.

Sumire was silent. “Hey” Ren said. “It’s going to be alright. Things changed since the last time you were down here.” She took her hand. “You’ve changed.”

Sumire blushed. “Thanks senpai.”

Yusuke held his hands out to make a frame. “What an intricate display of madness. I might need to paint this someday.”

“Yeah, maybe hold off on that until we can get Madarame to stop claiming your works of art are his” Ryuji told him.

“Hmmm. You’re right” Yusuke said. “Madarame hasn’t even seen this. To have him take credit for it…”

Ryuji looked at him. “Man, I’d like to live in your head for like five minutes.”

“I’d like that too,” Morgana said. “Then maybe you’ll see why Panther deserves a portrait of herself.”

“WHAT?!” Ryuji snapped back.

“Hm. What clever thinking” Yusuke said.

“Yeah. I’d like that too” Ann giggled.

“If you were to live in my head, then you would know at first glance that Pather’s beauty and radiance deserves a nude portrait unto itself!” Yusuke continued.

“WHAT?!” shouted Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana.

“Huh? Did I not mention that?” Yusuke asked.

“YOU MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT!” Ann shrieked.

“Huh. My apologies” Yusuke said. “However, for what it’s worth, I wouldn’t have asked you to get naked for me if you didn’t want to. I would have just looked up references for the remaining parts.”

“That’s… um…” Ann said, face turning red. “Is that better?”

“I don’t think so,” Ryuji answered. “Why the Hell do you need to draw her nude to show off her beauty, when anyone with two working eyes can see she’s beautiful inside and out?”

“Urgh!” Yusuke said, shaken. “Forgive me. It seems I need to reevaluate my perspectives.”

Sumire patted him on the shoulder. “You’re only starting to break free from Madarame’s grasp. These things take time.”

“Thank you, Violet,” Yusuke said.

“Skull…” Ann said. “That’s so sweet… But… Where the Hell was this last week?!”

“Oh… You’re still mad about that huh…” Ryuji said.

Jose was curious. “What happened last week?”

“Ah, nothing!” Ann said. Sumire and Ren giggled.

“Look, I’m sorry about that,” Ryuji said.

Ann pouted. “I just want to know why that was your first instinct.”

“Well…” Ryuji said, rubbing the back of his head. “Ugh, this is going to sound embarrassing. I just thought, I dunno, we hung out often enough. I thought I said everything else worth saying during those moments.” Ann was surprised. “But I guess Kamoshida ruined that too, didn’t he…”

“No…” Ann said. “No, you’re fine. I just… wouldn't mind hearing those things again, you know?”

“Oh… Why didn’t I think of that?” Ryuji said.

“Hm. What a marvelous duo” Yusuke said. “Would you mind if I painted the two of you together? Fully clothed, of course.”

“Huh? Well, maybe…” Ann thought.

“GAH!” Ryuji yelled. “How did we get onto this? I’ll answer the painting question later. Right now, I wanna change some hearts.”

Ann pouted again. “Skull…”

“He has a point though,” Ren said. “We came down here for a reason.”

“I agree,” Jose said. “We can’t keep those hearts waiting.”

“Right…” Ann said. “Alright Mona, do your thing!”

“Thing? What thing?” Sumire asked.

“Heh. It’s showtime” Morgana said. “TRANSFORM!” he transformed into the car.

“WOAH!” Sumire said. “You can do that?”

“Of course!” Morgana said.

“Then why does Joker-senpai have to walk everywhere?” Sumire asked. Ren burst out laughing.

“Mona can only do this in the Metaverse” Ann explained.

“Yeah. Otherwise I’d totally do that” Ren said, wiping tears from her eyes.

“I see…” Sumire.

“So, Fox, what are your thoughts on this?” Ryuji asked.

Yusuke was fascinated. “While I am familiar with the concept, to see it actually happen… I’m truly amazed.”

“Do you want to paint me too?” Morgana asked.

Yusuke thought for a second. “Well, I wouldn’t go that far. But it is a nice novelty.” Morgana pouted.

The gang entered the Morgana car and they started driving down. Sumire looked out the window. “Man, this place looks so different from a car.”

“Well, Mementos does change every time you enter it,” Morgana said.

“Really?” Sumire said.

Ren nodded. “But I think I get what you mean.”

“Yeah, you were wandering around for a while before we found you” Ann said.

“Wait, come to think of it, WHY did you venture down here anyways?” Ryuji asked.

“Huh. I guess we never got an answer to that” Ann said.

“Well, I’m assuming I gave her the app,” Ren explained. “And she just happened to pass by.”

“Yeah… Something like that…” Sumire said.

“It seems better if we do not push the issue,” Yusuke said.

Ryuji sighed. “How do you think normal is this situation?” he mumbled.

They came to the other platform on the first level. “Huh? We’re at the end already? But we haven’t found a single target” Yusuke exclaimed.

“No, this is just the first floor,” Ann said.

“Of how many?” Yusuke asked.

“No idea,” Ryuji answered.

“WHAT?!” Yusuke shrieked.

“Wait, Jose, would you know?” Ren asked.

Jose shook his head. “There’s this huge door downstairs, and I couldn’t get it open when I was down here.”

“Huh” Ryuji said. “We opened it no problem.”

“WHAT?!” Jose said.

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘no problem’” Ren added. “The door responds to being part of the collective unconscious. Since you were basically an unknown, it makes sense you couldn’t open it.”

“Huh. I see” Jose said.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Yusuke said. “There are many things in this world that you cannot possibly know alone. For instance, it took coming into contact with all of you to help me realize that something needed to be done about Madarame.”

“I guess you’re right…” Jose said.

“Anyways, let’s go,” Ryuji said. “Time to see what’s even further.”

“Though I don’t suppose we’re getting to the bottom any time soon…” Ann added.

“Yeah,” Ren said. “If Eris is waiting for us at the bottom, I think we need to become more well known among the public.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Ryuji said. “Eris wants us to meet her down there, but we can’t get there yet, so she’s helping us by creating various life-or-death situations based on a plan by a different guy she killed and stole it from.”

“Basically” Ren said.

Ryuji sighed. “Ugh. This couldn’t get more complicated.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Morgana chimed in. “Anything can happen in the metaverse.”

“I guess you’re right” Ryuji resigned. They continued down.

They traveled Mementos a little bit until they found one of the targets. They jumped through the portal. “That must be Daisuke Takanashi’s shadow!” Morgana exclaimed.

“Time to put a stop to this bullying!” Ryuji said.

Sumire just looked at him. “...Daisuke…”

The thieves confronted him. “So, you’re the Phantom Thieves, huh?” Daisuke said. “Excellent! Ready to team up?”

“Why would we team up with a vicious bully like you?!” Ann shouted.

“To rule that pathetic school!” Daisuke answered. “With our might combined, we can make the new law of the land.”

“Tch. As if” Ryuji said. “We don’t take kindly to people pushing around others for their own amusement.”

“I agree,” Yusuke said. “It’s time we teach you some manners.”

“So that’s how it’s going to be?” Daisuke said. He transformed into a Jack Frost. “BRING IT ON!” After a quick battle, Daisuke lost. “DAMMIT!” he cried. “Why can I never be strong enough?”

“Strong enough for what?” Morgana ased.

“ANYTHING!” Daisuke answered.

“Daisuke…” Sumire said. “What happened between you and Kimi?”

“Huh? You know Kimi?” Daisuke asked.

“Well, um… yes…” Sumire said. “We’re, um, in the same ballet class… She hasn’t been herself since you broke up with her…”

Daisuke looked at Sumire. “GAH! Fine. I guess I should tell you. This other kid at school caught me shoplifting.”

“WHAT?!” Ann said.

“He told me he’d show them to the police if I didn’t do what he said,” Daisuke continued. “I didn’t want anything bad to happen, so I complied. But over time, I started hating the person I became. I had to break up with Kimi before I did something I’d regret even more.”

“So that’s it,” Ren said. Daisuke nodded.

“Hm. If you can tell us about this person, maybe we can change their heart” Jose responded.

“Heh. Sounds like a plan” Daisuke said.

“But afterwards, you have to promise to make it up to Kimi!” Sumire shouted.

“Of course,” Daisuke said. “I wouldn’t want anything more. I’ll log into that Phansite and put up a post there or something. I’ll also make it up to the store I stole from. Later.” Shadow Diasuke disappeared, and Ren took the treasure left behind.

They left and continued. “Man, this Mementos stuff is paying off!” Ryuji exclaimed. “We found Madarame like this, and now we found someone else too!”

“Yeah, but I don’t think this blackmailer will have a palace like Madarame,” Ann said.

Ryuji pouted. “Well, maybe someone could be bullying him and we keep going up the chain.”

“I doubt we’d get that lucky,” Morgana said.

Ren looked at Sumire. “So, you knew that guy Violet?”

Sumire looked up. “Well, not personally, no. But Kimi would always talk about him. She really liked him.” Sumire grew a blush. “It kind of made me jealous.”

“I see” Ren started blushing as well. “Well, it’s nice that we could reunite them.”

“Yeah” Sumire smiled. They continued driving through Mementos.

They quickly found another portal and jumped through it. “That’s that old guy, Heiji Ono’s shadow” Morgana noted.

“Hmm” Ren thought.

“What’s up?” Ryuji asked.

“My source told me there might be a little more to this one than meets the eye” Ren said.

“What do you mean? Ann asked.

Ren thought some more. “I’m not 100% sure, but I think there might be a deeper reason as to why he’s doing this.”

“Are you saying we should reason with him?” Yusuke asked.

“Well, I think it’s worth a shot at least,” Ren said.

They walked up to him. “Are you those rumored Phantom Thieves?” Heiji asked.

“Um, yeah?” Ryuji answered.

“HA! This is great” Heiji said.

“Why is this great?” Jose asked

“Because, if I mess with you and get away with it, they’ll HAVE to pay attention to me,” Heiji said.

“Um, we’re not going to just let you mess with us,” Morgana responded.

“Oh, but I am just a poor, defenseless old man” Heiji insisted.

“Did you really expect that to work?” Yusuke asked.

“Yeah, you told us your intentions outright” Ann added.

“DId I? Oh dear” Heiji said.

“Who is this ‘they’ person, and why do you want their attention?” Ren asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Heiji said. “I keep stirring up trouble, and they keep talking to me.”

“Um, could you try talking to them without causing trouble for others?” Sumire asked.

“BAH! They never listen” Heiji said. “And from the sounds of it, neither are you.”

“We’re just trying to help,” Jose said.

“Yeah, well help THIS!” Heiji morphed into a Koropokkuru. “MAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Well, it was worth a shot,” Ren said. “Let’s get him!” The thieves fought against Heiji’s shadow. They noticed that whenever Yusuke or Morgana used their powers on him, he’d complain about his bones. So they teamed up to finish him off.

After beating Heiji, he calmed down. “I don’t want to stop!” he yelled in desperation.

“Why?!” Ryuji yelled back.

“Because… They’ll abandon me…” Heiji answered.

“Again, who is this ‘they’?” Ren asked.

“...My grandchildren,” Heiji answered.

“AH!” Sumire yelped.

“That would explain a lot,” Yusuke said.

“They don’t want to spend time with me,” Heiji explained. “But if I make trouble, then they have no choice but to come over. Even if they’re just disappointed in me, they’re still talking to me.”

“Um, have you tried talking to them about this?” Ann answered.

“I told you, they won’t listen,” Heiji explained.

“Well, maybe you don’t need to tell them,” Ren said. “Maybe It's worth it just to talk to somebody about this. Who knows, maybe they could help get your grandkids to listen.”

“Maybe…” Heiji said. “But I’ve made so many people mad. I don’t think any of them will listen.”

“Well, why not apologize?” Ryuji explained. “I’ve learned that a good apology can go a long way.” He looked at Ann and winked. Ann blushed in surprise.

“Heh. You might be right” Heiji said. “You know, you’re all such good kids. Thanks for helping this old man.” He faded out and Ren took the treasure.

“Alright, one more target to go” Ren said.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Morgana said.

“Hey the sooner we get this done, the sooner she’ll stop trying to kidnap you” Ren retorted.

“...I guess that’s true,” Morgana said.

They continued onward. On the next floor, they found a little shed. “What’s this?” Ryuji said. They walked in. “Huh. It looks like a place to relax.”

“Well, why don’t we?” Ren asked.

“Yeah, this feels just like a safe room in a palace” Ann assessed.

“Exactly!” Morgana said.

“Well, I could certainly use a break,” Sumire said.

“As could I,” Yusuke added.

“Yeah, I could also use a break,” Jose said.

“Alright then, let’s take five” Ren said. She passed around different healing items to help everyone relax more. After some time had passed, Ren asked “Is everyone ready?” They all nodded. “OK. Then let’s go.” They all got up and continued down Mementos. After a bit of travel, they found the last portal for today and jumped through it.

Morgana gulped. “Well… That’s her shadow… Ryoko Aino…”

“You gonna be alright?” Ryuji asked.

“I dunno…” Morgana said.

“Don’t worry Mona, we’re here for you!” Ann cheered.

“...Yeah!” Morgana answered. “Thanks Panther!”

“Huh, so Mona responds well to Panther. Fascinating” Jose said.

“Indeed” Yusuke added on.

“Well… uh…” Morgana said, embarrassed.

“Hm hm” Sumire giggled. “I think it’s cute.”

“Oh… um… hm…” Morgnana pondered.

“Anyways, we have a job to complete” Ren reminded them.

“Right,” Morgana said, getting focused. “According to the guy who saved me, I’m not the first cat she’s stolen.”

“We need to put a stop to this!” Ann said, raising her voice.

They walked forward to meet her. “Hey!” Morgana yelled, getting her attention.”

Ryoko looked at him. “Snowball? Snowball! You came back! I thought that mean old man took you from me, but you’re here now!”

“OOOOOOOOOOK. That’s weird” Ryuji remarked.

Ren stepped forward. “Are you the one who’s been stealing cats?” she demanded.

“Stealing? No. I’m protecting them” Ryoko answered.

“How does stealing them protect them?” Jose asked.

“There are so many dangers out there for Snowballs out there,” Ryoko explained. “I keep them safe.”

“Well, whatever you think you’re doing, you need to stop!” Ann shouted.

“What?! You… You want all those Snowballs to be in danger?!” Ryoko asked. “NO! I CAN’T LET THAT HAPPEN!” She morphed into a Nekomata. “I’LL PROTECT THE SNOWBALLS WITH MY LIFE!”

Ren stood her guard. “Attack!” She wouldn’t attack Morgana, which was fairly helpful for their effort to take her down. However, she was fairly strong, and the others who took the brunt of her attack felt it. Still, they came out victorious in the end.

After she had been defeated, Ryoko panicked. “NO! I won’t let you!”

“Um, what’s goin’ on?” Ryuji asked.

“I’d like to know for myself,” Yusuke added.

“Hmm. Maybe if we just talk to her…” Ren said. “Hey!” She got Ryoko’s attention. “We want to protect ‘Snowball’ here too. So, could you tell us how you do it?”

“What? No” Ryoko argured. “I’m the only one who can!”

“And why is that?” Ren continued.

“Because!” Ryoko screamed. “Because… it happened to me before… But I won’t let it happen again!”

“Wait before?” Ann said.

“I won’t let Snowball get hit by that truck again!” Ryoko shouted.

“Oh. I see” Ren said.

“Therefore, I will protect all Snowballs!” Ryoko continued.

Sumire stepped up. “You… You really loved Snowball, didn’t you?”

“Of course!” Ryoko said.

Sumir began tearing up. “Well, this kitty here belongs to my friend here. She’d be really sad if she lost him like you lost Snowball.” Ryoko was stricken. “I know how hard it is to lose someone. But the answer isn’t to pass your pain to others, or wallow in it endlessly. You have to move on. I know it’s tough, but Snowball would want that, right?”

Ryoko was crying. “I… I… I… SNOWBALL! I’m so sorry Snowball! I’ll free all of those other kitties and make it up to you! I’m sorry!”

Sumire giggled. “I think he’ll forgive you.”

“Yeah!” Ryoko said. “Thank you.” Ryoko faded and Ren took her treasure. With that, they left that area and continued down Mementos.

Soon after, they arrived at another door. “Huh. We reached another door” Ryuji said.

Ren tried to open it, but to no avail. “Just as I thought.”

“We’ll need to steal Madarame’s treasure to open this door,” Ann said.

“I see,” Yusuke said. “If we are to continue, then I guess we should do it posthaste!”

“I’m not sure rushing this is a good idea,” Jose said. “I mean, after everything we’ve been through today, I’m a little tired.”

“Yeah, and besides, who knows if there’ll be a door later on we’ll need to steal someone else’s treasure to open” Ryuji added.

“Huh. I see” Yusuke said.

“I think pacing ourselves is a good idea,” Sumire pointed out. “If you overwork yourself in ballet, you’ll get nowhere. I’m assuming the same thing applied to Phantom Thieving.”

“Well said” Ren said. “Besides, we’ve change three hearts as well. I say all around today has gone well. Let’s head up.” They went back upstairs and went up through Mementos.

On their way back, Yusuke asked “By the way Violet. Is there a chance that I could sketch you fighting sometime?”

“Wha-What?!” Sumire said, embarrassed.

“Well, it’s just, your fighting style is so expressive” Yusuke said. “I’d like to capture that on canvas.”

“Say, how did we all get so good at fighting?” Ann said.

“Well, about that,” Morgana said. “It’s not like you’re bad at fighting, but the metaverse amplifies any skill you have, or allows you to give yourself one if you aren’t adept to fighting.”

“I see,” Yusuke said. “I guess that’s why I seem to fight with grace and precision.”

“So, why do you fight stylistically Violet?” Ren asked.

“Oh, well, um,” Sumire began. “I guess I’ve just been incorporating my ballet routine into my fighting moves.”

“I see. How marvelous” Yusuke said. “Maybe I can come and watch you perform.”

“Yeah… Provided someone else doesn’t catch your eye…” Sumire lamented.

“I beg your pardon?” Yusuke said.

“Yeah, Violet’s kind of going through some things right now,” Ren said.

“I guess I should explain,” Sumire said. She described what had happened with her sister and her self-esteem.

“Ah! My apologies” Yusuke said. “Forgive me.”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know” Sumire said.

“Still, I commend your efforts,” Yusuke said. “You seem like one of the hardest working people I know, and your fighting shows your spirit. If you ever get to peak performance again, please contact me so I can sketch you.”

“Oh. Well. That sounds nice” Sumire said. They reached the exit, and left Mementos for the day.

Once they got home, Ren was changing into her pajamas, while Morgana was once again on the windowsill. “Ah, it’s nice to be back up here” Morgana said. “The stars, the breeze, the city. Man, it’s so good to feel.”

Ren finished changing.. She walked up to Morgana. “You’ve only been in hiding since this morning.”

Morgana turned to her. “I know,” he said. “But it got me thinking. People find themselves in situations like mine everyday. And it’s up to us to save them.”

“Ah, so that’s what this is about” Ren said.

Morgana nodded. “I know people suffer, but feeling it is a whole other thing. I feel like I have a better understanding of why you fight so hard.”

Ren was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m just sayin’...” Morgana said. “Between getting arrested and all that stuff with Kamoshida, I can understand wanting to protect people from situations like that.”

“Huh. I see” Ren said. She picked up Morgana. “You’re one insightful kitty, you know that?”

Morgana grinned. “Yeah, but I’m YOUR insightful kitty.”

“Awww” Ren said. She rubbed her cheek on Morgana’s. Morgana purred. “Well, goodnight.”

“Goodnight” Morgana said, leaping down. He curled up while Ren went under the covers. Both were asleep within five minutes.

#persona 5 #persona fanfiction #persona 5 royal #p5r #p5 femc #p5r rework #p5 rework #p5 #FeMC #female ren #ren amamiya #morgana #mishima #Sumire #Ryuji Sakamoto #ann takamaki #jose #yusuke kitagawa

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gisachi · 4 years

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12 Games: Shinichi and Ran Game #3 – Old Maid Rating: T Summary: She hoped that once he made the call, her phone would ring. But it didn't. Of course not. There's no way that he'd dial her, right? After all, he's supposed to dial the person he likes. AU

(Read here or in FFN! Link provided.)

-o-o-o-o-o-

"I don't think this is a good idea, Sonoko."

"Oh c'mon. Don't be silly! You just told me the other day that you're bored to death. I'm not even surprised though. Your life only basically revolves around school and karate, Ran! Now thank me because I'm going to make your life a bit more interesting."

The cheerful, light ginger-haired lady did not even give her friend a moment to reply, because as soon as she finished talking, she grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her along with her out of their classroom and into the direction of the adjacent room.

"I will introduce you to Sonoko-sama's 'after-school 'club' activity'!"

For socialites like Sonoko, classroom hopping was a thing after school. That's how the likes of her garnered so many friends in campus. But this long-haired brunette friend of hers, Ran, was the opposite. Sure, she's pretty popular, being known as the karate queen in Teitan High because of her unmatched prowess in the said martial arts, but it was precisely because of that that most students in her school found her kind of intimidating and thus unapproachable. Which was sad because in reality she's very far from that. She's sweet and lovable and all kinds of good and Sonoko could certainly attest to it, having known her since they were kids.

Through the glass window from the corridor, Ran saw some students sitting in a messy circle near the teacher's desk inside that adjacent room. They looked rather – how should she put it – poised and rich. Not that she had any problem with that, but she hated small talks and if she had to deal with it later, she'd probably just rely on her friend Sonoko to keep her afloat in the boat. Her friend never ran out of topics, which made her such a valuable, life-of-the-party kind of person.

Sonoko slid the door open and casually barged in like it was her own classroom. "Yo, minna!"

"Hi, Sonoko-san. We were just talking about you." The girl with a long wine-red hair standing by the window greeted her. Her voice was high-pitched but not the annoying kind. Ran thought she was really pretty.

"And I see you brought a friend?" The student sitting by the desk near the pretty woman spoke this time. He looked like a serious gentleman. Though he spoke fluent Japanese, he didn't look like one. His blonde hair and light brown eyes screamed English. A foreign transferee, perhaps.

The dark-skinned guy sitting on the teacher's desk inspected her from head to toe.

"Wait a sec. Could this nee-chan be, Mouri Ran?" the guy inquired.

"You mean, the karate queen? A pleasure to meet you! I'm Ooka Momiji." Momiji extended her hand at her which she gladly accepted. As Ran shook her hand, she couldn't help but notice the curly-haired girl's incredibly huge front.

The dark-skinned guy spoke again. "I'm Hattori Heiji. That obnoxious looking dude right there is Hakuba, while the woman beside him is Akako. Both folks are from class 2-A."

"And this guy right here," he patted the back of the guy sitting on the teacher's chair next to him, "is Kudo Shinichi."

Ran’s eyes brightened at the guy who was just introduced. Either it was her unsureness or his impulse that the guy’s eyes glimmered as well in reaction to what she herself did.

“Oh, I know him!” Ran said.

“Right, everybody in this school knows about Kud—"

“He was a classmate in middle school.”

Everyone in that room stared at her as if she had said something off.

But Shinichi smiled kindly, effectively disrupting the problematic expression of the others.

“Oh—yeah. You’re right, Ran-san.”

Sonoko nudged Ran’s shoulders.

“Ran! That’s Kudo Shinichi, the great detective! He sometimes teams up with Hattori in solving cases, and the two of them are currently the heartthrobs in campus! You didn’t know that?”

“Stop Sonoko. That’s not really important, is it?” It wasn’t obvious that Shinichi was embarrassed, but from the likes of it, he seemed to have already gotten used to this treatment and had already mastered how to react when people introduce him as THE Kudo Shinichi.

“But that’s not a lie, nee-chan. Currently though I am number one and Kudo is number two.” The guy named Heiji butted in, ruffling the hair of his companion who was reading a Sherlock Holmes book on the side. She rather found the dynamics of the two cute.

“Really? That’s awesome.”

Of course she knew Kudo Shinichi to be a great detective. But she didn’t have to tell and she wondered why. Perhaps because she remembered him better when they were in middle school; they were paired up for a project and even if it was for a week she felt herself developing a small crush on him. Not because of his looks (though she did factor that in, how his face was so charming and almost too perfect, a wonderful product of a beautiful actress mom and a handsome novelist dad) nor his popularity (she didn’t even know he was that popular when they were still in middle school), but because in the short time that they’d worked together, she was captivated by his strong principles and ideals. She remembered having a small conversation with him while they were doing the project. They were talking about aspirations in life, and when she learned that his father was a crime novelist, she asked if he wanted to be like him. His answer was a remarkable no. “I don’t want to write about detectives. I want to be one.” Unadulterated conviction reflected in his eyes. It astounded her how someone in the prime of his age had already decided on what he’d become and how he’d do it. And when he went on further on how he’d like to be the modern Sherlock Holmes, and how he would never let a culprit die even if they did wrongful acts because that would make him, the detective, no different from a murderer, or how reason and logic aren’t necessary to help a person regardless of what kind of life that person had lived, she couldn’t help but admire the way he viewed and understood things from his own perspective. She saw a young boy who was principled but kind; a boy that would seek the truth to its end but would make sure that lives wouldn’t be in danger along the way.

That short interaction stayed with her even after the project, after middle school, and even until now. Her simple crush wasn’t a big deal, she never talked about it with Sonoko. It was just a puppy-admiration thing, and it wasn’t like they’d meet and talk to each other again after that project, so she just let her puppy-crush feelings settle at the corner. That’s why to have the opportunity to sit with him in the same circle came as a surprise. She doubted he even remembered their interaction though because it was a long time ago and they just talked for a week, in person and through text for the sake of the project. Maybe it was a good thing to let him remember by bringing that up instead of acknowledging his grandiose status in school. He probably had enough of that already as introductions.

“This is Ran, Teitan’s karate champ and my best friend since forever!” Sonoko hugged Ran as she proudly introduced her to the others. Ran awkwardly smiled at them and waved. So this was what it felt like standing in front of a crowd of ‘elite’ individuals looking at you. She didn’t feel outcasted though, because they felt all welcoming and fun although it wasn’t apparent on their faces.

“Ran, now that you’ve been introduced to everyone in this room, you’ll have to participate in our ‘club activity’.” Sonoko led her to sit on one of the student chairs.

After Ran asked what kind of activity that would be, Sonoko revealed a pack of cards from her pocket and tossed it on the teacher’s table.

“Actually, nothing. We do nothing. Just random stuff, whatever we feel like. But as the initiator of this group, today I, Sonoko-sama, feel like playing cards.”

Cool, Ran had never played cards before. It’s nice to try something new.

“But if you may know, Ran-san, we don’t care much about the random stuff. We care more about its results.” Akako approached the girls and sat on a nearby chair.

“Because the one who loses gets a dare!” Sonoko added, grinning slyly at her now bemused friend.

“Last week Hakuba-kun had to sit on Heiji-kun’s lap until we finish all rounds and it was the loveliest moment I have ever seen,” Momiji reminisced and everyone laughed except for the two scoffing guys.

“And you know what? Today’s consequence is going to be more fun – the loser must call the person they like and confess!” Sonoko declared.

“Oh, juicy.” Akako commented. “I wonder who from this circle will call me.”

Turning his head slowly to face her, Hakuba stared her down with a straight face. “Akako-san, not everyone is in love with you.”

“That’s what you think, Hakuba-kun,” she contended, with a matching wink.

The tables were now rearranged so that all of them were facing each other like they were in a meeting. Presiding that ‘meeting’ was Sonoko, who had now dealt the cards and announced that they’d be playing Old Maid. She explained the mechanics and everyone got it right away.

“Right. So I just need to get pairs for all my cards.” Ran mentally noted. She looked around her and everyone was focused discarding paired cards from their hands.

Across her was Shinichi, who, with a disinterested face, nonetheless participated in the game.

She paused and admired how he looked. His appearance was different from the last time they were together – his face was much younger then, but now his hair was more refined, shoulders broader, jaw much angular. Yet his eyes still reflected that same old confident vibe. She silently wished that he would look at her direction so that she could admire his beautiful hazel eyes better. And surprisingly, he did. He must have noticed her staring at his direction for a while now that he had to look back at her and acknowledge it. But once their eyes met, she got startled and immediately looked away, embarrassed. She felt like a creep. Meanwhile, Shinichi just pulled a questioning look before returning his eyes to his own hand. Nobody saw, not even Ran, how the corner of his lips tilted slightly for a smile.

“Alright! Let’s start the first round!” Sonoko picked a card from the deck of Hakuba, the person to her left. Lucky for the woman, the first card she picked had a pair.

The game continued clockwise, with Hakuba getting from Ran and Ran getting from Momoji, who got from Akako, then Shinichi, then Heiji then back to Sonoko. Cards were discarded so quickly until finally there were only two people left.

Shinichi with two cards, and Ran with one.

The girls cheered at Ran. It was her turn now. There was a 50-50 chance that she’d be the Old Maid. If she got this one wrong, she’d have to reveal to Sonoko and to these new acquaintances her crush. And it’d be very awkward. Because that would be him. The guy right in front of her.

Closing her eyes in nervousness, she decided to pick the card on her left and on Shinichi’s right.

And she got it.

Ace of spades paired with the ace of hearts she held.

“Oh my gosh it’s Kudo-kun!” everyone in the room laughed.

“Nice one, Ran-san,” Hakuba winked at her. Judging from everyone’s reaction, it’s as if they had been waiting for this moment, for Shinichi to lose. And now that it happened, everyone was thanking her for doing the honor of defeating him.

Ran let out a sigh of relief. By sheer luck, she was saved from a sudden revelation of her hidden crush, who, unbeknownst to the people in the room, was in that same circle. Her contender, even. Glad of her narrow escape, she grinned widely like the rest of them.

“Now, who are ya gonna call Kudo?” Heiji basked at his friend, who just grunted in annoyance.

“I told you, there’s no one,” Shinichi grumbled.

“You’re a bad liar Kudo-kun. Your ears are turning red.” Akako pompously flipped her hair to the side, watching the teenage detective glare at her with warm cheeks and red ears.

“I know who! It’s Uchida Asami-san, right? That pretty senior who gave you your favorite lemon pie during soccer practice?” Sonoko jested.

“Uchida-san? Oh, that senpai is rather pretty. A lot of guys swoon over her. Ya didn’t tell me you’re one of those guys, Kudo!”

“Go on, call her! What a lucky girl.” Momoji raved, looking at Shinichi endearingly.

Ran, who remained silent all throughout the scene, just watched each and every one of them make their guesses as to this mystery woman. For some reason, at that moment, she felt rather invisible. Not because of their doing or that she felt excluded or something. But she was hoping that maybe anyone, Sonoko perhaps, should mention, even in passing, her name. You know, just to suggest, even as a joke. But no one seemed to have noticed. Well, she wasn’t making it obvious to anyone either, even to her best friend. And with all the beautiful people in Teitan High, Shinichi certainly had many options and the odds that he would indeed have a crush on her were nil.

The detective just stared at all of them with half lidded eyes. It wasn’t in his personality to shun everyone, and he didn’t seem like the type who’d chicken out on the last minute. Taking a deep breath, he took out his phone and flipped it open.

“Fine. I will do it. But do me a favor and don’t make any silly reactions, got it?” Shinichi enunciated.

It was only for a split moment but Ran may have noticed him flick his eyes into her direction.

The group cheered when Shinichi started to dial the mystery person’s number. He then positioned the phone near his ear and waited for the call to connect.

She hoped that once he made the call, her phone would ring. But ten seconds in and her phone didn’t. He was already waiting for the person on the other end of the line to answer it, so of course that person couldn’t be her now. She pursed her lips and stared at the window, trying to mask her crestfallen expression.

Not a big deal.

Totally not a big deal.

A minute passed but the call didn’t connect and he was just directed to voice mail. Wondering what was up, he dialed the number for the second time and waited, but still to no avail.

For the third time, he dialed and his phone continued to ring, until finally the person he was trying to call, answered.

Everyone was staring at Shinichi but to their surprise he didn’t speak. Instead, his eyes were wide and he looked confused, and nervous. Ran couldn’t understand what was happening but she had a feeling that his surprised look was not because the call connected, but because the call did connect when he was perhaps expecting that it shouldn’t.

So Shinichi just sat there and everyone’s attention was on him. They could hear the voice on the other end but the words the person was saying were unintelligible.

“Yes. I-I’m sorry. I thought—” Shinichi spoke in a flustered manner.

The voice didn’t even let him finish. It just hang up.

For several seconds, Shinichi was left staring at his phone. His face was a bit flushed. Then he lifted his head and looked at Ran first, then at Sonoko, and then at the other people in the room, all of whose expressions were as confused as he was.

“But that’s a guy’s voice.” Heiji started.

Slowly and cautiously, Momiji went near him and placed one hand on his shoulders.

“I’m sorry Kudo-kun, we didn’t know you’re…”

Shocked at the result of what had just transpired and how the others were interpreting it – rather poorly, that is – Shinichi opened his mouth to explain.

“Barou! That person was –”

Before he could even comment, his phone rang.

“Oh, Megure-keibu. Yes. Yes. Got it. Right now? Okay. We’ll be there shortly.”

He closed his phone and grabbed his bag, motioning Heiji and Hakuba to tag along with him.

“Hattori, Hakuba, we’re leaving. Megure-keibu wants us to go to TMPD. They need our testimonies regarding that robbery case we solved last week.”

“Aww, you’re leaving already? That sucks. I guess that ends our club activity for today.” Sonoko mumbled.

“You got away this time, Kudo-kun! You owe us an explanation next week, okay?” Akako exclaimed loudly to the figures walking past her.

Shinichi shrugged, rolled his eyes, and left the room together with the other two guys.

-o-

After she bade farewell to Sonoko and the two girls, Ran walked home alone, lost in thought. She still couldn't make sense of what just occurred, for it all happened so fast. She was introduced to new people, met and interacted with her crush again, and had her heart break just a little for confirming that he already liked someone else. A guy or a girl, she didn't really care. All that stuck with her was the fact that during that time she might have hoped for a slim chance on him, only for that hope to be completely flushed down the drain.

Sigh. Life goes on, she thought, cheering herself up.

Not long after, she was already in front of her apartment.

“I’m home.”

Ran opened the door to the detective agency and was disappointed to see her father, with two beer cans on his working desk, watching a horse game live on television. He had been drinking again and it wasn’t even night yet.

“Geez! What will you do if a client steps in and sees you like this, otou-san?” She rambled, hands on her hips. But Kogoro didn’t seem to pay much attention as he was intently concentrating on that horse race while clutching on his race tickets tightly.

Seeing that it was no use reprimanding her inebriated father, she turned around and decided to go upstairs in order to prepare supper.

She was stopped by her drunk father scoffing behind her.

“Ran! Before you *hic* go upstairs can you please take your *hic* phone with you? It’s being annoying and disrupting me from the *hic* h-horse race!”

Surprised, she checked her uniform pockets and realized too late that she actually didn’t bring her phone to school today. She probably placed it on the center table of the agency when she took the trash out this morning and forgot to get it again before she left.

She rushed to the table and grabbed it before closing the door and ascending the stairs. Several notifications popped up on her home screen when she opened her phone, with unread messages from her dad and Sonoko. There were also a missed call from the laundry shop across the street. She could’ve stopped there and closed her phone again, but there were still unchecked notifications in her call history. She clicked on it.

Two (2) missed calls.

Kudo Shinichi - Cancelled call 16:30 Kudo Shinichi - Cancelled call 16:32 Kudo Shinichi - Incoming call 16:35 10 seconds.

Eyes widened like saucers, brain lagging for a considerable amount of time.

Kudo…Shinichi… called me?

She rushed to her room, closed the door, leaned against it and stilled her heart, allowing herself to process the name appearing on her cellphone screen. The number of ideas popping in her mind all at once was overwhelming her, and all those musings directed to a certain incredible realization – a realization she wanted so much to be true.

Just in case her eyes deceived her, she double checked the caller. She had already forgotten that she had saved his number, but this was still back in middle school. And now once again his name was right before her very eyes. For the many times she hit back and clicked her call history, the name didn’t disappear, confirming that this was the real deal.

Not that she was jumping into any ridiculous conclusion, but if she remembered correctly, Shinichi did call his crush thrice. The first two were a miss, and the last one, the recipient hang up. She remembered the recipient being a male.

Is it possible that the recipient who hang up was actually… Ran’s dad?

So does that mean that the person Shinichi meant to call…was her?

The call Shinichi made in school? At around 4pm? While they were playing that game? A call that was meant for his crush?

A call that was meant for her?

Mouth still agape, she covered it with her free hand but her eyes remained shocked. This has got to be just a coincidence. She clutched her phone with her other hand tightly, and without even realizing it, she accidentally clicked his name and the phone automatically dialed his number.

Before she could even react, the call had connected. Her phone was now ringing.

Crap.

Panic hit her like a speeding train but she had to pull herself together fast because after four rings a voice spoke on the other line.

“Hello?”

Her throat clenched upon hearing a handsome voice. Certainly, she couldn’t mistake that timbre for someone else.

“…Shinichi-san?”

A momentary pause, then the person on the other line dispelled air before speaking, in a much lower voice this time.

“Yes. And this is Ran-san, right? So you finally have your phone.”

Finally, implying that he somehow knew her phone wasn’t with her earlier.

She nodded her head, pretty stupidly in fact, because it wasn’t like he’d see that.

“You… c-called my phone?” She feebly asked.

“Yes, I did. A while ago.”

“Are you sure you called the right number?”

There was once again a short pause before he answered. She wasn’t sure but with his breathing patterns she thought she could hear him smile.

“Yes, I’m sure now. You witnessed me call, right? In school.”

“Oh.”

Oh.

Wait.

Just. Wait.

Don’t tell me—?

“T-that’s ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry?” he spoke.

“That’s ridiculous! I mean, b-because… that means I’m-… I – Y-you have a… on me…”

The way she struggled to find the right words must have sounded so funny in the phone that the only response of the voice was to heave a light chuckle. She felt a bit awkward. Ran could definitely picture his expression at the other end of the line – probably a smirk that could make her so embarrassed but at the same time let her swoon for ages.

“Yes, I do.”

That short statement. He said it too confidently, too certainly, with the same amount of conviction she had heard from him a long while back.

No matter how hard she tried to speak, no words came out. She couldn’t even close her mouth. She just leaned there against the door, heart accelerating twice as fast as normal, her breathing clipped and producing short croaks that sounded like she was choking.

This time, it was he who tried to decipher her facial expressions. He could almost make sense of her disbelief through the silence in between them, the sound of nothing but static and her irregular breaths.

“Ran-san?”

No response. Feeling that the silence might probably take forever, he decided to speak again.

“You don’t have to say anything back, it’s okay. I hope I didn’t freak you out. I just want you to know, because it’s true. Up ‘til now I’m still thankful for that middle school project because through it I was able to meet and know you. I’m happy you still remembered that.”

Someone pinch her. He remembered!

“I—”

If only his friends didn’t arrive sooner, he would’ve stayed on the line longer.

“I’m sorry, I have to go, Ran-san. I hope to talk to you again soon!” Then he hang up.

Ran stood still, immovable, frozen like a statue, except that she wasn’t cold like marble. Warmth enveloped her whole senses, the source of warmth coming from her heart which she believed had just exploded. The only thing keeping her from thinking that this was a dream was this soothing warmth spreading on her cheeks and hands like fire. She felt her chest tighten.

That phone call really just happened. And there Shinichi manifested that he liked her.

He. Kudo Shinichi. Likes her. Mouri Ran.

The person she liked – no – likes, likes her back.

The next thing she knew, she had already slumped in her own bed, marveling again and again at that one name on her cell phone screen, unable to contain the giddiness she was feeling.

For sure, it would take a week or more before that smile disappeared from her face.

-o-

“Kudo! Who was that?”

Shinichi closed his phone quickly before Heiji and Hakuba, who had just stepped out from the police department, could see the caller’s name on the screen.

“Just – a call I had to attend to. None of your business.” He answered coolly before descending the front steps of the building.

His two friends looked at each other quizzically, then back at him. Expecting their pestering, Shinichi quickened his walk way ahead of them, not attempting to look back.

“Lemme guess, did your guy crush regret that he slammed the phone at THE Kudo Shinichi and called ya back to apologize?” Heiji shouted from behind him.

“Or maybe, it was Kudo-san who tried to call the guy again. He couldn’t move on from the fact that the guy ended the call so now he’s pretending he wasn’t affected.” Hakuba surmised. It was loud enough for Shinichi to hear, and because of that the latter had to face the two ungratefully but he didn’t stop walking. Through his narrowed eyes, he wanted to show to the two that he wasn’t laughing and make them understand that they were being pathetic friends.

“Idiots. Anyway I’m going home.” He walked ahead and waved his hand lazily, leaving the two behind.

The two guys stood there and watched him disappear from sight.

“Oy Hakuba. Are ya thinking what I’m thinking?”

“That our friend is gay and in love? Yes.”

But had they paid more attention to his face as he walked away, they would’ve seen that unique radiance in his eyes and that crimson shade on his cheeks. Those should’ve been noticeable because he had never worn that expression before.

And had they pressed him on further, they would’ve discovered about that short message he had just received. A message that easily caused him to curve his lips into a huge smile and made him thank the heavens for being more alive than ever.

From: Mouri Ran Subject: Thank you.

I’m happy you remembered it too, Shinichi-san. I thought it was just me. And now I’ll have something new to remember again. Thank you for making the calls.

-Ran

P.S. I like you too.

#dcmk #fanfic #shinran #detective conan #kudo shinichi #mouri ran #fluff #uggghhhhhh i still struggle sometimes huhu #but i love my bbs so much i want them to be happy

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jaroslavlewis · 5 years

Text

The Same Old You: The Flight Back

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Title: The Same Old You

Chapter 2: The Flight Back

Author: Jaroslav Lewis

Fandom: Detective Conan

Pairing: ShinRan with slight KazuHei

Summary: Time has passed for them to believe that they have changed only for them to realize that some things haven't. Some things just don't.

Chapter Summary: Turns out his trip back to Japan did not only involve revisiting old places but old memories as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan and any of Gosho Aoyama's characters. I simply borrow them when I'm bored.

New York, Sunday, 9:00pm

Shinichi places the last neatly folded shirt inside his luggage. It fits perfectly and completes the whole set of his things to bring when he flies back to Japan for Hattori's wedding. He takes one last look and checks. He finds a decent amount of casual shirts, formal button up shirts, jackets, pants, underwear and toiletries and then he nods to himself. This should be good enough to last his whole trip. He zips the trolley bag and then places it near his dresser. He smiles nervously. He is all set. After ten years, he is going back. He is going home, even for a short while.

He hops onto his bed and pulls the warm comforter up to his shoulders. He closes his eyes but he finds out that he is not sleepy enough to doze off just yet. It is still too early, but he contemplates since he is going to fly very early tomorrow. So he closes his eyes again and he gives it a few minutes.

But instead of drifting into dreamland his thoughts travel elsewhere, back to Japan, back to her. The thought sinks in finally. He is flying back home and he is going to see her soon, at the wedding or maybe even before that. Then his eyes shoot open. He is awake more than ever and then he grabs his phone on his night stand.

He decides to browse through it, maybe go on social media again or play a video game. Then an idea escapes his mind.

'I should probably message her…' He thinks to himself as he clicks on the messenger icon and on her name.

He begins to type,

Oi Ran. I'm coming home tomorrow.

Then he shakes his head and deletes it. The message seems too plain, although it does sound like him. But he figures that it shouldn't be how he should approach her especially since it has been a long time since they have spoken to each other.

He pauses, staring at the blinking line, waiting for him to type. He is unable to think of anything. So, he back tracks their old messages he finds out that their last message dates back to five years ago. He does not even remember what they were talking about back then. He back tracks even more and he notices how their conversations went from really long ones to just simple small talk and then to just hi's and hello's until soon they no longer bothered talking to each other. He feels his heart ache against his chest and then he asks himself, 'How could we have ended this way?'

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

"No more secrets?" She asked. Her eyes searched for assurance as she cupped his cheek with her free, left hand since her fractured right arm was restrained in a cast. He closed his eyes and placed his hand over hers that is holding his cheek. He breathed a sigh of comfort as he leaned onto her touch. Suddenly, he felt warm. His whole body hurt with the injuries but her warm touch miraculously made him feel better, gave him relief.

Her eyes darted to the evident bruises on his cheek, the wound on his cut lip. She took a soft intake of breath as her eyes watered. She bit her lower lip to restrict a sob from coming out of her mouth. She tried to refrain from shedding any more tears only to fail afterwards when he opened his eyes and met hers.

Cerulean eyes looked alarmed with worry as he lifted his hand to wipe away her tears. His pair of sapphires met her amethysts. His delicate fingers brushed through the bruises and few cuts on her face. His heart ached at the sight of her hurting.

"No more secrets. I promise." He assured her as he nodded and gave her a soft smile. He scooched closer to her to get more comfortable as he sat next to her on her hospital bed. He carefully wrapped his arms around her, remembering to avoid holding her too tightly since she still suffered from a number of injuries.

He planted a soft kiss on the top of her head and inhaled her soft scent. He lightly pulled away to gaze at her again. Despite the cuts and bruises on her face, she still looked so beautiful.

Then he leaned in to press a soft kiss on her forehead and then another on her cheek where she was bruised and cut. He lightly pulled away only to lean closer to her at an angle where his lips were positioned just in front of hers. With just barely a millimeter between them the two of them shared each other's breath and then he closed the distance and kissed her so softly. It was chaste and barely lasted a few seconds but it was enough to drive both of them crazy, enough for him to lean in again for more after pulling away so shortly.

So he kissed her again, but this time with a little more boldness than the previous one. Butterflies did somersaults in her stomach as she felt his lips brush against hers in passionate but gentle way.

At the back of his head he noted that it was their first kiss, something he had dreamed of ever since he gained awareness of his feelings towards her. He thought to himself, that the place, the hospital room was probably the most unromantic place to share a kiss but at that moment, it just felt right and it didn't matter where it happened. The only thing that mattered was that they were finally together. No more secrets.

Osaka, Monday, 8:00 PM

It is their first night in Osaka, a week before the big wedding happens. Ran with Sonoko and Sera took an early flight to the city to spend more time with the couple and to plan Kazuha's bachelorette party. Now, they sit at the back of Heiji's car with him driving and Kazuha sitting at the passenger's seat. The couple is kind enough to offer them a ride to their hotel after picking them up from the airport and having dinner together.

"Heiji, don't forget we're gonna meet our parents tomorrow for the final fitting of their attires for the ceremony, okay?" Kazuha reminds her fiancé who remains focused on the wheel.

"What? I thought that wasn't until the day after tomorrow." Heiji reacts while keeping his eyes on the road. Kazuha rolls her eyes.

"It's tomorrow at 12 noon." Kazuha responds and Heiji's eyes widen in shock. His expression suddenly becomes conflicted.

"But I'm supposed to pick up Kudo at the airport that time!" Heiji reasons out. Ran's ears ring at the sound of her ex-boyfriend's surname. Sonoko side eyes at her friend knowingly, while Sera smirks, shaking her head.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Heiji whines, eliciting a scowl from his fiancée. She looks at him with an annoyed, bewildered expression.

"Excuse me? I told you so many times. I even listed our whole wedding preparation schedule on the calendar of our apartment!" Kazuha retorts. Heiji makes a face and shakes his head. It doesn't take much for Ran, Sonoko and Sera to predict that such little issue will lead to the couple bickering. Typical Heiji and Kazuha.

"Well, I can't just ditch Kudo so suddenly. I promised him!" Heiji says, worriedly. Kazuha scratches her head in a frustrated manner.

"Well you can't just ditch our parents as well." She points out. "Kudo-kun will understand. Besides, he's a grown man. He can handle himself."

"Yeah, but it's his first time in Japan after ten years." Heiji sighs. "I'm thinking, he'd at least want someone to be there for him when he arrives and I'm guessing he'd need some help with his luggage too…"

Ran finds herself unconsciously nodding, agreeing with Heiji. Sonoko lightly nudges at her with her elbow and gives her a suggestive look. Ran in turn looks at her questioningly and then shakes her head.

"Well this wouldn't have happened if you took time to pay attention to our wedding prep schedule!" Kazuha scolds. The other three remain silent, awkwardly listening to the couple's fight escalating. Ran clenches her skirt with her fist, silently praying that the little misunderstanding won't lead to another Heiji and Kazuha shouting fest like most of their fights do. She also considers an idea at the back of her head but she doesn't say anything.

"You just never listen to me, Heiji…"

"Ahou!" Heiji's tone raises. Ran flinches at the sound of his voice.

"Ano sa…" Ran begins out of impulse causing Kazuha to turn to her and Heiji to look at her through rearview mirror. She feels her heart pound rapidly through her chest. She bites her lips shyly, at the back of her head she considers the thought that she'll probably regret even suggesting it to them but she also thinks that she doesn't have any choice anyway. "If you guys want, I can go and pick him up in place of Hattori-kun…"

"That's actually-

"…a great idea!" Heiji exclaims.

"…insane!" Kazuha reacts.

Kazuha glares questioningly at Heiji who shrugs at her while he continues to drive.

"Ran-chan, are you sure you're gonna be okay with that?" Kazuha asks worriedly.

Ran opens her mouth to respond but Heiji immediately counters bluntly, "Sure it is! She and Kudo are fine. Besides, it has already been a decade. Ne, Nee-chan?"

'A decade… It's already been that long huh?' Ran thinks to herself, all of a sudden her mouth becomes dry. Realization comes to her. What is she supposed to say to him once they see each other? Suddenly she wishes to undo the events earlier, thinking to herself that she shouldn't have meddled with the couple. But it is too late now…

"Ahou!" Kazuha shouts at Heiji as she hits him violently on the shoulder, causing him to flinch.

"Kazuha-chan, it's okay." Ran assures the bride to be who turns to her with a hesitant look on her face. "I mean, Hattori-kun is right and Shinichi and I are okay. I swear. Besides, we're gonna see each other either way, at your wedding, right?"

"Well then I guess, if it's no trouble for you, then okay…" Kazuha sighs in surrender. She turns at Heiji, giving him another glare. Silence starts to fill the air so suddenly. Ran gazes at her window as her thoughts drift somewhere else.

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

She had her fears.

She was aware of the dangers and death threats that his duty came with. She was used to the environment of the crime-solving industry. It did not bother her much because she knew how to defend herself. She was perfectly fine…

Until it happened.

She was put to a situation where she had no control of. She couldn't do anything to save him. She couldn't even defend herself. She was powerless against the syndicate. Both of them were. She almost watched him die right before her eyes.

Since then, she could never get the dark, tortured image of him off of her head. Even after the incident, it still haunted her. She had nightmares about it and every time, she was faced with such image in her dreams, she couldn't do anything.

She blamed herself. Maybe if she had been more careful, maybe if she had been stern enough to stop him from following the suspicious men in black, maybe if she had been more inquisitive and stuck to her gut-feeling about Conan's identity, maybe if she cornered him with her deduction and forced him to confess, then maybe she could've done something to protect him.

He always assured her that she was never at fault but deep down in her heart she still felt like she is responsible for what happened. So, she swore to herself she'd never make the same mistake again.

When things got back to normal, she and Shinichi had an agreement that they'd always know each other's whereabouts. It wasn't because Ran didn't trust him. She merely wanted to monitor his safety and Shinichi wanted the same for Ran so he agreed without second thought.

Ran was not a demanding girlfriend. Neither was she in anyway possessive. In fact, she was very considerate with his schedule. All she wanted was assurance that he wouldn't run into such trouble again and that if he does, she would be able to do something about it in any way she can.

Shinichi was more than willing to give her what she wants. He knew her fears and he understood. He loved her and he wanted to make it up to her. So he complied very well.

He always informed her if he had soccer practice, or if he had to go out with Nakamichi and the boys and most especially if he was needed for a case. He made sure to always text her that he got home safely after his agenda. Ran did the same. Shinichi knew her schedule, if she had Karate training after class or if she had to go out with Sonoko and the girls.

They had no problems.

Until a certain incident happened.

Ran had Karate training. Shinichi ran off to solve another case. Like always, they gave each other a heads up. Ran went home by herself. It was no biggie. She'd just have to patiently wait for Shinichi to call or text her once he got home.

So patiently she waited.

And waited.

Until hours passed and there was still no phone call, not even a message. It was already midnight. If Shinichi had to extend his hours with the police, he'd tell her but he didn't call. It started to worry her, but she didn't give in to panic just yet. She messaged him via text and via social media and she waited again. Maybe he was busy.

So she stayed up late to wait again, but still no sign of him. She decided to call but his mobile could not be reached.

Suddenly the scenario felt so oddly familiar and then she was scared again. What if he was unconscious somewhere where no one could find him? What if they took all his means to contact for emergencies? What if he is hurt? Or worse… What if he's…

As mindless as it may seem, Ran rushed to find him. She didn't have much of a strategy. All she knew right then was that Plan A: she'd go to his house to see if he is home and if he still isn't, Plan B: she'd go on all night looking for him until she finds him. It was insane and irrational but it is what she did.

So she showed up at his door-step, in her sleepwear and a sweater, panic-stricken and frantically ringing his doorbell while she silently prayed for him to answer. Her eyes stung with tears threatening to fall with every ring that he didn't go out to open the gate to his house.

It took about 8 rings for him to show up with a confused look on his face, still in his uniform and with his hair sticking in different directions.

"Ran, what in the world? What are you…" He didn't get to finish his question as he opened his gate to let her in. He stared at her shaking form. She was shivering not just from the cold and her lack of warm clothing but also because of something else...

He placed his hands on her shoulders. His eyes looked concerned as he looked into her terrified ones. His heart ached. It was the most vulnerable he has seen of her. Ran was a strong woman and it was one thing to see her cry but another to see her so distraught and so frightened.

"You didn't call!" She sobbed. It wasn't an accusation but merely a statement of the reason why she was in panic. "I thought something happened to you! I…"

His arms wrapped around her instantly, taking her into a warm, tight and protective embrace. She continued to shake and shiver against his body. He felt like a total idiot for forgetting and a huge jerk for making her worry. He was supposed to call her soon, but the investigation was too long. His phone died. When he got home he was so tired that he fell asleep on the couch and forgot to tell her he was safe.

"Thank God, you're okay…" She cried with relief. And his heart ached a million times than it already did. How in the world did he deserve such a kind-hearted, loving woman like her? How could he be such an asshole for making her cry again?

"I'm sorry…" He breathed against her ear as he stroked her back, comforting her. "God, I'm so sorry, Ran…"

Tears soaked the jacket of his Teitan Highschool uniform. He felt her shake her head against his shoulder.

"I panicked. I over reacted. I'm so sorry…" She apologized, still sobbing. Suddenly she felt awfully embarrassed and pathetic.

"Shhh…" He hushed before pressing his lips on her forehead. "I should have called you. It wasn't your fault. I'm sorry I made you worry…"

She lightly pulled away to look up at him. She nodded in response and gave him a small smile. At this point, her sobbing has already subsided but her eyes were still watery with tears. She hair was disheveled from all the running she had just done.

He let out a relieved sigh as he ran his fingers through her hair and tucked any stray hair behind her ear. He ran his thumb through her tear-stained cheeks. No more words came out of his mouth for he had no idea what he should do to make her feel better.

New York, Monday, 6:00 AM

Shinichi presents his ticket and passport to the stewardess before boarding the plane. After a brief inspection of his passes, he is able to enter his flight bringing with him his extra hand-carried backpack where all of his valuables are contained. He walks through the aisle while placing his passport and other documents securely inside his backpack. He finds his designated seat by the window. He places his backpack in the compartment, bringing only his smart phone and earphones with him as he sits down comfortably on his seat.

He looks out the window as he waits for the plane to take off. He puts on his earphones but he doesn't listen to any music, instead he quietly observes the dim view of the airport ramp outside. The sun hasn't even risen just yet. He thinks about Japan, how the sun has probably long set there, given the evident time difference. He sits back to relax since he did not get much sleep last night. In about fifteen hours, he'll be back in Japan. It is gonna be a long flight.

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

He still had guilt in his heart.

It was hard for him to get rid of, not after she got involved in the syndicate case and endangered her life because of him. He thought the guilt would slowly fade away as time passed, but it didn't especially after he saw her one night, shivering in fright, her expression, panic stricken as she embraced him.

Shinichi knew about her fears and he had fears of his own as well. It was the reason why he agreed to their arrangement, why he promised that for the second time around, there would be no secrets between them. It wasn't just a matter of trust. It was more of a safety precaution for both of them especially after the trauma that the case caused.

He confidently thought he could easily comply to it, but there was one night that he wasn't able to and it resulted to triggering her trauma, driving her to run miles away from home to his house to check on him, just to check if he was safe, if he was still alive.

So once again, Shinichi hated himself. He promised he wouldn't make her cry anymore. He told himself that he would make it up to her, that he would protect her this time, in his second life, their second life together but he failed again.

Still, despite all that she forgave him endlessly. So, he worked hard to prove and make sure that forgiving him was not a pointless decision for her, that he really did deserve it, that he deserved her…

Needless to say, he worked too hard that slowly he began to lose himself for her even when she didn't ask him to…

He never noticed it until then.

It happened after soccer practice, just about a few weeks since he decided to come back to the team to help them win the interschool soccer tournament.

It was a simple prank, done by his teammates. But he was not having any of it. It was a serious matter to him but they did not understand how such simple joke could easily tick him off.

"Give me back my phone." Shinichi demanded in a calm but serious manner when he found his phone missing from his gym bag. Being a detective, and knowing his peers so well, he didn't need any evidence other than commonsense to deduce that they were on to something. He had his hands inside the pocket of his shorts as he stood casually and hid his hands balling into fists so hard that his nails created crescents on his palms.

"Come on, Kudo. We didn't take your phone!" A group of boys his age teased, snickering with obvious intent as they sat on the bench of the boys' locker room.

"I'm not playing around with you guys. Give me back my phone." Shinichi repeated in a serious tone but the boys all laughed.

"Jeez, Kudo. Get a grip will you!" One of his teammates that had 'Akamine' written on his jersey said as he took a red phone from his gym bag ready to hand it over to Shinichi who reaches for it with an annoyed look on his face.

Just then, his phone started to ring. Ran's name and picture flashed on the screen. Shinichi's phone is snatched away once again before he could even get it back from Akamine.

"Ah, Mouri-chan's on time as always! As usual, the missus never misses." Akamine commented jokingly. Shinichi growled in frustration as he lunged after Akamine to reach for his phone but his teammate tossed it to another.

"Oi! Akamine! Give it back! I have to take the call." Shinichi shouted but the guys just kept on playing pranks on him.

"Why do you look so scared, Kudo? Are you afraid she'll kick you in the ass, thinking you're cheating on her because you missed her calls?" Akamine teased, triggering Shinichi's anger even more.

"Damn, Kudo. You really are whipped! Looks like your girl is THAT possessive…" One of his teammates commented. "Jeez. Women. This is why I'm not getting a girl friend."

Ran's worried face flashed before Shinichi's eyes. Suddenly it was all he could think about. His pulse beat harder against his ears, muting the sound of his teammates' boisterous laughter. And then, Shinichi lost it.

Shinichi punched Akamine in the face.

The laughing abruptly stopped. The ringing in his ears faded but his phone's ringing does not.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" Akamine cursed. Shinichi angrily pulled him by the collar, and pushed him to the lockers with immense strength. He raised another arm, ready give the guy another punch in the face when his team mates interfered.

"Kudo! We were just joking around!" One of them said.

"Look, we're sorry okay?" Another apologized, bringing him his phone.

Shinichi let out a huff of breath, calming his nerves. His grip on Akamine gradually loosened. This time, it was Akamine who was furious.

"I asked nicely." Shinichi explained as he took his phone, gripping it tightly on his hand and lifted his gym bag with the other.

"Coach is gonna suspend you from the team." Akamine warned threateningly.

"I don't care." Shinichi answered with a deadpanned expression as he proceeded to leave. "I quit."

With that, he walked out of the locker room, leaving his teammates shocked.

Shinichi sped up to the hallway with his ringing phone. He took a few breaths to calm himself down so that Ran wouldn't suspect anything.

"Hey, Ran. I'm sorry it took a while for me to answer…" He apologized as soon as he answered the phone.

"Gomene. Are you still at practice? I just called to tell you that mine just ended." Ran replied with a sweet tone. Shinichi suddenly felt his anger subside. He smiled to himself upon hearing the sound of her voice.

"It's okay. Our practice just ended as well. I'm on my way to meet you…" He said, making his way to the school gym where Ran and her team usually held their matches.

Osaka,Tuesday, 8am

Ran is up very early despite barely getting any sleep last night. She sits by the vanity mirror of the hotel room which she shares with Sonoko and Sera. Sonoko stirs in her sleep while Sera continues to snore.

Ran quietly does her morning skincare routine in her bathrobe, her wet hair still in a towel since she just got out of the shower. She starts to put on a little bit of concealer under her eyes to hide the little bit of bags she gained under her eyes for staying up late last night, over thinking. Sonoko sits up to watch her, yawning loudly as she stretches her arms.

"Ah, look at you being all excited to see the ex-husband…" Sonoko teases. Ran's face immediately heats up in embarrassment.

"Sonoko!" Ran whines as she puts on a little powder to set her face, then a little bit of blush to add color to her cheeks and then some mascara on her eyelashes which were already so long. Sonoko hops off of her bed to approach her friend. She grabs a chair so she could sit next to Ran in front of the vanity. Ran consciously reaches for a lipstick in her makeup bag. She looks at Sonoko who still has her eyes on her. Ran feels shy. She always gets nervous when people watch her get ready.

"Not that." Sonoko says as Ran uncaps a red-orange lipstick. "Use the nude one. It's better with your all-natural kind of look."

Ran nods and reaches for a different lipstick. She uncaps it and applies it delicately over her lips. She purses her lips together to even the color out.

"Perfect." Sonoko comments while holding her two thumbs up. "You already picked an outfit?"

"Yeah." Ran replies taking a loose, fluffy hoodie and denim shorts from her luggage. Sonoko shakes her head disapprovingly.

"No way you're gonna see him in that." Sonoko says. Ran's eyes widen.

"Why not? It's cute and besides, I'm not trying to impress him or anything. Also, it's just the airport so I should just look casual." Ran explains defensively. Sonoko rolls her eyes.

"Yeah right. You're seeing your ex okay? Put on something nicer. Still casual but show stopping, you know what I mean?" Sonoko proceeds to rummage through Ran's luggage. Ran observes curiously, cocking her head to the side. It takes only a few seconds for Sonoko to fix up a good fashion combo for her. She hands her a mustard yellow crop top and dark skinny jeans.

"You look hot in this. Put this on."Sonoko commands her. Ran looks at the outfit hesitantly. "Just do it! It accentuates your boobs and your fine ass."

"Sonoko! It's too revealing!" Ran whines.

"So what? You got some goods to show. Flaunt it!" Sonoko encourages, pushing her to the bathroom to change. "Just shut up put it on!"

Ran is left with no choice but to obey her friend. So she changes into Sonoko's recommendation outfit. In a few seconds she is out and ready. Sonoko squeals in delight upon seeing her come out of the bathroom in the crop top and skinny jeans.

Indeed, Sonoko knows best. Ran clearly looks so fine in the outfit for it hugged her curves pretty well.

"Okay, it's still very early. We have time to do your hair!" Sonoko exclaims, pulling Ran back to the chair by the vanity. She unveils Ran's wet hair and grabs a hair blower and a hair iron. She plugs the hair blower and starts to dry Ran's damp hair with it.

Ran sits in a very well-behaved manner. Sonoko meets her eyes in the mirror, smiling at her friend who returns her smile with a soft, nervous one.

"By the time we're done, you're gonna totally knock Shinichi's socks off." Sonoko comments. Ran rolls her eyes and laughs. "You know, I'm honestly kind of still opposed to this whole Shinichi thing."

Ran looks at Sonoko questioningly through the mirror.

"You're the one who suggested this whole Shinichi thing. Besides, we're only friends now, Sonoko…" Ran clarifies with a hint of defensiveness that Sonoko takes note of.

"Yeah right. Friends who are to awkward to hit each other up after a break up." Sonoko slams her. Ran stays quiet, clearly affected by Sonoko's response. "I honestly think you could do better though. Clearly, there are a lot more guys better for you than that nerd. I don't know what you see in him. He's Shinichi. But anyway, it's obvious that you're crazy about him, still are and always have been. It's like he's your measure of standard for guys or something. It's weird but I guess that's love…"

Ran wants to deny what Sonoko had just said. But she knows there is no point in it. Her best friend could read her easily. They've known each other all their lives.

"Well, it's different with him. He was a big part of my life. He was my friend first before he became my first love…" Ran says fondly. Sonoko furrows her eyebrows, thinking hard as she continues to do Ran's hair.

"Until now, I still don't get why you guys had to break up. You guys were supposed to be end game." Sonoko comments with a disappointed sigh.

"We had to grow at some point…" Ran replies with a sad smile on her face, reminiscing a lonely memory in her head that she never forgot so easily. "Even if it meant that we had to do it separately…"

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

Ran wasn't the type to eavesdrop but the mention of her boyfriend's name in some strangers' conversation intrigued her. She stood by the lockers and she was just packing up when she heard the sound of two girls' voices echoing through the almost empty and very spacious girls' locker and shower room.

She noted that they were members of the cheerleading squad of Teitan High, given that they were talking about dance routines and of the upcoming cheering performance they'd have to do on the Japan Interschool Soccer Tournament.

And soon enough, her boyfriend's name was brought into their little conversation.

"Ugh. What's the point in cheering if we're not gonna win anyway?" One of the girls said. She had a shrilly, whiny voice that sounded quite annoying.

"Don't say that!" Another hushed. Compared to the first girl, her voice was less shrilly and sounded more mature. "The soccer team is working really hard despite Kudo-sempai's absence."

Ran's ears perked up at the sudden statement.

'Shinichi? But didn't he just got back on the team?' She thought to herself, confused.

"Why did Kudo-sempai have to withdraw from the team anyway? Is it because of his detective duties again? Guess he's really that big in the industry now huh?" Shrilly asked.

"I guess. But from what I've heard it's not about that this time." Less-shrilly replied. "Rumour has it, it was because of his girlfriend!"

"Mouri-sempai? No way!" Shrilly let out a loud gasp. Ran found herself doing the same thing. Suddenly, she is even more interested to listen. She was confused especially when she had no idea at all about Shinichi's withdrawal from the team.

"I don't know much but some are saying she's pretty possessive." Less shrilly commented. "Not so surprised. She has the vibe."

Ran clenched her fists furiously. She had the sudden urge to smash a locker into a reduced tin can.

"Well, you can't blame her though. With Kudo-sempai walking around looking like a snack, you'd definitely build fences around him if you were his girlfriend." Shrilly giggled. Ran rolled her eyes as she took out more things from her locker, resisting the urge to slam it very loudly.

"True, but there should be a certain limit to it. At this rate, she's just being a hindrance to him." Less-shrilly said. "If you ask me, Kudo-sempai should be with someone up his ally. He's practically a celebrity now but he's going low-key just because he doesn't want to leave Mouri-sempai in the dark. Let's face it, she's too… ordinary..."

"Wow. You're too harsh." Shrilly hissed.

"Just pure facts, darling. The syndicate case should be a good example. Kudo-sempai spearheaded the capture of the members and Mouri-sempai? Wasn't she just a mere casualty?"

The girls were completely irrelevant to Ran but their words pierced through her heart like knives. She wasn't able to notice the tears that fell down from her eyes as she was listening. She sniffled a sob as she closed the door of her locker, in a surprisingly quiet way. She holds on to it for support as she felt her knees going weak. She covered her mouth to avoid making any noise as she cried.

She didn't want to back down on the judgmental girls and become the loser but for some reason, they seemed so spot-on right.

Everything came back to Ran in an instant.

She remembered how back in middle school, Shinichi was supposed to fly to Los Angeles with his parents but he didn't because he couldn't leave her. Then when he got involved in the Black Organization case, he didn't tell her about the situation because he didn't want to get her in danger. And even then, despite going through so much trouble already, he still found a way to protect her. He became Conan for her in Shinichi's absence…

And lately, he had been ditching cases ever since her embarrassing, outburst. She didn't give it much point but since it has finally come to light, she finally realized that all the phone calls he claimed to be "not important" were probably from Megure-keibu but because he wanted to be with her and he didn't want her to worry, he'd immediately shut them all off for her.

So stupidly she believed in his words not because she trusted them to be true but because it gave her relief. Because it saved her from worrying. But clearly, he was giving up a lot of things of her and he was willing to do so even if it meant giving up his own passion just so he could be with her…

Then it hit her. Shinichi always came through for her. He'd always tell her how selfless and kind she was to forgive him after everything he has done. But the truth is, what she did was probably nothing compared to everything that he has done for her.

So, maybe they were right after all. Maybe she didn't deserve him. Maybe he was better off with someone else…

Tokyo, Tuesday, 11am

Shinichi is on board another plane, riding a connecting flight from Tokyo to Osaka after a fourteen-hour flight from New York. But unlike on the previous flight where he completely dosed off, he is wide awake on this one. His neck, aching from the long flight and how he positioned his head when he slept a while ago.

'Only one hour…' He thinks to himself. His palms start to sweat as he feels both excitement and nervousness rush through his veins.

He assumes the possibility that she could have already been there. Knowing Ran, and judging by her comment on the proposal announcement last time, he suspects that she could have already booked an early flight. Besides, she is the maid of honor and it is expected that she is to help Kazuha with the last-minute preparations. Also taking in consideration that Ran is supposed to plan the bride's bachelorette party the same way he is expected to plan the groom's since he is the best man.

So, he makes a bet with himself, that there is a 90 percent chance that Ran's already in Osaka most likely with Sonoko and Sera since they are all-out supportive friends. But he wonders, would she be with Hattori at the airport? He shakes his head no.

There's no way. It would probably be too awkward.

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

Shinichi is taken aback by the sudden confrontation. He was shocked when Ran dragged him all the way to a particular bench in their school yard to talk privately. She wasn't mad but she did bombard him with questions about his sudden withdrawal from Teitan High's soccer team. Shinichi never planned to hide it from her. He was merely looking for the perfect timing to do so. But alas, rumors about him spread easily like wild fire and though Shinichi never really cared to explain himself to others, he knew it is his responsibility to clarify things with her.

What surprised Shinichi more is that the sudden news affected Ran in more ways than he could ever think of suddenly, it wasn't just about soccer anymore. It was…

Everything.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, tears started to brim at the corner of her eyes. Shinichi cupped Ran's face in his hands. He looked at her earnestly. He only had one answer in his head.

"Because I love you and I promised to make it up to you, didn't I?" He said sincerely. She shook her head furiously.

"At what expense? You're giving up so much for me…" She sobbed. "You're losing yourself because of me."

Shinichi shook his head in denial. He was stunned. He never knew she had such thoughts in her head. Of course, that wasn't the case. Not to him.

"I just don't want to be the reason for these tears, Ran." He spoke, lifting his hand to wipe away her tears.

"And I don't want to be the reason why you're holding back from doing the things you love…" She said as she looked into his cerulean eyes that she loved so much. "Shinichi, you know it too right? You and I, we both haven't healed since…"

She took his hand in hers and held it tightly as he stared at her with so much sadness in his eyes. He knew what was bound to happen he saw it in her eyes, he felt it when she held him.

"We can't be this broken together…" She said. "We have to heal on our own terms. Separately."

Shinichi wasn't able to speak. He let out a deep breath and looked down. Suddenly his throat went dry. He didn't want it to end in such way but he knew she was right. They would only keep on hurting each other. And as much as he hated it, as much as his heart broke at the thought, his mind told him that it was the right thing to do.

"Is this what you really want?" He asked giving her another chance to take it back even when he knew very well that she wouldn't. She was a woman of word.

"It's not about what we want. It's about what we both need." She replied, letting go of his hands. Shinichi suddenly felt a melancholic coldness surround him at the absence of her touch.

"I just can't believe this is happening…" He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, restraining himself as soon as he felt his face heat up and his eyes becoming heavy with the threat of tears forming. His heart broke and he felt it in his chest. He looked up, to avoid the tears from falling. He wasn't the type to cry and he is not bound to do it in front of her. "I just love you so much, you know…"

He reached up to cup her face. He savored the moment, knowing that it probably would be the last time.

"And I love you too." She said, fighting the urge to cry again. "I'm sorry…"

"I'm sorry too." He told her, pulling her for one last embrace.

Osaka,Tuesday, 12nn

Shinichi is walking through Kansai International Airport while pushing his luggage cart. His feet are still heavy and his neck still hurt from the long flight. He whips his phone out of his pocket to send Hattori a message but it starts ringing. Heiji's name flashes on his screen and he answers immediately.

"Oi, Hattori! I'm here." Shinichi says upon answering.

"And I'm not." Heiji says chuckling nervously. Shinichi's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "I can't make it today, groom duties."

"What?" Shinichi asks, his tone raises in slight frustration but he doesn't get mad because he understands. He just wasn't expecting Hattori to bail on him.

"But doncha' worry. I sent a proxy. I'm betting 100 percent that you'll be more thrilled to see her than me." Heiji snickers over the phone.

"What?" Shinichi asks again as he continues to walk by the arrivals area in search of Hattori, thinking he's merely playing jokes on him.

"Well, gotta go! Bye!" Heiji responds, hanging up. Shinichi is even more confused than he was earilier.

"Oi, Hattori-

He is cut off by the beeping sound on his phone. His eyes search the sea of fetchers in the area until he sees a familiar face among them.

His eyes meet hers for the first time in ten years. She smiles at him and he stops on his tracks, suddenly his feet feels heavier than it did when he got out of the plane.

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

He dropped all of his bags to give her a proper hug. He held her tightly in his arms, drowning himself in her soft scent that he loved so much. For a moment, he didn't care if it was not proper for him to hold her in such way. So what if she isn't his anymore?

"You take care there okay?" She breathed against his ear as she ran her delicate fingers through his hair.

"You too." He responded as he ran his hand down her back, stroking it comfortingly. Such touch sent shivers running down her spine.

He soon pulled away after a few seconds. The coldness in the air surrounded him upon the absence of her warmth.

"So I guess this is it… LA, huh?" He said, casually putting his hands in his pockets.

"You'll do great." She assured him with a sincere smile. Her eyes shined, almost like she was bound to cry but she doesn't.

"Well, I'm going now… You'll be okay?" He asked, concerned and hopelessly wishing she'd stop him but she gave him a nod instead.

"Have a safe trip." She said, watching him with a heavy heart as he took his bags.

"Good bye, Ran."

"Good bye, Shinichi."

He lingered for a moment, staring at her amethyst orbs, her beautiful face, memorizing her every feature, taking it all in so that it would remain tattooed in his memory. Unknown to him, she did the same, looking at his gorgeous pair of sapphires and his sharp features. Suddenly she felt an urge to cry, but she held it in.

I don't want to be the reason for your tears…

His words rang in her ears.

And then it was time to leave.

I don't want to be the reason why you're holding back.

He kept her words in his head. He gave her one last smile which she returned and then he turned away, walking further and further until he disappeared from her sight.

And when he was gone, she broke down and cry in the middle of the airport for everyone to see.

Unknown to her, he did the same, but on the plane by the window.

Osaka,Tuesday, 12nn

Shinichi remains frozen in his state. He doesn't know how to approach her but his heart is filled with so much happiness. Suddenly it is like he is seventeen again.

"Welcome back, Shinichi…" She says, making him snap out of his thoughts, bringing him back to Earth with the sound of her voice, saying his name as she approaches him. He looks at her beautiful presence. She looks a little bit more mature than the last time he saw her. Her curves are now more defined as clearly shown in her tight outfit of crop top and skinny jeans. She is wearing light make up that accentuates her already beautiful features.

He wonders if she is doing it on purpose but he shrugs the thought away so quickly. He realizes that he probably looks like crap standing next to her. He gives himself a mental kick on the ass. Suddenly he regrets not wearing something better than his plain shirt and jacket. He wishes he took the time to brush his hair since it is sticking in different directions, not to mention that his cowlick is up and unrulier than ever.

But unknown to him, she is secretly admiring his presence as well. She notices his defined, sharper features. He is taller now than when she last saw him. She notes that she looks smaller in her sneakers, standing next to his tall frame, not to mention that his built is now more toned than before. He looks manlier now, with his sharper jawline but his awkward smile made him look more boyish, as though his seventeen-year-old self is peaking through beneath his matured look.

"It's great to be back." He says. They maintain a distance of a meter between each other. "It's nice to see you again, Ran…"

He awkwardly spreads his arms and motions closer to her. It doesn't take too much for her to understand that he is approaching her for a hug. She doesn't deprive him. She meets his distance and wraps her arms around him. Goosebumps creep to his skin as she rests her head on his chest while he leans close to her shoulder. They both drown themselves on each other's scent. She feels him wrap his arms around her waist. His skin brushes against her skin exposed by the crop top. Shivers run through her spine. Even after ten years, the warmth still feels so familiar.

It is hard for them to pull away.

AN: So here it is! I hope y'all like it. It turned out to be a pretty long chapter. I hope I covered everything regarding the break up. If you guys still have questions, feel free to approach me. I don't bite. LOL. This will most likely be the last chapter with inter-cutting scenes since Shinichi is now back in Japan. Yey! Wasn't expecting this to take long to write, but I found it difficult to write the break up scene, tbh. Hope it wasn't OOC.

Anyway, tell me what you guys think. I'll try to update faster but I will most likely update once a week depending on my work schedule and on how long the chapter will take. My goal is to give two updates a week but I'm thinking that's gonna be too far-fetched for me. But we'll see. ;)

Fanfiction.net link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13195514/2/The-Same-Old-You AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17626277/chapters/41749793

NEXT CHAPTER

#dcmk #detective conan #meitantei conan #case closed #kudo shinichi #shinichi kudo #shinichi #mouri ran #ran mouri #ran #shinran #shinichi and ran #ran and shinichi #shinichi x ran #ran x shinichi #fanfiction #fanfic

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iamwhelmed · 5 years

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The Jisatsu Experiment: Prologue-- Himura University

Summary: Years after Conan leaves with no explanation and Haibara becomes a distant Miyano Shiho, Ayumi graduates and heads off to Himura University-- as far away from Tokyo as she can get. She finds it hard to leave Conan and Haibara behind her despite Mitsuhiko and Genta moving on, but the mystery she's about to take on is going to begin unraveling a past she'd repressed, and it's very possible she's bitten off more than she can chew. Just how deep does this case run? Shinichi may just have to step in, but can he and Shiho stomach the mess Ayumi has gotten herself into, or save her from herself?

Okay so Homesick will be updated when my boyfriend gets around to sending me the beta, but in the meanwhile, he's a story that's been kicking around in my head for, well, YEARS. It's heavily inspired by both Nicole, the Winter Wolves Dating Sim (honestly my favorite of all time, so worth the $5) and Mystic Messenger. However, I left this story open to being a one-shot in case there is no interest! So the mysterious, scary parts can be read as references to Ayumi's past with Conan and Haibara and how it's keeping her tied down. Please enjoy!

Read it on AO3

Read it on Fanfiction.net

Things had changed over the years- not by a lot, not all at once, but little by little.

The Detective Boys never disbanded, nobody moved, nobody died, but Ran got her own place after she graduated. Kogoro's detective agency grew, and he had a few interns here and there that ran their time and carried on like clockwork. Eri had moved back in, though the two weren't sleeping in the same bed again (not that they ever said, no, Ayumi had merely made the guess because there was a warmth that wasn't quite there yet). Shinichi-niisan and Heiji-niisan were still best friends; Sonoko and Kazuha and Ran and Sera, they all hung out, had girl's nights. Haibara (Miyano? Shiho? Ai?) would join them when she wasn't working on something with the professor (who she still lived with, who was still like a father to her). Mitsuhiko found the time to balance the Detective Boys and the Science Club-- he was their president, after all, got Teitan High further than it ever had gone before in the finals despite the lacking company. Genta was still their club's strong arm, though what was once body fat was now muscle and height. He towered over most boys in their school by their first year, scared a few third-years back when. His love for food had been channeled into a love of cooking, his hobby when he wasn't solving a case or manhandling criminals. Conan had disappeared. That was that. She'd come to accept it. It still broke her heart.

Ayumi, she felt alone these days. Genta and Mitsuhiko were still there but…

Genta had a girlfriend now, small and sweet and every bit a cook as him, though her skills strayed in the area of sweet-making. Mitsuhiko would deny it until he was blue (Haibara had hurt him, hurt him so bad, and Ayumi was the only one who understood because she'd felt it too, and that pain held him back, more than he let on, and Ayumi supposed he kept it all in while she only mourned to herself) but there was a cute girl with big glasses and a sincere smile who was always looking at him. (He liked her, Ayumi could tell, but he wasn't taking that plunge and she didn't blame him).

She was the only girl left in the Detective Boys, and the only member left who had no other hobbies-- well, she dabbled in makeup as homage to a memory long past, but it was nothing she spent time on. She sorted through and selected cases, she gathered information, she put clues together as much as she could until she had Mitsuhiko's and Genta's help. The days passed, and though each hour took three to pass, she could tell the years were moving quickly, so quickly that it would almost seem right-on-time if she were to receive a letter from Conan. But she didn't. He'd left them a note and hadn't said goodbye, just that he'd be in touch but he never was. She shouldn't have been surprised, not after the fifth empty year (that's what she told herself when she started crying for no reason after a case, when she'd hide away in the bathroom for a few minutes because only Sato would see her there and know, and nobody else needed to see, nobody needed to worry, she was fine, she was fine).

Shinichi, kind as he was, tried to fill Conan's shoes, they could all tell. He was their self-proclaimed mentor, a friend and a protector (there was a fear in him and a fury she only saw when they were in danger, something she could never quite place). He taught them and molded them for a year before he seemed to back off, and she wondered if that was because he knew he couldn't replace Conan, or because he'd deducted that they all felt he couldn't. Besides, he was probably tied up with Ran-neechan. Last she'd heard, he'd moved into that apartment with her when she'd taken the leap from the agency. Haibara, she seemed to keep her distance. Sometimes Ayumi thought she wanted to reach out, but that outstretched hand would retract, and she would be cold again, and eventually it stopped killing her that she wouldn't (no it didn't, she was just used to it, expected it; Mitsuhiko wasn't there yet).

Ayumi was a social butterfly, but butterflies hardly ever stayed in one place, and she flitted from one group to another without ever truly belonging, just long enough to know names and faces. This was why she and Mitsuhiko were so alike, she'd shut down, too.

Come their third year, Ayumi was closing cases all on her own. Mitsuhiko and Genta came when she called, but she tried not to (she was scared that eventually they wouldn't come). She wondered if Shinichi knew all the trouble she was getting up to (she wondered if he cared-- why? Why did it matter if he cared?) He had to hear about it through the police, or deduce that it was her from the nameless papers drawn up hours after she'd closed her cases. She shrugged off the thought (but there were eyes in her dreams, odd ones, like a memory that she's so curious to touch but terrified to recall).

Regardless of the people and the cases and the criminals and the failures, she could put her cases on her resume, and that meant she'd get into a good university. Somewhere far away, somewhere near a beach, somewhere suburban and away from Tokyo. So she took Himura University's offer and didn't bat an eye at the distance. Her mother and father cried and fueled her packings full of microwavable food (it was enough to make the seven-year-old Genta she once knew salivate), and Mitsuhiko and Genta squeezed the daylights out of her and all three of them stood at the train and wept for an hour straight, right up until the train was making its final call and she had to go.

(Haibara and Shinichi hid a few aisles over, clutching badges they no longer wore as she cried and he pretended not to notice for her sake-- and for his.)

She got set up in the dorm room easy enough. She made her bed, hung some pictures (she debated setting the frame of the Detective Boys, all five of them, on her nightstand, and instead hid it face-down in her drawer). It took a few hours for her roommate to arrive, but she was beautiful and tan and had green eyes that sparkled when she said hello. Her name was Akiko Nishimura. They shook hands and something warm started chipping away at the cold patch where Indigo used to be.

She was scouting out her semester's classrooms and got lost when she ran into Katashi Sasaki-- and she nearly died when she looked into his eyes and saw Conan's. No glasses, just blue, familiar all the same. His hair was styled differently, more of a western cut and as yellow as the sun, but his face and his lips and his ears and his eyes… She dropped her books and he cocked an eyebrow at her and said "I was gonna ask if you needed help with those. Guess that answers my question." She'd gone red in the face, huffed and said:

"Thank you, I'm okay, though."

He tapped her head with her Math textbook and said: "Liar. Where are you headed?"

The rest was history.

She was studying on the second floor of the library, brushing up on her English and failing miserably when a boy sat down across from her. Brown eyes, auburn hair- a foreigner like Katashi, but less American, more European. He cracked a book open, glanced up at her, blinked, then turned his attention back to his textbook with a yawn. They didn't speak, though the uncomfortable air compelled every cell of her body to. She tried to concentrate on English, sound out a difficult word, but she kept stressing the R and couldn't say the L. She grimaced. "I can practically hear your brain imploding. I suggest dropping the class and studying a different language." And that was the first thing Yori Smartass Sata ever said to her. She'd glared and reminded him to be polite to strangers and returned to studying. Five minutes later, he'd proclaimed himself her tutor.

Takumi Ikeda was a frail, cowardly boy who reminded her of Mitsuhiko the first summer after Haibara and Conan had left-- a shut-in gamer who slept in the day and lived for the nightlife his roommate-less dorm-room afforded him. He was as pale as the moon itself, bright enough he nearly blinded her when she first saw him stumbling out of the nearby cafe with layers of bags under his eyes. Despite the lack of sleep, his face was rounded and baby-ish, cute with the round glasses that were falling off his nose. His large baggy sweater dipped over his shoulder as he passed by her with a murmur about "finishing Devil Souls". He'd dropped his wallet, and she'd spent the rest of the day deducing what dorm-room was his, determined to return the small bit of yen and the student ID she'd found inside. It'd taken her until the early evening, but she'd knocked and interrupted his playthrough of the newest Sunshine Valley RPG…. so it was only fair she stay and help him farm with the tricks she'd learned from the previous games.

She hadn't meant to stumble into the football locker rooms, she really hadn't, but the tan Osakan guy with a wide cocky grin and a mouth full of wit she wanted to stuff with his dirty socks- Youta Oshiro- didn't seem to have any intention of letting it go. She had the unfortunate luck of being in his Math class and in his English class and even free during the time she'd set aside in her schedule for lunch. "Caught you sneaking a peek earlier, ya just have to ask, ya know." He'd taken to clinging at her side, like he thought she had a crush on him or something, and it drove her up a wall. The other personalities she'd been used to, but a guy like him was new territory in an already-new situation, and she grew more disgruntled each day. He knew Akiko, apparently. Grew up in the same town, though they didn't speak much. He used it as an excuse to get closer to Ayumi, though. He ate lunch with her and flashed his muscles (which he certainly did have as the star football player, she'd admit), and he asked her questions about class (was actually kinda helpful when she didn't get something, almost symbiotic). She was starting to get attached to him, hardly fought against it when Katashi joined them. They were rivals? Or something. They butted heads, and she wagered it had something to do with Katashi's dad being a cop and Youta's being a shady lawyer with suspicious sources of information. She wasn't sure, but she was starting to feel at home (she could see Genta and Mitsuhiko going back and forth over the picnic table as Agasa Hakase settled them down).

She'd gotten calls from home a few times by the third week. Most were from her parents, who found the time to call despite their work schedules, but the occasional call from Genta or Mitsuhiko would trickle in. They asked how she was, if she'd taken up any cases, if she was making friends (great, not really, and more than she'd thought possible). Mitsuhiko's classes were going well, extremely so, of course, and he was confused by the attention he was getting from complete strangers (all girls, and Ayumi wondered how a boy as smart as Mitsuhiko couldn't see that the ladies were flocking to him, and wondered if maybe he was willingly ignoring it for modesty or something more painful). She'd laughed and told him to spend some time being more social; he declined initially, but she knew he'd fold. Genta was in culinary school and having the time of his life, learning new dishes, learning new tricks with knives (the thought of which made her nervous in the worst way). Neither had taken up any cases, necessarily, but the towns surrounding their schools were quiet, at least not as rambunctious as Tokyo had been. Hearing their voices was like smelling a candle that carried the scent of home, or feeling a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer. It brought tears to her eyes, and she sat on the side of her bed stifling her sobs because she didn't want Mitsuhiko or Genta to hear, didn't want them to worry because she was fine.

Akiko came home to find her leaning over her knees, burying her head in her hands and whimpering with the phone on End Call. She'd sat beside her and rubbed soothing circles into her back. "It'll get easier," (spoiler: actually, as this story unfolds, it only gets harder) she murmured, and "you've got friends here too" (another spoiler: some might not actually be friends). Ayumi leaned into her shoulder, wiping the tears from her eyes and forcing a smile. For the moment, she wasn't alone, maybe wasn't for the first time in a long time. "Hey," Akiko picked up her phone and playfully tossed it in the air for good measure, grinning at Ayumi's red-rimmed eyes. "Why don't I give Youta a call? He knows the best ice cream place and he won't tell me, but maybe he'll tell you if we guilt him with your big sad puppy eyes!"

"Akiko-chan! That's so mean!"

"Don't worry, don't worry! He owes me anyway! I did his essay last week and he still hasn't paid me."

A small bead of sweat dripped down Ayumi's head.

It took Youta only a few short minutes to arrive at their door, a scowling Katashi in toe for some reason. Ayumi didn't mind; she took it as a sign that she was meant to be with these people right now, and that was okay. Youta wrapped an arm over her shoulders and argued with Katashi about the statistics of crime in Japan and other things she had a hard time following, and Akiko clung to her other side and egged either end on like a referee who was biased (depending on who she thought was winning) and dirty. Ayumi stood, surrounded by the chaos feeling oddly serene. Whatever tears had been in her eyes before were gone, for the moment, maybe for longer, and she'd be thankful for the whirlwind she found herself at the center of right now.

She didn't notice the black car parked across the street, or the familiar eyes that haunted her dreams watching her from behind the cracked window.

#Detective Conan #Ayumi Yoshida #Shinichi Kudo #Conan Edogawa #Ai Haibara #Shiho Miyano #mitsuhiko tsuburaya #genta kojima #AyuCon #MitsuAi #OCs/Ayumi #Seriously guys she has so many suitors and she is so confused #HAH bet ya didn't think I'd be writing for Detective Conan again!#To be fair I didn't either #but inspiration strikes #and I answer its call #Also if I count all the guys Ayumi is gonna be romantic with in this story #I think the full count is 6?#This fanfic is based on dating sims okay fite me

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kirakirachiizuru · 6 years

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[PART 1] HAKUMYU LIVE2 - SPECIAL GUEST EXTRAS - Matsuda Ryo

I am doing this just for fun ^^ Because I like translating the Tokuten (extras), than the Honpen (stageplay) :p I know LIVE has been around for a while but just in case ^^ I will skip some parts… because they talk too fast / not so important / interesting :p If I have the time and if anyone wants to read this, I will make the rest with Izawa Yuki, Yamazaki Shuuto, Gomoto Naoya & Yazaki Hiroshi too ^^ (i edited this with photos lol yesterday tumblr was being ugly and jealous i couldnt upload anything)

PART01: Matsuda Ryo-kun (12/08, Kyoto, NOON)

[01:25:22]

Mori-Producer: Today’s guest, Matsuda Ryo-san!

Ryo: IS EVERYONE HAVING FUN?

*fanscream*

Ryo: NOT ENOUGH! DO YOU LOVE HAKUMYU?

*fanscream*

Ryo: Awesome! Once again, I am the previous Saito Hajime actor, Matsuda Ryo.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

M-P: So it has been 2 1/2 years, since your last stage, since Kazama-hen

R: Yes, that was the last one for me, and the Fukuchou (commander / Piroshi). And you see just now I have been watching from the side-stage and a lot of memories came in.

R: Yes my debut performance was the first ever Hakumyu after all (Saitou-hen). I’m so happy and now everyone is turning their penlights into Blue colour. Aa~ thank you~ (in his Kansai-ben /aaaaaa XD)

*fanscream*

R: I love everyone (* Minna suki ya de~ aaa kansai benn XD) ! I’ll give you this *hands over his uchiwa (fan) to one front seat fan). It is a festival after all right. I can’t throw it (the fan) to the seats it’s dangerous okay.

M-P: It is definitely amazing right. It was the first ever Hakumyu, and without that there wont be Hakumyu today right (i rephrased this XD i think he mentioned Matsuda Gakkun, like without Ryo-kun first Hakumyu, there wouldnt be Hakumyu today for anyone else~)

*Digest / clips of Ryo-Saitou played on screen*

After that…

R: You know just now I received a LINE message from Yamazaki-san / Piroshi.

AUDIENCE: ‘What did he saaay?’

R: ‘Good luck for the LIVE’ and he wrote that all in Hiragana. lol but that’s so him XDD

So I replied, I’ll do my best!

R: No no *sheepishly*, but you see in the digest just now (clips from prev musicals), it is thanks to everyone - casts, staffs, those who have been loving Hakumyu.. oh but Hakuouki (the anime/game) is amazing in the first place right.

M-P: He is definitely a zachou (lead) who practiced more than anyone else, yet never shows a tired face *more praises*

R: (laugh) thank you!

Then Mori-Producer said that seems like it started from Ryo-kun, a passionate and powerful Zachou, and from that on the next ones too inherited that.

R: Eh, wait I feel like crying already.

M-P: That’s fast.

R: Before I was in Hakumyu, I went through an audition and at that time, I was auditioning for Heisuke’s position.

ME & FANS: WHAAT?????

[01:28:01]

R: I was aiming for Heisuke and I really didnt think that I would be Saitou Hajime and that time Mori-san’s impression was really interesting

M-P: I thought he will definitely fail this :p

It was like he was screwing around. What did you do again?

And then Ryo-kun explained that there are some things that needs to be done. I think he needs to act out a scene in which everyone needs to take turn and then he gets cut down by another. And he have to act out a dying scene.

[1:28:45]

R: I never had any experience of sword fight lessons or anything, let alone how to act out a death. So when I was cut down, UWAAA— (run and plops on floor) and I just stayed in this position (on floor) and I looked at the person and the producer angrily said ‘Die now!’

(Chii: BAHAHAHA ;;;;;;)

M-P: I really thought you will fail but you managed till the end and Im glad it is you.

R: Aaww

M-P: How about acting out Saitou Hajime’s line now? *pass a Katana*

R: WAAA, it has been a while since I last held a Katana *slips it on his obi* (mind you, it is left side which is actually ‘wrong’ because he is Saitou Hajime known for left-handed samurai XD). Ok Mori-san be the Chizuru okay.

*acts out Saitou’s line* (AAAAAA AAAA) *looks at Mori-chizuru lol*

R: EH, this katana is the other way round (lol)

M-P: Any scenes that’s most memorable for you?

R: (he said the scene when he fought with Kazama)

*Then it became an awkward scene when Shougo-Kazama came out.*

R: Hi, it is.. a first time so I’m Matsuda Ryo *steps back*

Shougo-Kazama: Hmph.

R: Seems like his eyes is killing me. Then, I can take him on now. Everyone, he is now weaponless.

S-K: *came back with a Katana* R: Ok lets go with ‘that’ scene. Get it? ‘That scene?’ …. Aren’t you laughing, you okay?

(LOL Shougo is facing Ryo-kun so the face is not visible :P)

*Acting out the sword fight* But it doesnt seem to go well XDDD

S-K: ... sure you can do it? :p

[01:33:30]

*Shiranui is called out*

Shiranui: I didnt hear about this

(maybe this was not part of their plan haha because the talks are partly scripted :p)

R: Hi! Hey hey hey! *making a gun with his hand and then ignored by the two Onis* XD

S: Who’s that?

S-K: I have no idea

R: Where’s that other person.. bald one?

S: Koudou

(actually and usually the casts are all watching from the side-stage ^^ HAHA so im thinking they didnt planned it out other than Shougo-Kazama meeting Ryo-kun XD)

….. Koudou: Shibu shibu shibu shibu *t/n: reluctant, reluctant (LOL XD)

[01:34:30]

R: Definitely they are amazing first-generation casts right

M-P: Ok time is running out. *fans went EHHH~~*

S-K: I will read a letter from my good friend, Suzuki Shougo (lolol.)

R: Oh you two are such close friends eh. (LOL)

S-K: He is… *stiffled laugh* (AHAHAHAHAHA) S-K: *reads the letter to Matsuda-san* ^^ Matsuda-san I heard you are making appearance on Hakumyu’s stage after a long time today, how are you feeling? It has been 5 years since we have known each other. You who are a younger brother, we had fun praticing, drinking and fooling around together. Compared to that time, I earnestly think you’ve become such a splendid actor as Matsuda Ryo…….. (cont) (It is such a warm letter, and I am not good with such beautiful piece so let’s leave that to your imagination :P)

S-K: That’s what he wrote *keeps the letter in his sleeve* M-P: You’re not giving the letter to him?

S-K: Later (XD) : [01:37:18]

R: *speeches* Ok I cant anymore, if I stay here any longer I will cry. Thank you, have fun everyone!

FIN

Here are some other interesting facts from the rest of the special guest corner (that I might or might not translate):

[1] Gomoto Naoya-kun auditioned for Hijikata Toshizou’s position (HAHAHA but Mori Producer was like, Nope okay you can stop during the audition :p)

[2] Izawa Yuki-kun was sooo pressured to be the 2nd Hijikata-san, because Piroshi / Yamazaki Hiroshi was a strong one, too good. And then he said at that time, he always had Kondou-san (Taira-san) to pamper and calm him down. And when asked how, he acted it out: *walks to Kondou-san and hugs* ‘Im scared~ Piroshi was so good~* And Taira-san would hug pat him and say ‘It is okay, just be yourself, you own version of Hijikata Toshizou’

[3] On the recording day of Hakumyu Reimeiroku, Piroshi came to watch. And Izawa Yuki-kun was like ‘AAA how dare he came today why did he have to come today of all days’ XD But then at the end, when he showed his fist towards Piroshi in the audience seat, Piroshi returned his air-fistbump (AWW). He said he was happy and touched ^^

[4] Izawa Yuki sheated his katana and fans went ‘UUU~~’ and he said ‘Wow LIVE is so nice, I didnt do anything but sheating my sword and I get such reaction :p

[5] Izawa Yuki said he had such a blunder during Hakumyu performance like there were times when he tried to sheath back his sword and the scabbard had moved the other way. So this one time, he put it in, and like oh god it wouldnt go in so while acting the play he slowwwwly slowwwwly took it out, and BAM! put it back in one go :p

[6] Ryo-kun said some of the blunders he made during Hakumyu was (1) There was a part Amagiri was talking and he was supposed to come out, and at one time he was just sitting at the side-stage not realizing it was his moment to come out. And suddenly Ikeda Junya-kun (Heisuke), came running ‘OI YOUR TURN GET OUT THERE’ and he was like wth and ‘WHY?’ and Junya furiously said ‘YOUR TURN’ and he was like ‘WHAT? !!!’ *late sudden realization* XDDD

(2) There was a day he said he forgot his Katana (LOL) and that was the part he was supposed to fight Kazama (such important scene LOL). And he saw the ensemble Suga-chan and just ‘defeat and grab away his Katana forcefully’ and continue his act LOL. (you would know Suga-vhan if you’re a fan (said Ryo-kun), bcs the longest ensemble member to join Hakumyu from start till to-date).

[7] Izawa Yuki-kun said he was always feeling so pressured (lol poor one XD Piroshi was awesome after all keke) but Kondou-san (Taira-san) helped him like you know he is a historical figure and Taira-san looks just so realiable like the real one, but then one day during practice, they were practicing Shinsengumi’s first appearance during YAISA and when it is his turn to come out with Taira-san suddenly he heard a loud DODOON noise and when he looked to his side, Taira-san stumbled and fell down very unsightly LOL (you can see this clip in Toudou-hen’s extras) :p

[8] Imata Taira-san (Kondou-san) is known for getting tongue-tied and calling character names wrongly like: Saitou-KYUN, Sousuke (Heisuke), Heiji (Souji) :p

[9] Mori-producer said when he first met Ryo-kun he judged him like ‘Can this kid really talk properly’ (Because Ryo-kun is a Kansai-person so he has an accent). And Ryo-kun said Now I can talk normally and fluently (without the accent) :p

#hakumyu #hakuouki musical #hakumyu LIVE 2

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nwonderfull · 6 years

Note

U know, sometime Shinichi annoys me so much, when he is secretive toward Ran. But when I am watch he shrink & scream in pain, and remember how much he sacrified his life for Ran, doesn't want to leave her, I guess i can forgive him. Sometime Ran annoys me, why she is waiting the boy who never know when he will comeback to her. Can she move on? But when i am remember her patiently & struggle for her loyalty & undying love for Shinichi. I guess i can forgive her. Please let ShinRan be happy Gosho.

What you’re feeling is understandable. You know, I always wonder if things will be as manageable now that they are together because if Shinichi facing the consequences of lying to his best friend (Ran) wasn’t complicated enough, she is now his girlfriend on the top of that which makes it even worse. And Ran who was missing her best friend, is now going to miss her boyfriend and “she would want to see him even more” im quoting him here. But I hope the beautiful part of it overtakes the sad part and that their relationship serves as a motivation and strength (especially after the recent developments). I’m sure their love will keep them strong.

As for the waiting point, well.. Ran and Shinichi were not a couple to begin with so isn’t it normal to wait for a friend and worry about them? Of course she thought of him as more than a friend but the waiting was basically waiting for a friend at the end. She didn’t know he liked her back and it’s only in London that she knew that, which was half way through his absence. These are some points regarding this situation:

1) Shinichi has only been away for six months so it’s not really weird to wait for your friend that long and he is not just a friend, a best friend.

2) In these 6 months, Shinich appeared 5 times (Heiji’s intro, Desperate Revival, Shirigami, London and Kyoto) so he appears almost every month. On the top of that they text on daily basis and now he answers/calls her whenever she calls and he can answer her. DC’s technology developed by time so when it was difficult to have them call and text at the beginning because there were no texting apps or mobiles (and he had to use public telephone booths) now everything is way easier so it’s not like she can’t see or hear his voice at all, if she can’t see him, she can still talk to him whenever she wants.

3) It’s not like someone confessed to Ran and she declined because she is waiting for Shinichi (although if she did, it’s her decision after all). It’s not like Shinichi’s absence changed anything. Eisuke is a different case im pointing at the situation from Ran’s pov, nothing really changed regarding her love life (if it was ova 9′s scenario it would have been different). Although im sure she would have declined any confession because she likes shinichi anyway.

Their separation only made their relationship stronger and no one will love Ran as much as Shinichi in my opinion so the best is yet to come for her ^_^

Sorry for the long response ^^” and yes please Gosho make them happy they deserve all the happiness in the world.

#anonymous #ask

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setsunameioh · 6 years

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how about a roleswap kind of thing where the childhood friends were swapped around (as in, ran in kazuha's place and kazuha in ran's place)? canon pairings still though!

I can do that, anon!

For this oneshot, I wrote it mainly with Shinichi and Ran in mind, since their relationship would face the most complications given Shinichi’s whole... situation and all. It’s set around Desperate Revival, given that it’s the first time she would have the chance in canon to meet “Kudo Shinichi” (after their brief meeting in preschool, that is).

you can also read this on AO3!

He hadn't seen her in over ten years, and yet, from the very moment he set on eyes on her, he knew who she was right away.

...alright, so that was a bit of an exaggeration, Shinichi would admit. It hadn't been right away- not until after she properly introduced herself- but he had gotten the inkling that he knew her from somewhere even before that. It counted, right?

She, on the other hand, didn't seem to recognize him at all.

To be fair, that was to be expected- even if she did have cause to remember the boy with whom she had briefly gone to preschool with, she would have expected him to be around her age right now. Not six years old again, as he so happened to find himself. While he'd fallen in love with her at first sight- at first smile, really- he doubted that he'd amounted as much more than a small blip on her radar, easily forgotten as the years went by.

Sonoko, she would probably recognize, but Kudo Shinichi? The odds of that were low.

He'd never actually expected to see her again himself, to be honest. It had all been such a mess after she had transferred away, after that whole Efune mess. It could have been much worse than it was, he knew that now- but at the time, the news that Mouri Ran would be leaving them, moving to Osaka with her father, was nearly enough to devastate him.

He'd kind of assumed that his feelings for her would fade with time- and to be fair, they did, somewhat. But not to the extent that he would have thought- and upon seeing her again, after all these years, all he could think of was that she had gotten even more beautiful than he could have possibly imagined.

And to think, Hattori had been hiding her all this time. Payback for stealing away his own childhood friend, maybe.

He wasn't serious, of course- though it was surprising that they had managed to essentially swap the two of them. He didn't know what to make of it when Hattori Heiji first turned up at the Toyama's place, and he and Kazuha had just started shouting at each other for a good half minute.

If only he could have been half as recognizable as Hattori was, he glumly thought to himself. Not that it would matter much given his current situation.

Right now, he doubted that the girl he was- and apparently was still- in love with, would see him as anything more than the six year old child he appeared to be. Even if he did literally hurl himself in front of her to protect her from a knife.

"Are ya alright, Conan-kun!?"

Still... having her fret over him in concern honestly wasn't really so bad. He should count himself lucky though, that the lucky charm that Heiji had lent him had ended up catching the knife like it did- Kazuha sure as hell was giving him an earful about it, even as Ran tried to calm her down.

(He honestly didn't know if she'd be more or less mad at him if she knew the truth. Probably more, he guessed.)

Well... at least this way, he'd be able to see a lot more of Mouri Ran from now on. Perhaps there would come a time yet with which Kudo Shinichi could try and get to know her a little better- and not just Edogawa Conan.

(Suffice to say, he was very annoyed with Hattori when he turned up next with no Ran in sight. Bring her with you next time, you idiot, and maybe you won't get shoved off a goddamn cruise ship.)

He'd been so focused on the case, that he'd barely had the time to give thought to her presence. Now, however, she was staring him right in the face- and he came to learn later that the person who had actually carried him to the nurse's office in the first place had been Ran.

If it wasn't clear enough that he'd done it on purpose, then the way he escorted everyone else out of the room on some rather thin excuses made it crystal clear to Shinichi. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the alone time with her, but as it stood, the last time the two of them had talked to each other was back when they were both in preschool.

And to think, he'd only taken this form in order to convince Kazuha that he wasn't Conan. At least he'd managed to work things out there.

"We've met before, haven't we?"

Taken aback by the sudden question, Shinichi blinked, before slowly nodding his head. "Y-yeah. We were in preschool together, for a short while."

"I see." It almost looked as if a weight had been taken off her chest- up until now, she had looked somewhat uncertain of herself. "Heiji told me that the two of us had met before, but since ya were never around..."

"Ah, I guess it would be hard to remember." Shinichi said. "We weren't together for very long before you transferred. I'm Kudo Shinichi, by the way. You're Mouri Ran, right?"

"That's right." Ran said, giving him a small smile. "If I recall... ya were the boy I made that paper nameplate fer, right?"

"Oh, you remember that?" Shinichi asked, hoping that he didn't sound too eager about it. From the sound of it, she hadn't remembered it on her own- Heiji's apparent mention of him had likely jogged her memory. He would have to thank him for that later, although he couldn't help but be curious as to what, exactly, he had told her about him.

"Just a little." Ran told him. "It's nice to meet ya again, Kudo-kun."

"You as well, Mouri-san." Shinichi said. "Though it seems like I worried everyone, collapsing like that."

"Are ya really alright?" She'd asked him that question before as Conan too, but somehow, it felt a bit different now. She was asking it of an equal- albeit one that she didn't know all that well, as opposed to a child. "Heiji said that ya'd be fine, so we probably shouldn't make a big deal out of it, but..."

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Shinichi was quick to reassure her. "Sorry about that."

As to be expected, the pair fell into something of an awkward silence there. Racking his brain for something to say, Shinichi cleared his throat. "...did you enjoy the play?"

"Ah, yes." Nodding her head, Ran smiled at that- and lord help him, but he felt his heart pound at the sight of it. "It was very interesting. It's a shame we didn't get ta watch the whole thing through."

"I'm sure if you asked Sonoko, she'd show you the script." Shinichi told her. "I could even ask her, if you want."

"I am a bit curious." Ran admitted after a moment. "But ya don't have ta trouble yerself like that, Kudo-kun. I can always ask Suzuki-san myself."

"I suppose you could." Shinichi admitted, recalling the way that they had been chatting backstage like old friends. As he thought, the two of them really did remember each other- but well, it was to be expected. Still, he couldn't help but admit that he was just a little bit jealous of Sonoko.

...and there was that awkward silence again. Racking his brain for something to say, he decided to try and go out on a limb.

"...are you going to be in Tokyo for awhile, Mouri-san?" Shinichi ventured.

"At least until Sunday evening." Ran told him, tilting her head. "Why?"

Good, he had a chance then. The fact that Ran wasn't showing any outward signs of nervousness was an encouraging sign, but he had to admit, this was a bit of a gamble. The last thing he wanted to do was to force her into doing anything she didn't want- and Ran, as he had learned, was something of too nice a girl to always strongly refuse polite requests. The last thing he wanted to do was to take advantage of that, but well...

Since he had gotten his real body back, he might as well take a chance.

"Actually, I thought it might be nice to give Hattori and Kazuha a chance to spend some time together." Shinichi told her, honestly making this up as he went. "You know, since the two of them seem to be childhood friends in their own right."

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing." Ran admitted, giving him a small smile. "I don't know if ya know this, Kudo-kun, but after he came back home that one time, all he could talk about fer awhile was both ya an' Kazuha-chan."

"Heh, is that so?" He actually knew that already, but as this was information that he had gleaned as Conan, it was best to pretend he had no idea. "So... what I'm trying to get to is, that if you want, it might be nice to maybe... go somewhere to get to know each other a little better while they're doing that."

"Ah, only if you want, though." Shinichi said quickly, holding up a hand. "If you have other plans, then that's fine."

"I don't mind." Ran told him. "Truth is, I don't know what I'd do by myself. If ya could show me around Tokyo, Kudo-kun, it'd help."

"Sure." Nodding his head, fighting the urge to let out a great big victory whoop, Shinichi tried not to seem too overeager. "I don't mind. Of course, we just need to get Hattori and Kazuha to agree first."

Though given the fact that he was pretty sure the two of them were spying on them from behind the door, he didn't imagine it would be hard.

It was only after they had been seated, and handed their menus, that he realized that he might have made something of a mistake.

He'd known, of course, what restaurant this was. When Ran had asked after it, after seeing such a well dressed couple enter the hotel it was located in, he'd been more than happy to tell her all that he knew about it. It was, after all, a restaurant that his parents frequented when they happened to be in town.

When she'd looked interested in it, saying that she really didn't have many chances to eat in such a fancy place, he hadn't hesitated to ask if she would like to have dinner there. For a moment, he almost wondered if he'd gone too far- but she accepted his invitation after some thought. Perhaps she just thought it would be rude to say no at this point, which had been the main worry filling his mind- right up until he realized the bigger problem.

This wasn't just the restaurant that his parents frequented- it was also the restaurant his father had proposed to his mother at.

It wasn't as if he had forgotten, per say, but it had just sort of... not been the first thing that came to mind for him. He was, after all, only trying to make today's 'date'- if one could call it that- about getting to know Ran- and more importantly, giving her a chance to get to know him. So that he could be something more than the boy she'd briefly known in preschool, Kazuha's childhood friend, and Heiji's rival.

Right now, it was all he could do to keep that thought from showing on his face.

"I've haven't been in a restaurant this fancy since Heiji's father was promoted." Ran observed, even as she tried to downplay the way that she was so very obviously looking at her surroundings in wonder. She needn't do so- to be honest, he only thought of it as cute.

"Really?" Shinichi asked, hoping to relax her some. "Truth be told, I don't really come to places like this much myself either. Not unless my parents are dragging me somewhere."

His words seemed to have their desired effect- as Ran gave him a small smile in return. "Your mother is an actress, right?" She asked. "Kazuha-chan mentioned it during the play."

At the mention of his mother, his thoughts briefly drifted back towards what he was trying not to think about- though he really only had himself to blame for this. "Yes, she is." He said, nodding his head. "That's probably why Sonoko wanted me to play the knight so badly."

He fought back the urge to twitch as he said that, trying not to think too hard on the real reason why- namely, that Sonoko thought he was the only guy in the class dramatic enough to say half of the lines that she had written in any earnest. Honestly, if she knew that, why had she gone through the trouble of writing the character like that in the first place?

"Yer acting was pretty good." Ran observed, her smile taking on a more amused edge. "Better than Heiji's, at least."

"...ah." Giving her something of a nervous laugh, Shinichi leaned back in his chair. "If you're going to ask why he dressed up as me, to be honest, I have no idea myself. You'd know him better than I."

"I do, but sometimes even that doesn't help." Ran lightly joked. "I'm sure he an' Kazuha-chan are having a lot of fun right now."

"Probably." Shinichi said, shoulders slumping that she had let go of that topic so easily. "You're staying over at her place, right?"

"Yes." Ran told him. "Her mother always offers ta let us stay there whenever we come visit. I always tell her that it's fine, but, well..."

"Yeah, she can be pretty insistent." Shinichi told her, feeling somewhat more at ease now himself. "Big on hospitality."

There was another, slightly awkward pause then, as the two of them searched for a topic to discuss- and he noted the way Ran's lips pursed together as she scanned the menu. "Is it really alright, though?" She asked. "Fer us to eat in a place as fancy as this. We're only high school students, I mean."

"Don't worry about it." Shinichi reassured her. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable- or even worse, guilty. "My old man lets me use his card every once in awhile for emergency expenses."

"I don't exactly think this counts as an emergency expense, Kudo-kun." Ran noted, lifting her brows.

"Well... what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Shinichi said after a moment, grinning a little. "Besides, I've never actually been here myself, so I got a little curious myself."

"They don't bring ya here?" Ran asked, tilting her head.

"No." Shaking his head, Shinichi cursed himself mentally for walking back into the topic he had been trying to avoid thinking about again. "Never here."

"Why not?" Ran inquired, a glint of curiosity in her eyes. As much as he was glad to see that she was interested in anything regarding him, the answer to that was...

Thankfully, he didn't have to give it. Good fortune must have been on his side for once, for the waitress to interrupt them right at that timing.

...or not.

Of all the timing... he'd just solved a murder case yesterday, he couldn't have possibly run into yet another one, could he? Even his luck wasn't that bad- at least, he didn't think it was.

Debating for only a moment, Shinichi eventually let out a long sigh, pushing back his chair. "Sorry, I better go check that out."

"It's okay, I understand." Ran told him, a knowing look on her face. "It happens all the time with Heiji too. Go on, Kudo-kun."

"So I've gathered." Shinichi observed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. "Here, use this to order yourself something nice for dessert. I'll be back when I can."

"Then, I'll wait fer ya right here." Ran told him, taking the card from him after a moment's thought. "At least we were able ta finish dinner first."

Giving her a wry grin at that, Shinichi made his exit. A murder case it was indeed, as it turned out- but nothing that he couldn't solve. He'd wrap this up quick, and return to Ran's side, where he would apology for the delay and would finish the evening by escorting her back to the Toyama house.

At least, that was the plan.

What wasn't in the plan was for a familiar pain to stab his chest- one that left him gasping for breath, and one that he recognized. Though he managed to muddle through it, solving the case at hand, by the time the case had been closed, it was all he could do to stagger into the bathroom, clutching his chest and praying that it would go away again, as it had before.

When Ai appeared behind him, reflected in the mirror, still dressed as Conan, he knew that it wouldn't. As if she were some kind of ominous grim reaper, gazing down at her wristwatch, it sunk into him that Kudo Shinichi would not be returning to the date, so-called or otherwise, that he had left behind.

So much for making a good impression.

"I knew it!"

...eh.

If he hadn't expected Ai to show up, he'd expected Toyama Kazuha to turn up all the less- much less that she would burst forward from one of the stalls. And judging from Haibara's reaction... suffice to say, she'd expected it even less.

"K-Kazuha...?"

He didn't even have the presence of mind to tack a neechan onto that, even though he'd returned to Conan form, all but swimming in the clothes he'd put on that morning as Shinichi.

"I knew it!" Kazuha repeated, a triumphant expression on her face. "You tried to pull a fast on me with Ai-chan here, but you couldn't fool me! I've got you now, Kudo Shinichi!"

At a loss as to what to do in this situation, Conan opened and closed his mouth, before just giving voice to the first thought that came to his mind.

"...this is the men's restroom, you know."

The hand that she clamped on his shoulder was not one that brokered any arguments. "Don't try and weasel your way out of this with irrelevant observations, Shinichi."

"...yes ma'am."

"Good." With a firm nod of her head, Kazuha reached out her other hand, preventing Ai from taking the first chance that she saw to escape. "Now then, I'm going to have the two of you tell me what this is all about, in great detail~!"

Exchanging a glance with each other, both Conan and Ai alike agreed on one thing- that this was not the outcome that they had been expecting of this evening.

(At the very least, after some prompting, he managed to convince Kazuha to keep quiet about this to Ran. She'd even been more than happy to come up with an excuse for her as to why Shinichi had left so suddenly.

...on the other hand, well... he sure hoped his father was ready for tonight's price tag.)

#detective conan #kudo shinichi #mouri ran #toyama kazuha #Anonymous #asks

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