Subject: [FFML] [fanfic][Meitantei Conan] Typhoon, part two
From: "The Eternal Lost Lurker" <lurkerdrome@sbcglobal.net>
Date: 7/15/2006, 9:25 AM
To: "FFML" <ffml@anifics.com>


C&C welcome.

Meitantei Conan belongs to Aoyama Gosho, Shogakukan, Yomiuri Television, VIZ
Communications, and Funimation. This work of fiction is not for profit and
not intended to infringe on copyrighted intellectual property in any
significant or harmful way.


TYPHOON
II. Storm Warning


Conan stared at Ran, eyes wide, jaw agape. "Wh...what?"

Ran looked at him, and smiled, but there was no joy in that smile, nor in
her clouded eyes. "I'm going to be a mommy, Conan-kun..."

"I *KNOW* what pregnant means," Conan snapped, eyes flashing. "I mean...are
you sure? You're--"

"Why do you think it took me so long to come back from the doctor?" Ran
asked. "I'm EXTREMELY sure. I'm..." She buried her face in her hands.
"I'm..."

Suddenly, she flung herself at the smaller boy, burying her face on his
shoulder as best she could. "Conan-kun, what...how am I...I can't do this!"

Conan said nothing, simply encircling her as best he could with his
all-too-tiny arms and patting her back, whispering soothingly to her.

Inwardly, he was reeling.

Pregnant. Ran was...pregnant.

With HIS child.

And he...

...had told her he was going into the Witness Relocation Program, and would
be out of her life.

"Dammit all to hell," he whispered.

Ran drew back. "Conan-kun!" she chided.

"This isn't right!" the boy snapped. "I..." He forced himself to calm down,
closing his eyes and breathing slowly. "He should...be here."

"He?" Ran asked, tilting her head.

"Shinichi," Conan said, scowling at her. "Of course."

Ran flushed. "Ano...Conan-kun...what makes you think Shin--"

"Who else would be the father?!" Conan shouted.

"DON'T YELL AT ME, CONAN!" Ran replied at greater volume. She then clutched
her head, and sank back into the sofa. A fresh wave of tears erupted.
"Don't...I'm sorry..."

The pain on her face was mirrored on his own as Conan sat down and took her
hand. "No...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...it's not any of my business..."

"Of *course* it's your business," Ran replied, smiling sadly. "You're
family, ne?"

Conan shifted. "Ah..." He stood and bowed. "I don't deserve your kindness,"
he said formally.

Ran sniffled and giggled, then reached out and pulled him into a hug. "You
little..." She smiled through her tears. "And...yes, Shinichi...is the
father. He's the only one I've been..." She flushed. "What am I saying to a
second-grader? Mou..."

"Ran-neechan," Conan replied flatly, drawing away from her to look her in
the eyes, "I'm not stupid. I know where babies come from."

Ran turned even redder. "That's not the kind of thing a boy your age should
know about!" she replied, laughing almost hysterically.

Conan shrugged. "Whatever. Aren't we getting off the subject?"

Ran sobered and nodded. "H-hai." She looked down at her hands, folded in her
lap. "I...I don't know...what to do, Conan-kun. I...of course I've always
known I'd--" She flushed. "That Shinichi and I would have a family someday,
but..." She shook her head. "I was thinking more..."

"You were thinking...he'd actually be around," Conan said softly.

Ran sniffled. "Hai."

Conan cursed under his breath. "Dammit..."

"Stop that, Conan-kun," Ran chided. She sighed. "I need to call
Takagi-keiji. Or Hattori-kun. One of them might know how to--"

"Nobody would be able to contact him, if he's in Witness Relocation," Conan
replied firmly. "There's a reason you give up your name and your old life
for that."

"I...I guess so," Ran said. She blew upward at her soaked bangs in
frustration. "I guess it'd look ridiculous, a pregnant Japanese girl
wandering all over America trying to find her fiance, wouldn't it?"

"Fiance?" Conan asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ran flushed. "Shinichi gave me a ring...when I saw him last," she said.
"I've kept it hidden, like he asked me to, and he said he wasn't going to
ask the question yet and he didn't, but...he doesn't have to. I've already
answered it in my heart." She looked down at her stomach. "And in here," she
added.

Inwardly, Conan cringed, feeling like needles of ice were piercing his
heart. *God, I'm a complete BASTARD.*

Suddenly, he stood. "Ran-neechan, I think I need to go over to hakase's. I
don't want to leave you, but..."

Ran blinked. "Why, Conan-kun? And in this weather?"

"I don't want to be here when you tell ojisan about this," Conan replied.

The tall girl tilted her head. "Why? It's not like you have anything to do
with it," she replied, frowning.

"Un, but ojisan's gonna be really pissed, and he likes to throw things, ne?
And I'm kinda throwable." Conan rubbed the back of his head, pasting a
sickly, childish smile on his face.

Ran made a face. "I really need to have a talk with him about that kind of
behavior, especially with...this," she said. "But...I think you have a good
point. Go ahead, just be careful and take your umbrella."

"Un! I'll be back later, neechan!" *And I wouldn't leave your side for a
second if I didn't need some time to think without slipping up and giving
everything away...*

Ran silently watched the door long after he had departed. Then, she crossed
over to the phone, dialing a number she only needed a moment to recall.
"Kazuha-chan? It's Ran...listen, I have a problem..."

* * * * * * * * *

Agasa Hiroshi had a largely open-door policy when it came to certain of his
acquaintances. In short, this meant that one Kudou Shinichi, nee Edogawa
Conan, knew where the spare key was hidden and was welcome to let himself in
at any given time.

For the most part, it was so neither Agasa himself nor his ward, Haibara Ai,
had to interrupt their own experiments to answer the door.

So it was that Conan let himself into the house. After removing his shoes
and raincoat and stowing his umbrella, he walked to the center of the room,
threw back his head, and began screaming every obscenity he knew--in every
language--at the top of his lungs.

Agasa and Ai emerged from their respective haunts. Agasa looked confused and
slightly put out; Ai simply looked amused.

After apparently running out of steam on his tirade, Conan leaned against
the nearest wall and began smashing his forehead against it over and over
again, punctuating each smack with a barely-audible "Shit!" hissed between
clenched teeth.

"Shit!" *thud* "Shit!" *thud* "Shit!" *thud* "ShitshitshitshitSHIT!" *THUD*
"Ow." Finally, he turned his back to the wall and slid to his rump, rubbing
his bruised forehead and grimacing. He removed his glasses, tossed them
carelessly onto the carpet, and folded in on himself.

"...something wrong, Shinichi?" Agasa hazarded after a long, awkward
silence.

"Hakase, do you want me to fetch the soap?" Ai quipped.

Conan's head suddenly snapped up, and he was on his feet and across the room
as quickly as though he had teleported. He grabbed Ai's shoulders in a
deathgrip and began shaking her. "ANTIDOTE! I need an antidote! Quickly!"

Ai glared coldly at him, scowling. "First of all, stop shaking me. And let
go. Secondly, I already told you, there isn't one. I'm still trying to find
a way, but..."

"You should never have given me that three-day pill!" Conan exclaimed,
shaking Ai again. "Ran and me, we...and now she..." He released the chemist
and slumped wearily onto the sofa, looking down at his toes. "...dammit."

The two scientists looked at one another, puzzled and worried. "Shinichi?"
Agasa asked softly. "What happened? What's wrong with Ran?" His eyes
widened. "It's not...THEM, is it?"

Conan shook his head. "No. I almost wish it were. At least then I'd know
what to do."

Ai frowned, studying the detective, who looked as though his entire world
had just crumbled around him--and as though he'd also had his dog shot and
his last piece of candy stolen by a bully at the same time.

Metaphorically, at any rate.

"What's wrong with Mouri-chan?" Ai repeated the professor's question, hoping
her softer tone of voice would coax the missing data from the dejected boy.

He looked at the two of them, then down at his hands, then sighed, a deep,
rattling sigh. "I've done something...horrible."

* * * * * * * * *

Mouri Kogoro returned from his mah-jongg game looking grumpy, sopping wet,
and carrying a six-pack of beer in either hand. Ran intercepted him
nervously at the door to his office.

"Otou-san...I need to talk to you. It's important."

Kogoro looked at his daughter, and instantly became concerned. She'd been
very ill recently, and now she looked as though... "Ran? What happened? You
saw the doctor?"

"Hai, I...I saw the doctor."

"And?" He felt her forehead. "You look like you need some rest. Have the
brat do something useful and look after--"

"Conan-kun went to stay at Hakase's place for a bit," Ran replied.
"He...thought it'd be better if he weren't around."

Kogoro blinked. "Weren't around? Why?"

"Because you're about to be very angry with me, and I guess he didn't want
to be around to see it." She bowed her head in...shame?

Setting his beers on his desk, Kogoro placed his hands gently on his
daughter's shoulders. "Ran? What's wrong?"

"Otou-san, I'm..." Ran swallowed, then looked into his eyes. "During Golden
Week," she began, her voice catching, "Sh--Shinichi came back. He...he
wanted to tell me some things. Some important things. Mainly...mainly how he
feels about me. And...that he's in a lot of trouble.

"But he wanted to be with me on his...birthday..." Ran began to sob.
"And...and you know he's...not coming back..."

"The Witness Relocation thing? If it's true."

"It has to be, because Takagi-keiji brought the letter himself," Ran
sniffled. Her tears were coming faster now.

"Ran...if this is about that Kudou brat, it's--"

"It's about him, and it's about me, too. It's about both of us. We...we both
chose to...do what...we did," Ran's words were becoming halted and shaky
from the sniffling and tears.

"Chose to...what did you...?" Kogoro asked. A faint note of alarm crept into
his voice.

"Otou-san, I'm...pregnant. With...Shinichi's child."

All the color drained from the detective's face.

A moment later, Ran winced as the angry roar of her father's tirade drowned
out the fury of the storm outside for several long minutes.

"I'll KILL THAT BASTARD! I'LL RIP HIS GODDAMN HEAD OFF! I'LL--"

Ran slapped him.

He stared at her, stunned.

"You won't do anything of the kind, even if...even if either of us could
find him," Ran said, a note of steel breaking the unevenness of her voice.
"I don't regret what happened between us. If he weren't...in the trouble
he's in...he was going to ask me to marry him. I have the ring, Otou-san."
She pulled said ring out of her pocket, showing it to her father. "He asked
me not to wear it until he's out of danger and can come back to me, but..."
She sighed. "Now, it looks like..."

And with that, all the fire left her, and she collapsed bonelessly onto her
father's receiving couch, fresh, wracking sobs shaking her frame.

The sight, as well as her words, drained most of Kogoro's fury as well, and
he sat down beside her, gently enfolding her in a hug. "It's okay, Ran," he
said, his gruff voice soft and choked. "It's...it's going to be okay. We'll
get through this together. We'll..." he grimaced. "We'll call your mother,
she can help, whatever needs to be done...I'm sure even Conan'll be good for
SOMETHING..."

Ran looked up, pouting. "Don't pick on Conan-kun," she chided. "He's a very
sweet and kind boy, and I think I'm going to need him even more than..." She
paused, flushing. "Gomen, Otou-san."

Kogoro just nodded. "It's okay. I know you have some special bond with that
kid." He smiled.

"It's just that...sometimes, having him around makes it feel like...like
Shinichi never...never left," Ran said, wiping at her eyes with a tissue.
"It's silly, but..."

"Well, he is a lot like that punk in a lot of ways," Kogoro said, a note of
crossness returning to his voice. "Ran...you know you don't have to have
this baby if--"

"OTOU-SAN!" Ran shouted, eyes snapping and flashing like the lightning
outside. "Shame on you for even suggesting such a thing!" Calming herself,
she said, in a firm tone, "I'm having this baby. It might be all I have left
of...of the man I love." Once again, she fell into a silent, grey funk,
staring down at her lap.

Kogoro sat with her for a moment, then nodded firmly, stood, and picked up
the phone, jaw set and face grim.

"Eri..."

* * * * * * * * *

"PREGNANT?" Agasa shouted, eyes wide.

"Baka," Ai chided, arms crossed.

Conan ran a hand through his damp hair and let out an exasperated sigh. "And
I went to so much trouble to try to remove Kudou Shinichi from her life so
she could move ON...and now THIS...God I'm an asshole."

"I won't lecture you on how irresponsibly you've behaved, Shinichi," Agasa
said after a moment. "After all, it's not my place. I'm not Yusaku."

Conan's head snapped up, a panicked look on his face. "Oh, SHIT! I didn't
even think about THAT..." He buried his head in his hands. "I'm SO dead when
he gets hold of me..."

"Now, Shinichi...your father understands what it's like to be a young man.
After all, he and your mother weren't much older than yo--" Agasa paused.
"Er..."

"I know what you mean," Conan said, shooting the older man a half-lidded
sideways glare.

"Right." Agasa coughed. "Anyway, your parents do need to know about the
situation, if for no other reason than to know they're going to be
grandparents. Er...I'm assuming Ran intends to keep the baby?"

"I hadn't even thought to ask," Conan admitted. "But I'm pretty sure she
will. I know Ran."

"You certainly do," Ai commented. Conan threw a pillow at her.

"I just..." the boy detective sighed. "I wish I hadn't pulled that stupid
Witness Relocation bullshit. Now I'm really screwed, and I've messed things
up for Ran even worse..."

Ai walked over and, in a rare gesture, patted his shoulder. "You're only
human, Kudou-kun. You can't predict or control what's going to happen in
life any more than anyone else. The only thing you can do now is be there
for her, as Conan." She paused. "I'll do my best to find an antidote for
you, but...don't get your hopes up. And...I'm really sorry."

"Thanks, Haibara."

As Conan settled into a self-pitying funk, the phone began to ring. Agasa
picked it up, still casting a sorrowful glance at the young detective.
"Moshi-moshi? Ah, Hattori-kun! Eh? Er...no, not really. No, now's really not
a good time...yes...alright, I'll tell him."

Conan looked up. "Hattori-kun wanted to speak with you if you were here,"
Agasa said. "I didn't think, under the circumstances..."

The detective nodded gratefully. "Arigatou, Hakase." He sighed.
"Dammit...Hattori'll find out about this sooner or later, too. That's REALLY
gonna suck..."

* * * * * * * * *

Hattori Heiji put down the phone and cursed. "Dammit, Kudou, I KNOW you're
there..."

But, then again, he supposed if it were HIM, he wouldn't much want to talk
either.

His cell rang, and he answered it after glancing at the caller ID. "Yo,
Kazuha. ...no, I don't know where to find him. ...AHOU! Witness Relocation
means NOBODY knows where to find you, that's the whole POINT!" Kazuha
screamed at him for a moment, and he sighed. "Look...I care as much about
Neechan as you do, but...there ain't really nothin' I can do about this. I'm
sorry."

After Kazuha finally let it drop and hung up, Heiji sat on his bed,
scowling. "Thanks, Kudou. You just keep makin' bigger and bigger messes..."

* * * * * * * * *

"Ran-chan? I'm sorry...Heiji doesn't know how to get in touch with him
either." Kazuha frowned as she listened to her friend's forlorn thanks for
trying. "Look...do you need me to come help with anything? ...are you sure?
Okay...look, as soon as this stupid storm goes away, I'm coming to Tokyo.
You're not going to go through this alone, Ran-chan. You've got lots of
friends and family, even if that ahou Kudou-kun..." She winced. "Gomen,
Ran-chan. Look...I'll call tomorrow to see how you're doing, alright?
Alright. Ja ne."

Kazuha hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. "Damn you, Kudou
Shinichi...I hope she does find you, so she can rip off your balls. Or
something. I don't know." She flopped back onto her bed and stared at the
ceiling. "A baby..."

* * * * * * * * *

"You may as well get it over with, Shinichi," Agasa said after Conan had sat
silently on the sofa for fifteen minutes.

Sighing, scrubbing his hand through his hair, the boy nodded and went over
to the phone. Dialing in his calling card number and then a long
international number, he braced himself.

"Kaasan? Yeah, I know what time it is there. I'm sorry. I...look, can you
get Tousan to pick up the other extension? I need to talk to both of
you...yeah, I...it's important. ...okay."

A long, tense moment passed. A gruff, sleepy voice sounded in his ear, and
he winced. *Why didn't I wait until they'd be awake?* "Tousan? Is Kaasan
still on? Okay, look...I kinda have a problem. ...yes, a different problem.
...no, not the 'I'm about to be murdered' kind of problem. ...no, not the
'someone else has been murdered and I can't solve it' kind of--WILL YOU JUST
LISTEN? ...sorry...

"Look...Ran's pregnant. Yes, with...NO, NOT AS CONAN, KAASAN! THAT'S JUST
WRONG! During Golden Week. On my birthday. I know. I KNOW! Look, it's
not--this was before I had to come up with that Witness Relocation
bullshit...yes...YES..." Conan sighed. "Alright. I'll see you when you get
in. Right. Bye." He hung up the phone, and exhaled deeply. "This day just
keeps getting better and better..."

* * * * * * * * *

"Tadaima," Conan called listlessly as he returned home.

*Home,* he thought to himself with a bitter curse. *More like slow, painful
hell...*

"Okaeri, Conan-kun," Ran called. *Well, she sounds a little less dead...*

Noticing that Ran had finally removed her coat, Conan did likewise; he also
took a few minutes to grab a towel, dry himself off, and change into dry
clothes before he sought Ran out.

He found her in her room, sitting on her bed, reading. "Ran-neechan?" he
asked.

"Conan-kun," Ran greeted, patting the bed beside her. He hopped up onto it
and sat down; she wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close.

Flushing, he asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Un...I think I'm going to be okay. I'm still in shock, I think,
and...it'll be a while before I really..." She sighed. "Otousan's gone out
again. He went to talk to Okaasan."

Conan blinked. "He did?"

"Un. She wasn't in her office when he called, so he decided to go and wait
for her in person. I think it's just to have something to do. He...wasn't
very happy when I told him."

"I didn't think he would be," Conan replied, nodding. "How bad was it?"

"It could've been worse," Ran shrugged. "Shinichi's probably better off
being hidden away for a while, but..." She bowed her head. "I wish he were
here."

"So do I, Ran-neechan," Conan replied, looking forlornly up at her. *So do
I.*

Ran sniffled, then smiled at him. "But at least I have Conan-kun, ne?"

The detective smiled softly up at her. "Always."



================================
The Eternal Lost Lurker
www.lurkerdrome.com




             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'