To reply, post publically or e-mail kperry@aros.net
Enjoy!
The FFML Refugee List
Hi everyone. ^_^
By way of brief introduction -- I've been a fan of Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories since I was in grade
school, and I've been a fan of anime for almost that long. So
stumbling across Detective Conan as I did was the perfect meeting
of two of my favorite genres! On top of the joy of discovering a
great new series (well... new to *me*...), it also sparked my
fanfiction muse.
What follows is the first chapter of my very first Detective
Conan fanfic. By way of warning for those familiar with the
series, it contains spoilers up to volume 26 of the manga, and
can be considered to be an alternate time line or break-off from
the series at that point. It is also sprinkled with a few random
Japanese honorifics. Any mistakes in canon or characterization
are entirely my own fault.
I hope you like it. Feedback is welcome and appreciated (unless
it's "Why are you writing this instead of Hearts of Ice?" >_<).
The Case of the Missing Detective
A Detective Conan Fanfic
by Krista Perry
File 01: An Old Murder Comes to Light
~*~
For the fifth time that evening, Ran sighed heavily over the
remains of her ice cream. The incessant, distracted tap of her
spoon against her empty bowl echoed through the small dining area
of the Mouri residence.
"Ran-nee-chan?"
Startled from her preoccupation, Ran looked across the
dinner table to where Conan knelt. The young boy had paused in
licking the chocolate syrup off of his spoon and was eyeing her
curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You keep sighing."
Ran blinked, and forced a rather guilty smile. "N...
nothing! I'm just thinking, that's all."
Conan frowned skeptically, a messy circle of sticky
chocolate-stained vanilla framing his pursed mouth. Ran
suppressed the sudden urge to lean over and wipe his face clean
with her napkin.
"Thinking about what?" he asked. He was looking at her with
that familiar, intense look -- the one that seemed to pierce
right through her, and see right into her soul.
She shrugged, and looked down at her fingernails as if they
had suddenly become very interesting. "Just... things," she
said, hedging.
"What things?" Conan persisted innocently, his eyes wide and
inquisitive behind his huge glasses.
Ran sighed again, frustrated that Conan wouldn't let the
subject drop. What could she tell him? That he had caught her
while she was in the midst of once again entertaining the
ridiculous fantasy that he was actually Shinichi? That she was
once again hoping against all rational explanation that the
brilliant high-school detective, the seventeen-year old young man
that she had practically grown up with, had somehow been turned
into this grade-schooler sitting across the table from her?
It was impossible. The stuff of cheap, cheesy science
fiction. It was completely stupid for her to keep feeling this
way, and she knew it.
But... it was better than believing that Shinichi had just
abandoned her without a word.
The only problem was, she had proof that her suspicions were
false. Less than a month had passed since Shinichi had returned
to her, even if it was only for a few hours, and at that time,
she had even seen Shinichi and Conan in the same room together...
...except that Conan had been wearing a hospital mask,
because he had a cold, and he hadn't acted at *all* like himself
the entire time Shinichi was around...
And Shinichi had only been around for less than a full day.
Less than 24 hours, during which Ran had felt the brief joy of
thinking that he had finally come back to her, to stay. But then
he was gone again, without even saying goodbye, just like the
first time. He was gone without a trace, leaving her heartbroken
and alone at the restaurant where they were having dinner; where
he had promised to tell her something very important.
Not important enough for him to keep from running off again,
apparently...
But then who should show up at the restaurant out of the
blue, but Conan. Conan, no longer wearing a hospital mask.
Conan, acting like himself again... and looking almost as
heartbroken as she felt. Conan, bearing the news that once again
Shinichi had to leave. Conan, desperately pleading with her to
wait for him. For Shinichi...
And she couldn't help but wonder.
There were so many times when she looked at Conan... and all
she could see was Shinichi. Those times when she would look into
the young 7-year-old face, beyond the too-large glasses... and
see the same old eyes that she had grown up with her whole life.
Eyes, bright blue, and sparkling with a fierce intelligence far
beyond his apparent tender years.
Like now. Sitting across the table from her, with half of
his dessert on his face making him look even more like a little
kid... even so, his penetrating, questioning gaze held her,
refusing to let her go until she answered.
These were the times when her impossible suspicions actually
felt more real and tangible than any evidence or logic presented
to the contrary. These were the times she wanted to reach out,
take Conan by his shoulders, look him in the eye, and say, "I
know that you are really Shinichi. Why won't you tell me the
truth? Why won't you tell me what happened to you?" And, most
importantly, "Why can't you come back to me?"
Because she felt for certain that he *would* come back -- as
himself, and not the diminutive child before her -- if only he
could.
But she couldn't ask Conan those things. Because she had
asked before, and every single time she came close to even
voicing her suspicions, a new piece of evidence would crop up,
proving her wrong. Too-convenient evidence, always showing up at
the perfect moment, proving to her once again that her belief
that Conan and Shinichi were one and the same was nothing but
pure foolishness.
Why, then, did the evidence feel so wrong to her, and
this... this *impossibility* feel so right?
"Ran-nee-chan..." Conan's frown had softened to concern at
her continued silence.
She straightened and laughed self-consciously, brushing her
hair away from her face. "Hey, what's with that look? I told
you, I'm just thinking."
Conan didn't buy her act for one moment, and she could tell.
"Well..." he said quietly. "You must have been thinking about
something really sad."
The sadness in his own voice surprised her; it seemed to
echo the exact feelings of her heart. Ran looked at Conan, then,
and saw only Shinichi in the depths of his eyes.
She held the boy's gaze for a long, lonely moment. *If I
tell you that I'm thinking about Shinichi,* she thought. *If I
tell you how badly I'm missing him right now... I'll get a phone
call from him tonight. Shinichi will call and tell me that he's
still working hard on a difficult case, but that he wanted to
talk to me and cheer me up. And when I ask him how he knew I was
feeling down, he'll say he just had a feeling...*
"Why..." Conan paused, almost as if he was afraid to ask the
question. "Why are you sad, Ran-nee-chan?"
A small, melancholy smile turned up the corner of Ran's
mouth. "If I seem sad," she lied, "it's only because of the math
test I have tomorrow." Conan blinked, looking at her with
obvious skepticism, so she widened her smile, and shrugged
carelessly. "And... I was just thinking about how badly I'm
going to do on it, because I'm sitting here eating ice cream with
you instead of studying."
"Oh." Conan didn't sound very convinced, but he smiled a
little anyway. "Well, then, what are you waiting for? I guess
you'd better go study."
Ran nodded, relieved that she had successfully diverted
Conan away from her true train of thought. Stretching her arms
above her head, she yawned dramatically. "You're right. If I
sit around moping about it, I'll never get anything done." She
stood and gathered up the dishes from the table, taking Conan's
empty bowl right out from under his nose.
He squawked in protest. "Oi! I wasn't finished with that."
Raising an eyebrow at him, she plucked the spoon from his
hand to add to her pile, eliciting yet another indignant squawk
from the boy. "There's nothing left on your spoon," she said,
"and I'm not going to let you lick the bowl clean, if that's what
you wanted."
Conan pouted, sticking out his lower lip, and Ran laughed in
spite of herself. The illusion of Shinichi was shattered,
leaving only a petulant little boy in his place, and she didn't
know if that made her feel better, or worse.
"So," she said, brushing those thoughts aside as she put the
dishes into the sink to wash later. "Do you have any homework?"
Conan shrugged, quickly recovering from his momentary sulk.
"No," he said, standing up and wandering over to the television.
He always liked to watch the news around this time, to see if any
new mysterious crimes had been committed in the Tokyo area. "I
finished everything at school today."
Ran shook her head knowingly. Conan *never* brought home
any homework. But then, how hard could the 1st grade be to a
high school genius?
*Argh, there I go again,* she thought irritably. If she
wanted to improve her mood at all, she *had* to stop thinking
like that.
"Well then," she said, "I'll be in my room studying if you
need anything."
Conan was already absorbed in watching the news. "Okay," he
said distractedly.
And so, forcing all thoughts of Conan and Shinichi from her
mind, Ran turned and walked down the hall to her room. Maybe, if
she was lucky, she could gather her turbulent thoughts enough to
focus on her school work. She actually did have a math test
tomorrow, after all.
~*~
Sitting in front of the TV, Conan watched Ran walk down the
hall out of the corner of his eye. Only after he saw her safely
disappear into her room, and heard the click of her door closing,
did he groan and slump forward forlornly, resting his forehead in
his hands.
"I don't know how much longer I can take this," he
whispered.
It was agony, being so close to Ran, and yet not being able
to tell her who he really was. To know how she felt about him,
and how he felt about *her*... To be so close, and yet so
infinitely separate... It was driving him crazy.
Normally, he could handle the stress of his unusual
condition. Conan found that he was usually able to distract
himself from his miserable and annoying plight by tagging along
with Mouri on his cases, and solving the mysteries that were so
often beyond the man's abilities. But Ran's father hadn't had a
new case in over a week, and the dry spell in work had given
Conan far too much time to dwell on his own problems.
Being stuck in a 7-year-old body, and living with his
girlfriend and her father being one of the biggest...
He wanted to tell Ran the truth. He had *tried* to tell her
a few weeks ago, when Ai had given him the antidote to the APTX-
4869 drug that had reduced him to this permanent state of
childhood. With Ai's experimental antidote, he had finally, for
the first time in months, been restored to his true 17-year-old
self. Finally, he could be with Ran, not as Conan, but as
Shinichi.
He didn't know it at the time, but the antidote was only
temporary. Ai had told him that there was a possibility that it
was unstable, but he had ignored her, too caught up in the
euphoria of being back to his normal self. And then, thinking
that he had all the time in the world, he had wasted the precious
moments he had in his own true form by solving a murder at a
restaurant -- the very restaurant to which he had taken Ran out
on a date, all so that he could tell her the truth. He had left
Ran at the dining table, running after someone else's scream -- a
mystery that was just begging to be solved -- telling her that he
would be right back.
When he returned, he was going to tell her. Everything.
About the Dark Syndicate that had poisoned him, leaving him for
dead. About how the poison, rather than killing him, had instead
reversed the cell growth in his body, literally turning back the
time on his physical clock, and shrinking him back into
childhood. He was going to tell her about how he was forced to
hide in plain sight in his child body, for fear that if the Dark
Syndicate found out he was alive, they would come and kill him
and anyone who knew about him and the drug. And he was going to
tell Ran about how he couldn't tell her any of this before,
because he was afraid of putting her life at risk, and he felt he
couldn't protect her properly with his child body...
But most important of all, he was going to tell her the
truth of how he felt about her.
He solved the murder mystery as usual, but by then, his time
was up. To his surprise and horror, as he was detailing the
last of the evidence to Inspector Megure, the bone-melting agony
of the change came upon him. Not long after, he found himself in
the men's room of the restaurant, shrinking back into Conan
before he had the chance to return; before he had a chance to see
Ran again; before he had the chance tell her *anything*...
Thinking about it now... remembering... Conan could only
hold his head in his hands, with the ache of unshed tears burning
behind his eyes, and wish he had done things differently.
*Why did I have to go off and solve that murder? I could
have left it to the police. Inspector Megure and Officer Takagi
were both there, they could have handled it... Maybe they could
have handled it... Well... surely they would have figured it out
eventually...
*Why? Why didn't I just stay with Ran?*
That was the problem with hindsight, he thought. When it
came to crime, and murders, and the mysteries of human deceit, he
was a master at uncovering the truth. When it came to himself,
and his own personal relationships, he was as blind as a bat.
What he wouldn't give to have that precious time with Ran
again...
Well, it was too late now. He was back in the same stupid
situation he had been in before, only now it was worse, because
he had tasted, if only for one day, the freedom of being himself
again... and being himself, with Ran. Something he had taken
horribly for granted before his unwilling transformation.
He sighed, taking off his father's glasses, and rubbing his
eyes with a small fist. One thing was certain -- dwelling on his
mistakes was not going to make him feel better any time soon.
Loosening the red bow tie around his neck, he looked down at
the voice synthesizer that Dr. Agasa had hidden within the
material, and double-checked to make sure the settings were
calibrated for his... Shinichi's voice. In a half hour or so, he
would pretend to go to bed, then slip out the second-story
window, slide down the drain pipe to the street, and go to the
phone booth a few blocks away. And then he would call Ran, and
speak to her with Shinichi's voice, and hopefully make her feel
better. After the scene at dinner, it didn't take a great
detective to figure out why she was feeling so unhappy, after
all.
He knew exactly how she felt.
Besides, talking to her like that over the phone with his
own voice almost made him feel normal again.
After checking his watch to plan what time he would fake
getting tired, he settled back onto a cushion, and let his
attention wander back to the evening news on the television.
*Human interest story on northern fishing villages...
boring. Prime minister discussing the economy...* Conan began
idly flipping channels with the remote. *Boring... boring...
sheesh, when did Tokyo suddenly become so crime-free?* he
wondered irritably.
His musings were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Grateful for the distraction from the lack-luster news, he
answered, only to find himself looking up in surprise at
Inspector Megure and Officer Takagi.
Looking up... that was one thing he'd always hated. Until
his growth spurt in junior high, he had always been one of the
shortest kids in his class. He had been so glad to literally
outgrow that period of his life, and now he was right back to
being the littlest of the little again. His annoyance at being
so short, however, was dwarfed by the sudden surge of hope he
gained at seeing the inspector. If the man was here to see
Mouri, that might mean that there was a case for him to work on
again.
"Inspector Megure, Officer Takagi," Conan said, unable to
conceal his genuine delight at seeing them. "Come in! Mouri-
ojisan isn't here -- he's running an errand for a neighbor lady -
- but he should be back any minute, and you're welcome to
wait..."
"Actually, Conan..." the inspector said hesitantly, and
Conan blinked. The man's countenance was unusually grave.
Officer Takagi, standing behind him, looked similarly upset.
Conan immediately sobered, realizing that the inspector was here
for something much more serious than simply asking help on a
case.
"What is it?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
The inspector cleared his throat. "Is... is Ran here? We
need to talk to her... about a rather unusual matter that has
just recently come to light."
Conan didn't like the sound of that at all. But at least it
didn't sound like an emergency. "She's studying," he said.
"I'll go get her." He ran down the hall to her room and knocked
on the door.
"Come in, Conan."
Conan opened the door a crack and peeked in to see Ran sitting at
her desk, pouring over her math book. She looked up at him and
smiled. "Did you need something?"
Conan swallowed. "Inspector Megure and Officer Takagi are
here. They want to talk to you about something."
Ran blinked in surprise. "Me? I wonder what for." She
pushed herself up from her chair, and followed Conan down the
hall to the living area, where the policemen were waiting.
When she saw their expressions, her face turned gray with
sudden dread. "Inspector," she said. "What's wrong? My father,
is he--"
Megure held up his hand. "No, no," he assured her. "Mouri-
kun is just fine, as far as we know. Conan just told us that he
was running an errand." He and Officer Takagi exchanged a tense
look, which did not go unnoticed by Conan or Ran. "We're
actually here on a rather strange business..."
Ran nodded, her relief over her father's safety apparent,
but her eyes still reflecting worry over the policemen's anxious
manner. "Please," she said, gesturing to the floor cushions as
she knelt. "Sit down." When they were settled, she looked at
Inspector Megure apprehensively. "What is it that you wanted to
talk to me about?"
Megure reached up and tugged on his thick moustache
uncomfortably. "Well, it's like this, Ran. Ah, how should I
begin?" He sighed heavily, before looking up to meet her eyes.
"Do you remember several months ago, last spring, when you were
at the amusement park on the night of the roller coaster murder?"
Conan stiffened as an icy wind of fear blew right through
his soul, chilling him to the bone. That night... that was the
night of...
He looked up at Ran, to see her looking right back at him,
her eyes wide in her pale face. "Yes," she said, glancing back
at the inspector. "Yes, of course I remember."
"You were there with Shinichi Kudo, correct?"
"Y... yes."
"And did he walk you home that night?"
Ran's face became, if possible, even more white. "No... no,
he... he saw something suspicious in the shadows, and ran off
after it, asking me to walk home by myself, and that was the last
time I..." She broke off and swallowed hard. "Inspector, tell
me, what is this all about?" She glanced at Conan again for a
brief moment, fear and uncertainty written across her features.
"Has... has something happened to Shinichi?"
The inspector closed his eyes. "That is what we're trying
to figure out, actually. You see..." He looked up and regarded
her gravely. "A few hours ago, we received an anonymous call
from a man who claims that, on that very night..."
Conan felt his heart beating in his throat, thudding loudly
in his ears as he heard the inspector speak.
"On that very night... he murdered Shinichi Kudo, the high-
school detective."
~*~
To be continued.
Next:
The Case of the Missing Detective
File 02: The Death of Shinichi
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
desaix@sysnet.net
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
anime fanfics available at
http://www.geocities.com/zednik.geo/fanfics.htm
.---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 -----'