Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ Afterlife ❯ Loss ( Chapter 2 )

Afterlife

 

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to some one else. I just am borrowing them again. (Hope they don't return this time!)

 

Chapter 2 - Loss

 

It was 2 am. Time for everyone to be in bed, dreaming of the fun times they'd had. That is, if you aren't Haibara Ai. Ai was currently working on the cure for Conan. She had been falling asleep for the past few hours, only to wake up with a jerk when her mind told her to get going. She had never pushed her regular self this hard. To make it worse, she was currently stuck in the body of an 8 year-old that tired out a lot faster than her 18 year-old self did. Still, she pressed on.

Ai knew that she was close to coming up with the cure. She could see it as she worked day and night. She hadn't stopped in over 40 hours, and she was tired. She couldn't let herself make a mistake, so she triple checked everything. And not at the same time. I hope this will work. This is the last chance he has. In 8 hours we'll know if I did it right. She thought to herself.

She put the chemicals together into the DNA tester, and waited the 5 minutes for the results. She played FreeCell on the computer to stop herself from falling asleep. When the DNA tester beeped, she ran over and picked up the results. “YES!” Ai shouted into the air. The results had proved her hypothesis was possible. She ran over to the chemicals, and started to mix together the right ones. Hopefully, it would be done before the time Conan left the world forever. Hopefully.

 

Later that morning …

 

Conan woke up as the light from the sun flooded his room. Feeling a bit warm, Conan threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. As he yawned, he thought about what he'd do that day. As far as he knew, he only had 2 day's left until he would pass out of this world.

“Conan-kun?” The voice came from his Detective Boys' Badge that lay forgotten on his desk. It was Ai.

Conan walked over to the badge and picked it up. “Yeah, Ai-kun. What's up?”

“There is something I need to tell you. I made a mistake.”

“Really?! Does this mean that I won't die after all?!” Conan asked, sounding hopeful.

“No. I'm sorry.” Conan could almost hear her silent sobs. “I just found out that I overestimated your time left. Today is your last day. I don't know how much of today you will have.”

“WHY?! WHY MUST IT BE SHORTEND?!” Conan was angry. He was angry at the world, Ai and himself.

“Conan-kun, I'm sorry.” Conan heard her crying, trying to cover the tears. “I'm so sorry. I haven't been able to create the cure yet.”

Conan's heart broke. He just couldn't be angry with her. Not when she was trying so hard to find a way to save him. “Thanks Ai-kun. Let me know if you have any more updates.”

“Alright. Take care of yourself. I don't need Mouri-san cursing your afterlife.” Conan laughed at her statement, and was amazed when he heard Ai doing the same.

“Take care. Have you slept at all since I talked with you two days ago? Because you don't sound like you have.”

“I'm not going to sleep until I've cured you. If I go to sleep now, I won't wake for a couple of days.”

“Alright. But don't push yourself to hard. It won't do for you to collapse from exhaustion after you've saved me.”

“I'll be careful. Bye, Conan-kun.”
“Bye, Ai-kun.”

 

Conan put down the badge, and walked out the door, already trying to think of something to do for his last day. He wanted to spend the rest of the day with Ran as himself, but he knew that it wasn't possible. He turned the corner and walked down the hallway. As he headed down the stairs, he could smell Ran's cooking. Following his nose, Conan found himself in the kitchen, watching Ran put down the last part of breakfast.

“Ohayo Ran-neechan.”

“Ohayo Conan-kun. You hungry?”

“Yeah!”

“Well, dig in.”

Conan was only too happy to comply, not wanting to break the information to Ran just yet. He knew that he would have to do it soon, but not right now. And he knew that he would dread that time too. Alas, as all things go, the time went by quickly and Conan found himself helping Ran with the rest of the dishes. Kogoro was back upstairs watching his tv, waiting for a case to call. Soon, Conan knew, Kogoro would be drunk and asleep at his desk.

Conan readied himself for the onslaught by taking his glasses off. “Ran? There's something I need to tell you.”

“What is it Shinichi?” Ran asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“You'd better sit down.” He replied. “I don't need you to fall over when I tell you.”

Ran sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, concern clearly written all over her face. “Shinichi? What is it? What's wrong?”

“Ran, I talked again with Ai-kun just before coming downstairs, and she told me that I don't have 2 days left.” He said quietly, looking very hurt. “I'm going to die today.”

Many emotions flashed across Ran's face, pain being the most visible. “Why Shinichi? Why?”

“When Ai-kun ran the test's two days ago, she missed one variable and now my life has been shortened again.”

“No, it can't be true. Shinichi, it just can't be true. Why must you go today?” Ran asked Conan, tears slipping down her face. “Why does this all happen to you?”

“I don't know, Ran. I don't want to leave either. I don't know how much time I have left, so what do you want to do for the remainder of the time?”

“I don't care. I just want to be with you. I don't want you to ever leave me again.”

“I'm sorry that I can't give you that request. But, I promise to be with you until I do leave.”

 

The two lovers talked, and decided that al they wanted to do was go for a walk at a local park. Conan was happy to oblige, because he wanted out of the house. While he waited for Ran to come back downstairs, after getting her purse, Conan looked out the window, watching some of the young children from their neighborhood play with each other. They acted as if nothing bad could ever happen. Where did those years go? Conan asked himself. I wish that Ran and I could go back to that time where we didn't care about the things of the adult world. It was hard for him to think about leaving Ran, but he knew that he would need to think about it, for when the time got closer, he wouldn't be able to stop think about it then.

“Whatcha watching Shinichi?” Ran asked, as she rounded the corner after coming down the stairs.

Conan smiled as he turned around to look at him. “Just reminiscing about our early childhood.”

Ran smiled. “You ready?”

“Yeah, let's go.”

Conan opened the door, the joyful shouts of the children coming through the stairs down to the street. As Ran walked through the door, Conan felt tears forming as he listened to the kids below. He shook his head, trying to clear away his sadness. When he looked up, he noticed that Ran also had tears in her eyes. Stupid, stupid boy! Why do you always do something to make her cry? Why can't you ever seem to make her completely happy? Conan thought miserably to himself.

“Ran? You okay?” Conan asked, not for sure that he wanted an answer.

“Yeah, just thinking about times past. Sorry Shinichi.” Ran told her friend as she wiped away the tears.

Conan slipped his hand into hers. As usual, her hand swamped his, but now it didn't feel as bad. It wasn't the usual `older sister holding younger brother's hand' but two friends/lovers holding hands.

They made their way down the stairs and out into the street. As they walked, they noticed the life all around them. There were birds singing, children playing, and adult talking with one another. You never realize what's out there until you have it taken away from you. Conan thought to himself. When they reached the park, they went to sit down in the shade under one of the larger trees. The tree was off in it's own little corner it seemed, and neither of the two occupants were going to complain. They just wanted to be left alone by the world. To them, they were in their own little world, one where Shinichi wasn't going to die that day.

As they talked about this, both knew that this would be the end. Soon, Conan would leave Ran and there was nothing either could do about it. They didn't want to believe Ai, but there was something in the way that she talked that said that she was being totally serious.

After a while, both just stopped talking. It wasn't that neither of them wanted to talk; in fact, they didn't want to stop talking, for it made the hurt seem farther away. But they just couldn't keep their mouths going, for they both were getting depressed. Shinichi not wanting to leave Ran alone, and Ran not for sure if she wanted to live after Shinichi left.

“Ran?” Conan said, breaking the silence between them. “I need you to promise me something.”

“What Shinichi?”

“I don't want you to end your life after I'm gone. I'm sure it'll be hard, but I want you to live. Even if you think that you can't.”

“Why Shinichi?”

“Because I can't go to the grave, knowing that I was the cause of your death. Promise me Ran. Promise me.”

“I don't know, Shinichi. I don't know if I can live when you're gone. I had a hard time living when I thought that you were just on another case and I didn't see you for months. I think the only way that I survived was that I knew you would come back sometime. Now, you won't come back to me.”

“I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't want to deceive you anymore. Not when for some unexpected reason that `Conan' would die and Shinichi would never come back, or even call anymore. If I could have spared you the pain, I would have. I love you too much.”

“I thank you for telling me Shinichi, even though the truth hurts. I would rather know than lose both of you not knowing at all. I promise that I won't kill myself, but I can't promise that I won't die from a broken heart.”

“Thanks. You mean the world to me.” Conan told Ran, as he hugged her from where he sat on her lap.

“You mean the world to me too.” She told him back, running her hands through her hair.

They just sat there, pondering how they felt with the other so close and yet so far away. After a few minutes, they were brought back out of their world by a shout from someone close by.

“Mouri-san, Conan!” A tall, dark skinned boy shouted at them with an Osakan accent. For once he showed a sense of discretion.

Both of their head snapped around as they looked at one Hattori Heiji coming towards them, being followed by his girlfriend Toyama Kazuha; not that either would admit to it.

“Hattori-kun! What are you doing here?” Ran asked the Osaka detective.

“I'm here to see how you too were doing. I checked back at the agency, but both of you had left. Did you know your father doesn't like it when someone wakes him up from a nap by constantly ringing a doorbell?” Heiji asked her, with a smirk on his face.

“Aho, you didn't need to do it for 20 minutes straight though.” Kazuha said to her friend.

“How was I to know that he was asleep?” Heiji shot back.

The two Osaka teens proceeded to argue with one another, providing a sort of comical relief for Shinichi and Ran. They both were grateful for the break, for they needed some distraction.

“Hey, what are we doing just standing here? Why don't we go see a movie since we're all here?” Heiji asked, breaking up the argument that he and Kazuha were having.

“Which one would we see, though?” Kazuha asked, looking at Ran

“I don't care.” Ran answered.

“How about we go see Spiderman 2?” Conan piped up. “I've wanted to go see it since it came out, but Ran wouldn't let me.”

“Hey, I thought that you were just a little kid!” Ran threw back, grinning. “I can't help it if you don't tell me what's going on.” Everyone broke into laughter at the sight of a disgruntled Conan. They walked to the movie theater, the girls in front and the boys behind. As usual, the girls were chatting merrily, while the boys walked in silence. Shinichi was grateful for Heiji's silence, for he needed a while to pull himself together. Even though he hadn't shown it, he was still a little shaken up after talking with Ai.

 

Ai could hardly hold back her excitement. The cure that she had spent so much time working on was now almost finished. She sat on her chair, her legs swinging in mid air, as she waited for the chemical reaction to finish. She was still surprised with herself in that she didn't feel tired. Ever since she had put down her Detective Boys' badge, she'd had a mad rush of adrenaline. She hoped that it would last until she could give the pill to Conan.

The test tube stopped bubbling, signaling the end of the reaction. Ai ran over to the chemical set and drained the left over liquid. What remained was the cure. Ai wasn't for sure what the cure would do exactly. There was a ten-percent chance that it would just kill Conan, but an eighty-percent chance that it would not only save Conan's life, but also return him to Shinichi permanently. She didn't know what the third possibility was, and it bugged her. Still, she pressed on to finalize the cure. That was more important. What's the most important, Ai thought as she put the powder in a capsule, is that Conan takes this as soon as possible. It's his last chance. She found out that there was enough of the powder to make two capsules, which was good. That way, if one were to be damaged she would have another one to give to Conan. Once she had filled both the capsules, she put them into her pocket and sprinted out of the room.

“Agasa-hagasai! I've finished and I'm leaving! I've got to find Kudo-kun!” Ai shouted to the professor, as she headed out the door. The professor shouted something back, but she was in too much of a hurry to hear what it was. All she cared about was to give a certain detective a pill.

 

After waiting in the long lines to purchase the ticket and snacks, the two couples made their way to their seats. As it turned out, they ended up sitting with the two girls in the middle and their boyfriends on the other side of them. The girls chatted with each other while the boys sat in silence until the movie started. A couple of times during the film, the girls would squeak in surprise or fear and grab their boys' hand. Conan and Heiji didn't mind this at all. In fact, they actually enjoyed holding hands with Ran and Kazuha, not that either of them would actually admit it to anyone else. Once the movie was finished, all 4 chatted merrily about the movie as they left the theater. Heiji noticed that both Ran and Conan were looking much more animated since they had seen the movie.

“Why don't we go get some ice cream?” Kazuha asked as they walked down the road. Everyone agreed whole-heartedly. Kazuha noticed that although Ran acted fine, she could see sorrow hidden in her friend's eyes. Her heart ached for Ran, but there was nothing either of them could do.

Once they had bought their ice cream, they sat down in a shady area of a park. Even though it was barely 2 p.m., there was a since of darkness surrounding the area they were at. All of the teenagers had a feeling that they couldn't just quite make out exactly what it was, but they knew something bad was going to happen, and it was going to happen soon.

 

Ai ran out of the Agency, hearing Mouri Kogoro's shouts following her. She had already checked the Kudo residence, and all of their little friends' houses. She had no idea where to look for Conan, but she didn't stop trying. She headed in the direction of Sonoko's home, hoping against all odds that Ran had dragged Conan along with her. She had no idea where to look if that wasn't so.

 

Conan finished his ice cream cone, and laid back on the grass, his hands behind his head. Next to him, Heiji was doing the same thing. Both girls noticed how cute they were, and giggled between themselves when Kazuha mentioned it. Soon, Kazuha was curled up next to Heiji, and Ran laid down next to Conan. Everyone had a content smile on their faces, though Conan wished that he were back in his larger body. He let his mind wander around, not caring what he thought about. He had Ran by his side, and that was enough for now. It's so peaceful. I wish that we could stay here for days. Conan thought to himself. But fate isn't kind to me right now. What ever I did to deserve this, I wish that I hadn't. If not for me, then for Ran. He smiled at the thought of Ran. And then grimaced as a pain shot through his spine. Oh no, not NOW! Conan shouted in his mind, though the pain. Please God, not NOW!

Ran noticed Conan tensing, and one look at him as all it took. “SHINICHI! Oh no, not now! Please not now! Don't leave me!” She shouted as Conan gasped, hugging him closely. He was sweating a lot, and it had soaked his clothes.

Ran's shout had brought Kazuha and Heiji out of their bliss. They looked at her and then at Conan and both knew instantly what was going on. And there was almost nothing that they could do. Somehow, one of the teenagers managed to call an ambulance though the mass chaos that was quickly erupting around the 4 of them. Watching Ran and Conan was too much for her and Kazuha buried herself in Heiji's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. It was hard to watch her friend go through this, and knowing Conan mad unbearable. Ran just held Conan close as he continued to sweat, her tears not helping at all. That was how the paramedics found them.

 

Ai ran through the park, taking a shortcut that she knew to Sonoko's home. She was still hoping that Conan was there, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed unlikely. Conan was more likely to have told Ran what was happening, and then would spend the day with her. They could be ANYWHERE! Ai shouted to herself. She happened to catch a glance of flashing blue and red lights off to one side, and she immediately turned her head in that direction. She stopped when she saw three teenagers and a child sitting under a tree. That has to be them! She thought furiously as she shot off in that direction.

As she neared, she noticed that it was indeed Ran and Conan, but she wasn't for sure about the other two. She thought the dark skinned boy was Hattori Heiji, but she didn't know the girl at all. Ai pulled one of the capsules out of her pocket, and headed over to Ran and Conan. As luck would have it, the paramedics arrived just before her, and put Conan on one of the portable beds. One of the paramedics helped Ran up while the other pushed the bed with all speed towards the back of the ambulance. No, she was too late! Still, she ran to catch up as Ran followed the paramedics.

“Mouri-san!” Ai yelled towards the retreating form of Ran. “Wait for me!”

Ran's head snapped around. “Haibara-san?” She asked, a little confused. Ai noticed the trail the tears had left. “What're you doing here?”

“I'll explain later. I need to come.” She told her, closing the distance between them. A paramedic moved to intercept her, but Ran shook her head at him.

“Let her come,” was all she said to the man. He nodded and then proceeded to go to the front.

The other paramedic and loaded Conan, and turned to help Ran and Ai into the back. Heiji and Kazuha just watched from where they were, Kazuha still crying into his shirt, and Heiji putting a comforting arm around her. Ai stared at their shrinking forms as the ambulance moved away from the curb and shot down the street.

Beep … Beep

The heart monitor sound let everyone know Conan was still alive. Ran stared at the small form of Conan. There were wires everywhere. Some measured his heartbeat, others his breathing. Conan, himself, was still drenched in sweat and looked barely conscious. She hated to seem like this, but this was better than him dying on her. She looked so intently on Conan's face, that she almost didn't notice when Ai took off Conan's watch. She watched in surprise as Ai opened the lid, pointed the watch at the paramedic and pressed a button on the watch. She heard a small ping and watched the paramedic slide down the wall, clearly asleep.

“Why did you do that?” Ran asked the small girl.

“Because of this.” Came the reply, as Ai held up a small white pill. “If he was awake, he wouldn't let Conan-kun take this.”
“Haibara-san? Is that… is that the cure?”

“Yes and no. I pretty sure it is, but there is a slight chance that it will not work and still kill him. If he doesn't take, he will die. That much I am certain about.”

Ran nodded, as she turned back to Conan. “Conan? Can you hear us?”

“Uh… What's up Ran? Are we in Hawaii yet? And why do you look so grownup?”

“What?”

“Mouri-san, I think that Kudo-kun is hallucinating and returning to a younger time in his mind. He needs to take the cure now, even if we have to force it down his throat.”

Ran shook her head. “No, let me try. Shinichi?” she asked the small boy. “I need you take a medicine. Can you do that?”

“Don't wanna!” He replied, sounding much like is physical age.

“You need to. It'll make you feel better.”

“No!”
“Please. For me?”

“Um…” Conan thought about it for a few moments. “Sure!” Ran visibly relaxed.

“Here,” Ai told the young boy, handing him the pill. “Make sure you swallow it completely.”

“Um, ok. But who are you?”

Beep … Beep

“Just a friend Kudo-kun. Just a friend.”

“Who's Kudo-kun?” Conan asked very confused. “Is that your friend Ran?”

Ran and Ai both look very scared. If he doesn't know is name, than he maybe to far gone. Ai thought to herself. “What is your name?” She asks Conan.

“I'm Edogawa Shinichi! I'm a detective!” He responded, very proud. “But Kudo sounds very familiar. Like I should remember it from somewhere.”

Oh, no! Ran thought, very frantic. He doesn't remember his correct name. He's mixing up his fake and real name. How is that possible?

“Edogawa-kun, please take the pill.” Ai told him, giving him a glass of water she had found in the ambulance. Conan complied, drinking all of the water.

“So what now? Ran, can we go home?”

“No, Edogawa-kun. You need to stay here for a while,” Ai told him.

“Why? I feel fine. I don't …” Conan began when he let out a loud shout. “AHHH! Ran it hurts! Ran! Help me!”

Beep … Beep

“Haibara-san! What's happening to Shinichi?!!” Ran asked, very worried. “What's the pill doing to him?!!”

“Saving his life.” Came the cold reply, but when Ran looked at Ai she could see tears silently falling down the side of her face. “And hopefully more.”

When Conan shouted out again and started to thrash around, Ran went over and held him down, drenching him with her tears. It seemed like forever until he quieted down. She pulled up and saw that he was still sweating, but he had a tired and content look.

“Ran.”

“Shinichi?”

“Sorry Ran. I'm sorry I can't be there for you.” He told her with a straight face.

Beep … Beep

“No, Shinichi. You will get better. Haibara-san gave you the cure.” She told him, trying not to let fear show on her face or creep into her voice. She failed miserably.

“Ai-kun? You finished it?” He asked, wincing in pain.

“Yes.” She said, not looking at him. “But I don't know if it'll work.”

“Thanks Ai-kun. Thanks. Look after Ran for me please.”

“NO! Shinichi stop acting like you're going to die. STOP!” Ran angrily told the detective. “You'll get better!”

Conan took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. “I don't think I beat the odds this time. I'm sorry Ran! Good-bye … Ran ...”

Beep … Beep … Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

Conan's heart stopped and Ran went ballistic.

“NO! SHINICHI! DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T LEAVE ME!” She cried, breaking into sobs. “DON'T … LEA…ve me…” Her voice trailed off, but she was still crying.

Ai couldn't take it anymore. She went to hug Ran, crying just as hard.

“Shinichi, you baka! You weren't supposed to leave me!” Ran continued to shout.

By the time they reached the hospital, the paramedic had awoken from his `nap', but there was nothing that anyone could do. Kudo Shinichi and Edogawa Conan were dead. With him, he took the soul of Mouri Ran.

 

AN: This is not the last chapter! This is no way the last chapter. I have at least 3 more planned. I hope you review (and be nice please), so I know what people may want in the next section. Third Chapter: Acceptance. Thanks to my sister for beta reading again. Have fun and remember to review!.