Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ Truth in Dreams ❯ Prologue

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Hi all! Well, this would be the fic I wrote for Lady Orla's fanfic contest, which gave me a good excuse to write another Shin'ichi x Ran fic. :)

Anyways, the disclaimer. Meitantei Conan doesn't belong to me, but to Aoyama Gosho and all those other people who have a claim/right to it.

Oh, and as I always do, the names are in Japanese name order, meaning the last name comes first, then the first name. (Example for my name: Hoak-Kagey Laura) Oh, and Shin'ichi is the "correct" way of transliterating the Japanese characters, but I'm using Shinichi for the fic because it's easier. On with the fic!

Truth in Dreams
By Laura Hoak-Kagey

Ran slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight had started to trickle through her window, playing with her eyelids and beckoning her to open them. Even though today was Saturday, her day to sleep in, Ran opened her eyes to the sunlight's call. She stretched out in her bed and slowly rose to her feet.

Just after Ran had risen to her feet, a strange feeling came across her. She looked from the bed to the floor and back again. Why did the bed seem to be so much farther from the ground than normal? Ran decided that she was still only half awake, and put that thought aside.

She walked to the window and looked down to see her small yard filled with flowers, enjoying the sunshine. She smiled to herself, and decided that she'd head downstairs. Since Shinichi wasn't still in bed, he had to be downstairs making breakfast. Saturday was not only Ran's day off, but Shinichi's as well. Even Inspector Megure knew that Shinichi wasn't to be bothered on a Saturday, unless the matter was extremely urgent. Long ago Ran and Shinichi had designated Saturday as their day together. Because Ran had been paranoid for a long time after Shinichi had come back from his long-standing disappearance, not long after he had returned, Ran had made him promise to set aside a time for them to spend time with each other and Saturday had turned out to be that day.

This particular Saturday was special since it was the four year anniversary of Shinichi's return from his disappearance. Ran had been planning for this day for the last month, and with the sunny day, it looked to be off to a good start.

Ran headed for the stairs, but once she put her hand on the banister and took the first step down, something seemed wrong. The banister was also bigger than she remembered, and the step was deeper than she recalled. A puzzled look came across Ran's face as she continued down the stairs. Since she wasn't able to figure out what was causing her to feel so strange, maybe Shinichi would be able to tell her.

After she reached the kitchen, Ran was greeted by the sight of Shinichi's back.

"Shinichi."

Shinichi turned around and had to lower his gaze to see the person who had called out his name. His eyes beheld a little girl of about seven years old standing before him. "Uh, yeah? How did you get in here, little girl?"

Little girl? What was Shinichi up to this morning? "Little girl?! What do ya mean by that! I'm 23 years old!"

Shinichi smiled. "Sure you are. I'm not sure where you came from little girl, but why're ya here? Are you lost?"

Ran was angry. The little girl joke had gone far enough. "Fine! If you want to be a stupid jerk, then so be it!" Ran stormed out of the kitchen, headed up the stairs, and shut the door to their bedroom behind her. Ran decided that she would take a shower before going back downstairs. Because it was such a special day she would forgive him easily, but she needed a little bit of time to get into a calm frame of mind.

Ran entered the bathroom attached to their bedroom, and turned on the light. Her eyes headed for the mirror and she was speechless at what she saw; she was indeed a little girl. Ran was no longer the woman of twenty-three, but more like a girl of seven or eight.

"What the...? Why? How? SHINICHI!!!!!!!!!!" Ran screamed his name at the end, and raced out the bathroom.

She was just about to open the bedroom door when Shinichi did.

"Shinichi! Wh-what happened? Why am I a kid? It's me, Ran, your wife! Shinichi!"

Shinichi looked at the little girl's flustered face, and a look of recognition came across his face. His memories held the same image of the girl in front of him and that of Ran when they were both little.

He crouched down to the girl's height. "Ran? Is that really you? How do I know...?"

"Yes, it's me! How? Well, for one, today is the fourth anniversary of your return! Not to mention that in six weeks from now, it's our wedding anniversary. It's me! But tell me...how did this happen? You're the mystery and reasoning loving idiot!"*

"Calm down...Ran. I can't figure these things out right away! Anyways, tell me what happened today. You didn't drink or eat anything unusual, did you?"

"What? Of course not. I only got up ten minutes ago. I remember getting out of bed and that I felt some strange feeling after I got to my feet. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong..."

The surprise had subsided, and now confusion began to fill Ran. Tears started to form in her eyes. "Shinichi...these kind of things don't happen. And on today, of all days. I had planned for so long..."

Ran buried herself in Shinichi's shoulder, and started to silently cry as she held onto him tightly. Shinichi seemed so much bigger when she was this way.

Shinichi hugged her tightly, and stroked her hair. "Don't worry Ran, there is always only one truth, and I'm gonna find it. Though I think before that, I have something I should have confessed to you a long time ago."

Ran looked up to Shinichi's face. "What?"

He picked her up and sat her down on the bed before he took a seat as well. He let out a sigh. "Actually, I can say I understand the frustration of being stuck in a kid's body and not being able to do everything I want to do."

A look of bewilderment came across Ran's face. "Kudo Shinichi, tell me right now what you mean. I'm not quite following..."

Avoiding Ran's eyes, Shinichi replied. "Well, it's about my disappearance four years ago."

She raised her eyebrows. "Go on."

"Well..."

Shinichi proceeded to tell Ran the whole story of what had happened to him from the first day of his disappearance, and the first appearance of Edogawa Conan. After he had finished, Ran's little jaw was tightly clenched.

A small silence filled the room before Shinichi took Ran's little hand. "Ran, I wanted to tell you, but after I had lied to you so much...I saw you so happy after I came back that I didn't want to burden you with everything that had happened. Besides, it was still too dangerous after I returned to say anything."

Ran still sat with her jaw clenched, not saying a word. This was not something small that Shinichi had just confessed to her. This was something he should have told her a long time ago, especially after they had been married. She had been married to him for almost four years, but he had never bothered to trust her with his secret of having been Conan. She had had her suspicions, but still...

She turned her body away from him before she spoke. "You could have trusted me. Living a lie for so long...and all the things I told Conan because I felt so comfortable talking to him. I told you before, but he was kind of like a replacement for you while you were gone. Now I know he was you the whole time." She turned back towards him. "If you *ever* keep such a big secret from me again...you don't want to know how mad I'll be then."

Shinichi placed a hand on Ran's shoulder. "Ran..."

After sighing, Ran said in a normal-toned voice, "Don't worry, I love you too much to let this tear us apart. Just to let you know I wasn't lying, I'd kiss you as kind of making up...but...Shinichi, let me be for a while. I'm emotionally tired, and I wanna take a little nap. You find out what you can while I do, and then I'll come find you, okay?"

He nodded before placing his hand on her cheek. He knew what it was like to try and live like a child would when you had an adult mind. But this time there was something he could do about it. Shinichi kissed Ran on the lips and then slowly pulled away. He searched her eyes before he rose from the bed. "Don't worry love, I'm one of the best detectives in Japan, and I'll find out what happened..."

Ran watched him leave before laying her head down on one of the pillows. "Shinichi...I hope you do. I don't know if I can give you my biggest present anymore..."

As soon as Ran closed her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

*~*~*

Ran woke up in a dark room. Her eyes adjusted fast to the darkness, and she saw a sleeping form lying next to her. She looked at the clock to see it was two in the morning, and let out a big sigh. It had only been a dream. She wasn't a little girl. She was still the woman who was Shinichi's wife.

As the confusion cleared, Ran started to think about her dream. Why had she dreamt about Shinichi confessing that he had been Conan all those years ago? She had given up asking about it not long after they were married, and hadn't given it a second thought since then. But now, she was more confused than ever.

Ran rolled over to her side, and made a split-second decision. She could find out now if what the Shinichi in her dream had told her was true or not. She gave Shinichi a small shake before she whispered, "Conan-kun."

He stirred in his sleep, and he gave a startling reply. "Just a little bit longer, Ran-nee-chan."

Her dream had been right! The truth was just like Ran had thought it to be all along! But now wasn't the time to pry Shinichi about it. Ran was glad that they both were still adults, and that they were together.

She looked to the clock again to make sure she had read it right. She had, which meant today was technically the fourth anniversary of Shinichi's return. After what had happened in her dream, Ran couldn't wait until dinner to reveal her biggest surprise for him.

Ran shook Shinichi again, this time until he was awake. "Shinichi, wake up! Answer me if you're awake..."

Shinichi opened his eyes and turned toward his wife. "Ran, I'm awake. Whatcha want? D'ya know what time it is?"

After placing her hand on his cheek she answered him. "Of course I do. But I'm just glad to find you here with me. I just wanted to let you know that I love you."

Shinichi was fully awake now. "Ran...is everything alright? I'm just asking 'cause something had to make you decide to wake me up in the middle of the night to say that."

"Shinichi, be a little sensitive. But I suppose the reason is the day itself. Today is a special day, and you ought to remember that, right?" Ran had quit stroking Shinichi's face while she waited for his reply.

"Don't worry, of course I do. Fours years since I've come back, and I even remember our wedding anniversary coming up. Aren't you proud?" He flashed Ran one of his endearing, trademark grins.

Ran playfully batted Shinichi's cheek as she said, "Quite being silly! Today is a big day..." Ran's voice softened. "Anniversary of the day I wasn't alone anymore."

After his grin quickly faded, Shinichi reached for Ran and pulled her into his arms. "Ran. Don't worry, I'm right here and I'm not gonna go anywhere. I love you too, and I never wanted to leave you alone all those years ago."

The answer to why he had had to leave her alone for so long was left unanswered and Shinichi hugged Ran tighter to him. When he had been Conan, Shinichi had learned how important Ran had been to him. After he had made his return, however, he never forgot for a second about what he had learned in that time.

Ran wiggled her way out of Shinichi's arms so she could see his face. "Don't worry, I know. But, another reason I wanted to wake you up..."

Upon seeing Ran's facial expressions turn joyful again, Shinichi smiled himself as he asked, "What? Ya gonna tell me? Or can I go back to sleep?"

She knew he was teasing her, but she always played upon his enticements. "Shinichi! If you'd rather go to sleep than get a surprise I have for you..." As she finished her words, Ran mockingly turned her back to Shinichi as if she intended to ignore him.

As he crawled over her, he said, "Aw, Ran, c'mon, tell me! Ya know I like surprises, especially when you've managed to keep them from this pretty good detective here."

Even though he was practically laying on top of her with his face only inches from hers, Ran still managed to play and tease him. "I dunno...if you're such a good detective then you should know."

Putting a playful pout on his face, Shinichi said in a slightly pleading voice, "Raaaan, please?"

"Well..." Before she could say anything else, Shinichi gently kissed Ran's cheek as an incentive for her to tell him her surprise.

Ran smiled. "Okay. I suppose I could tell you...but you really have no idea? No clue?"

Shinichi shook his head no, and waited for Ran to continue.

"Well...you said you always wanted kids, and I've seen you get along so well with them...what I'm trying to say is that we're gonna have a baby."

Surprise and amazement are the only words that could describe Shinichi's face. Ran surmised that he didn't know anything, and he really hadn't been lying earlier either.

"Shinichi? Are you okay? Talk to me, Shinichi..."

Shinichi gave his head a little shake before he finally replied. "Ran! Really?! Is it true?!"

After a small nod from his wife, Shinichi jumped out of bed and stood facing Ran.. "Ran! I-I...the best gift...what should I say?"

Ran smiled at Shinichi's antics. "So, Mister Detective, how did this one slip by you?"

He scratched his head and then said, "I don't know. But who cares?" Shinichi grabbed Ran's hands, and pulled her up off the bed. Once she was off the bed, he pulled her close.

They stood staring into each other's blue eyes for a few seconds before Shinichi playfully kissed Ran's lips. Ran could tell that Shinichi kept pulling away before they could have a passionate kiss, but since she had known him so long, she knew the games he played too. On the third kiss, Shinichi passionately kissed Ran, accepting her parting lips as an invitation to her mouth.

After he had pulled away, still only a few inches from Ran's face, Shinichi whispered, "You've given me a present that can't be topped, love. But, even though I can't beat your present, maybe I can get close..."

Shinichi kissed Ran again, this time lowering her onto the bed as he did so. Ran knew what was coming, and was happy anytime she and Shinichi could spend precious, intimate moments with each other. Shinichi had a hard time showing his feelings, his passion, but when he did try to show it to her, Ran enjoyed every moment of it.

After they were both on the bed, Shinichi stopped kissing Ran in order to put his ear to her stomach. She stroked his hair as he lay there. He then spoke to her belly, "Baby, wait until you see your wonderful mama, and you don't know how happy you're gonna make this family."

He lifted Ran's nightshirt so he could kiss her stomach. As he continued to move Ran's nightshirt out of the way, he kissed his way back up to Ran's face.

"My dearest Ran, I hope you know how much I love you."

"I do, but why don't you show me again?"

Shinichi didn't need any further encouragement to show Ran his physical love that equaled his emotional love.

*~*~*

After a long time, the pair had fallen sleep. Ran awoke first, and let out a yawn before turning towards Shinichi. She smiled at the scene she saw because when Shinichi's hair was all ruffled from lovemaking, it was the most adorable sight to Ran. His hair stuck up more than usual, and it made the seemingly perfect man a little less perfect to her.

Also as she gazed at her husband, Ran wondered if he was dreaming, and if so, what it was about. After her dream this last night, Ran had a lot more faith when it came to dreams.

As Shinichi's brows knitted together, Ran brushed his hair to one side. Just what was he dreaming about, she wondered.

*~*~*

Conan stood facing the telephone booth, again. He hated how he had to try and sneak away from Ran just to talk to her. Shinichi had realized that he had been an idiot not to realize how much she meant to him before. Now, more than anything, Shinichi wished that he could tell Ran, in person, how much she meant to him.

True, he had come close when he had brought her to the restaurant where his father had proposed to his mother, but close was not good enough. He had gone to solve that murder case, and because of that, he had missed the chance to tell Ran his true feelings.

But now, that wasn't the biggest concern on his mind. Conan needed to call Ran because he didn't know if he would have the chance to call her ever again. A chance had been offered to him to be able to revert back to the form of Shinichi, and he had decided to take that chance. Being emotionally apart from Ran while he was in the same room was driving him insane. He knew that she would only wait so long, and Ran had already waited more than long enough...

After taking a deep breath for self-encouragement, Conan opened the booth door. He wasn't going to confess the truth to Ran, but he wanted to hear her voice. He wanted to hear her voice when she was talking to Shinichi, when he wasn't treated as a child anymore. Conan had already decided that if Ran didn't try to bring up his being Conan, then he wouldn't tell her. If she didn't honestly know anymore, or try to guess that, he saw no reason in trying to add to her sadness and anger.

Conan picked up the phone and dialed Ran's number...

*~*~*

Ran noticed Shinichi's stirring. "Shinichi? Are you awake?"

"Mmm...yeah."

She saw his eyes open, and saw a rather somber look on his face. "What's wrong?"

While averting her eyes, he said, "Ran...something I never told ya, but I should have..."

"I know, Shinichi. If there are truth in dreams..."

He noticed the quietness of her voice, and decided now was the time to finally tell Ran what he should have told her four years ago.

"About Conan..."

"Yes, I know. I called you 'Conan-kun' in your sleep, and you answered to that name, with 'Ran-nee-chan' and all. I'm not going to try and ask you why you kept it a secret for so long..."

"Ran, I-"

"Shh. Only because it's been four years, and because I have you here with me now...I really can't get angry anymore about it. And I can see why you would want to keep it a secret...but, you could've told me. But since I've had time to have you with me, having your love in return, I'll take that as an apology for not explaining it all to me beforehand. But, whenever you want to talk about it, please do so."

Ran sighed before putting a small smile on her face. "And who knows, if our baby's a boy, we could name him Conan, ya know."

Shinichi smiled lovingly at Ran. "Have I told you how much I love you? I think I'd be worse of a person if you weren't here for me."

Ran smiled. "I know. Well, I have the whole day planned out for us, so I suppose I should start that, huh?"

After a few seconds, Ran noticed the silence coming from Shinichi and that he was staring at her. "What? What is it?"

"Come here." He hugged Ran tightly before whispering into her ear, "I'd be happy just to stay like this all day..."

"Oh Shinichi."

Before she could say another word, Shinichi quieted her with a kiss. Five years ago, before he had had the experience of being Edogawa Conan, he would have never imagined his life would turn out so good or that Ran was such a special part of it.
=============
Well, whatcha think? I wanted Ran to get a small taste of what Conan had gone through while having some romance between Shinichi and Ran at the same time. I tried to make a story out of it. :)

And personally I think Shinichi would avoid telling Ran he was Conan for as long as he could, just because of all the things Ran told him...but we don't know the real way it goes yet, huh?

*"Suirinosuke" is where this comes from, and "suiri" means "reasoning" but can be interpreted for those who love mystery/detectives (because you need to like reasoning to solve mysteries, which is what detectives do...)
~LLHK~
October 2001

http://animeforever.com/conan