Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ When Pandora's Box Is Opened ❯ The Poor Child ( Chapter 40 )

Chapter Forty

The Poor Child

Eta sat and stared at the stars, unable to sleep. It wasn't the dream- no, she'd been having that so long that she was used to it. It didn't bother her. She knew what it meant. But the last few nights, she had felt some invasive presence- something else seeing her dream. That worried her. Her dream was hers; a part of her for so long, her fate, her future. She wondered what was trying to see her dream- and how much it would understand.

Perhaps whatever it was was stopping her from having her other dream- she hadn't had it in a while, and she missed it. She missed her children. Perhaps they only existed in her dream, but they were hers, and she longed to see their faces again, to hear their voices, to hold them, if only in her mind.

Or perhaps she wasn't having it because they no longer existed only in her head. She had found them here, in the real world, seen their faces in her waking hours, heard their voices from living mouths. Her children were real. She may not have given birth to them, but...

“After so long, I'm entitled to some form of madness, I'm sure,” she thought firmly. She watched the moon- it was getting on for five o'clock now. She had a watch- wonderful invention, especially since everything seemed to happen indoors these days, where one could not see the sun or the moon or the stars- but here, away from the lights of the cities, the sky was clear, and she had long ago learned to read the time in the sky. She needed only wait through the day, unnoticed, and nearer to nightfall... it would be time.

She glanced over at the now-calm face of the sleeping boy, the sweating and convulsions stopped as his mind slowly found peace.

“Dear child,” she promised, used to speaking to her children only in her mind, “sleep peacefully. I will protect you... however necessary.”

She looked back up to the stars, to the fiery eyes that watched over her always.

“Ancestors...” she prayed, “I am doing what I feel to be right... have my feelings been dulled? Or is my heart's course still true?”

The wind blew past her gently, from her side, tossing her hair. Eta wiped her hair out of her eyes, a little confused.

“The wind... it doesn't blow at my back, pushing me forwards on my chosen path...” she thought, “but neither does it blow in my face, pushing me back. Are the elders saying that I am almost on the right path? Is something clouding my vision, causing me to choose a course so close to my true path... but with a different destination? Or am I simply travelling down my path the wrong way?” She looked at the sleeping child again, suddenly plagued with doubt.

“Even if this is to protect him... is it the wrong path?” she wondered. “Well, it is done now, and cannot be undone...” then she smiled.

“And yet, with these children who specialize in the impossible... who knows?”

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Ran blinked at the ceiling, taking a moment to adjust herself. Then she remembered.

“I'm at Hattori-kun's,” she remembered, “getting Conan-kun's things...” She glanced over at the little pile by her futon, and squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden fresh onslaught of tears. Her dream...

“Ran? Are you all right?”

She rolled over, wiping her eyes, at her mother's voice. Eri was standing in the doorway, already up and dressed, looking worried. Ran forced a little smile. “I'm okay, Okaa-san. Just a bad dream.”

Eri frowned. “Don't do that, Ran,” she said, stepping over and kneeling down next to Ran.

“Do what?” Ran said in confusion.

“Hide it when you're upset.” Eri reached out to smooth down a bit of her daughter's bed-head. “That may work on that baka Kogoro, but not on me. Are you really all right? Is it more than Conan that you're worried about?”

“It's...” Ran twisted the sheet in her hands, wondering whether she should tell her nightmare to her mother. “I had this dream,” she said eventually. “It's sort of a memory... when Shinichi left at Tropical Land, the day he vanished. I dream about it a lot, wondering what happened, wondering if I should have stopped him...” she took a deep breath. She hadn't told anyone about the dream before, but it made her feel a little better to do so. “But it was a little different this time. He... he was holding Conan-kun's hand, and they were both running away, both leaving... me...” her voice broke suddenly as she almost cried. She gulped it back, feeling horribly embarrassed. “It was just a dream, baka!” she told herself. “They'll find him soon, and Shinichi... he hasn't called since New Year, no, but he's gone longer than that without calling before... he's probably fine... So why do I feel like... he's going to disappear again?”

“Ran? Oh, Ran,” Eri said soothingly, gently wiping her tears away with her handkerchief. Ran faintly remembered her doing the same thing when she was a child, when she'd skinned her knee or dropped her ice cream and she was crying. The thought only made her want to cry more. “It's all right. Cry it out. Have you properly cried since he went missing?” Ran sniffled, shaking her head, still trying to choke back the tears even though she felt like a little kid.

“It's just...” Ran sniffed. “What if he's hurt, or sick, I have to look after him when he gets found... falling apart won't do him any good...”

“It'll do you good, though,” Eri said. “Ran... you always do this. You hide your feelings, even if it hurts you... it's okay to show if you're upset, you know. No-one would think any less of you... it's better than you breaking down entirely.” She sat back on her heels, watching Ran unreadably as she tried to control herself. “It wasn't your fault, you know,” she said abruptly. Ran stared at her in surprise.

“What...?” she asked, confused.

“When I left you behind... it wasn't your fault.” Her mother now looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“Okaa-san, don't worry about that,” Ran said. “Why would I think that...”

“Because, somehow, little children always do,” Eri said with a sigh. “Kogoro and I... Maybe we just hadn't grown up yet. We were going to get married, anyway, and then when we found out about you we brought it forward a little... and maybe some part of us had needed the extra time to grow up a little, and we started fighting like little kids do with the ones that they like...” Ran giggled, and Eri smiled. “Okay, I admit it, that's what it's like sometimes. I just... I think I should apologize. Because our fighting... it hurt you, too, right? And then I left you, and then Kudo-kun...” Ran winced. “I heard how you talk about the day he left. You blame yourself for that too, right? Ran, you know that boy's nose for trouble better than anyone, don't you? I'll bet that hasn't changed since you were kids. You always do this. You put the blame on yourself and hide... I just... I don't want you to get hurt, sweetie. I feel like I did too much of that already.”

“Don't blame yourself!” Ran said, shaking her head violently.

“As long as you don't,” Eri said gently, hugging Ran close like she hadn't since she was a child. Ran finally gave in, crying into her shoulder.

“I J-just... h-h-hope he's all right...” she sobbed.

“We all do,” Eri said. She held Ran like that for a long while until Ran calmed down and then, embarrassed, started rummaging around in her bag for her hairbrush.

“So...” she said tentatively, ready to change the subject, “Does this mean you're finally coming back?”

“Oh, Ran,” Eri sighed. “No promises, matchmaker.”

Ran giggled, then grew a little more serious. “Yeah,” she said, a little sadly. “They're too easily broken.”

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Cold. Wet. Rain...

My feet... so sore. Cold and wet, too. No shoes. That's why. I'm cold and wet all over.

Where am I? I'm walking... along a road. Where am I? I don't know. I can't remember how I got here.

Where was I walking to? I can't remember. Where was I walking from? I don't know that, either. I've just been... walking. For how long?

I need to go home, right? But where's... where is home? Where do I need to be?

I... I...

People? A girl and a boy. Who...

“Who are you?”

So cold. So weak. I can't hear them anymore, can't see, can't feel...

I...

...

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“I'm worried about Ran-chan,” Kazuha sighed, twisting her hands around her umbrella handle. “She was still asleep when you left, right? Maybe I shoulda cut out at lunchtime to check on her...”

“Yeah, but Ofukuro would've chewed ya out fer skippin' class,” Heiji pointed out. “Then she would've chewed me out fer lettin' ya... though when did I become yer babysitter, I dunno...” Kazuha knocked his umbrella out of his hand. He yelped as he dove for it, shaking off a sudden drenching of cold rain like a dog. “Damn weather. Still freakin' cold, but it warmed up just enough ta be drivin' rain instead a' snow...” He was just straightening up when Kazuha stopped dead with a gasp. She had suddenly gone deadly pale. “Kazuha?”

“Conan-kun!” she gasped. Heiji whipped around, staring at the boy further down the otherwise empty street.

He looked up at them, and Heiji instantly recognized the kid; but there was something wrong with his eyes, something blank, something...

...something missing...

“Who are you?” he croaked quietly.

“What?!” Heiji said in surprise. “What- Ku- Kiddo!” Heiji dropped his umbrella, running over to Kudo, ignoring the freezing rain to catch him as he fell to his knees, passing out on the road. Heiji pulled off his sodden coat to wrap the boy in as Kazuha ran up to them, holding his umbrella over their heads. Kudo was drenched- he must have been out in the rain for a while. His clothes were rumpled and dirty, and his socks were filthy and worn through in places.

“How long's he been walkin'?” Heiji wondered, zipping his coat up over Kudo as his small body started to shiver violently. “Where'd `e come from? How'd `e get away? And what...”

“We've got to get him back to yours, quickly!” Kazuha said urgently as Heiji stood up, cradling Kudo like a large baby. “Is he all right? He... he didn't seem to know us...”

“The kid's just disorien'ed, that's all,” Heiji insisted. “Prob'ly just surprised ta be free. Feels like `e's got a fever too. We'd better get `im inta warm clothes, a decent meal... he'll be fine. He's a tough kid.”

“Thank Kami he's all right,” Kazuha said, running a little, urging Heiji to move faster to stay under the umbrella.

“Who are you?”

“'E's fine, jus' disoriented, he's gotta be,” Heiji thought stubbornly, fearfully. “If he ain't...”

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Ran looked up at the clock as she heard the front door slam.

“Hattori-kun must be out of school,” she thought, setting aside the little bag that she'd been packing Conan-kun's things into. “Maybe Kazuha-chan's with him... I'd better let them know that we're planning to go back to Tokyo tomorrow...” She was still deeply worried about Conan, but talking to her mother- and Eri's vague assertations that maybe she could put up with Kogoro if Ran needed her- left her feeling a little stronger. She had to be strong. Conan-kun would need looking after when he was found...

“Ofukuro, get some soup or somethin' on now! An' someone get some dry towels! We got an emergency!”

“What?” Ran ran through to the front hall, followed closely by her mother, and nearly tripped over in shock when she saw the familiar little face peeking out from the damp bundle in Hattori's arms. “Conan-kun!”

“We'd better get him out of those wet things, he's probably got flu already as it is...” Eri said, hurrying back into the guest room for Ran's bag, where she'd brought spare clothes for Conan, just in case. Ran herself was taking Conan out of Heiji's arms and rewrapping him in dry towels that Shizuka had brought through, following Heiji and Kazuha, who were discussing putting Conan in Heiji's bed rather than a futon on the floor.

“What happened?” Ran asked desperately, wiping rain off of his sleeping face with a towel. “Where did you find him?”

“Out in the road,” Kazuha said. “He was all on his own. Dunno what happened to the kidnapper, or how he got away... he just collapsed in front of us. So we brought `im back here. Dunno what's wrong with him...”

The soaking, dirty clothes were the same ones that he'd been kidnapped in. Conan was a little thin, but he didn't seem starved or dehydrated, thankfully. Ran helped undress him, figuring that the filthy clothes might as well be binned, and wrapped him in towels and Heiji's duvet. He was dry but a little too warm now, a little feverish, and Ran sat with him until Heiji's mother brought up some hot chicken noodle soup- any mother's automatic response to a child with a fever. Ran spooned a little into his mouth as Heiji and Kazuha explained to Heiji's father precisely what had happened, Heiji in a level of detail that Ran would have found astonishing if she weren't used to Shinichi and his mathematical precision. Conan stirred sleepily as he swallowed the soup, beginning to wake up.

“Oh, he's coming around, thank goodness,” Eri said, who was apparently on the phone to Kogoro. “No, we're at the Hattori's... I don't know if she needs to come out here, we may be able to bring him back with us tomorrow... Edogawa-san's turned up at the agency in quite a state,” she added to Ran, covering the mouthpiece of the phone. “It seems she called last night, and that was the first she'd found out that Conan-kun was missing... I guess she doesn't have Japanese papers delivered to America like Yuki-chan does... no, no injuries,” she said back into the phone. “Just a fever, we'll probably have him checked out by a doctor...”

“Mmmm?” Conan mumbled as he opened his eyes. He shivered. “Cold...”

“You have a bit of a fever, so it's going to feel cold... here, eat a little more of this, it's good for you,” Ran said, holding the spoon out, which he obediently closed his mouth around. Chewing thoughtfully, he looked around the room. “Where am I?” he asked once he'd swallowed.

“We're at Hattori-kun's house in Osaka,” Ran said. “Can you remember what happened to you?”

Conan shook his head. “Who's Hattori-kun?”

“C'mon, kiddo, what're you saying?” Heiji said, walking over into Conan's line of sight. “It's me, Hattori Heiji, remember?”

“Heiji... niichan?” Conan said uncertainly. Heiji nodded happily.

“Ya remember me now, right?” he said. “Ya were just a little confused...”

Conan shook his head, then looked over at Ran. “So... who are you, neechan?” he asked.

Ran dropped the spoon into the soup with a splash.

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Me too, FaithlessGirl... I actually really like Kogoro and Eri as a couple. They're just funny, but really sweet sometimes too. I was totally squealing the first time that I read the chapter where he asks her to come back... :)

The point, Silver Shadowbreeze? It's coming... eventually... Nakamori-keibu is involved, and he has a few important scenes coming. He does kind of take the backseat to Aoko, Hakuba and Akako, though.

I wish I had chocolate every day too, Mel72000! XD

It's the big speculation and mindgames period right now, KageNoNeko, but the closer we get to the climax the more the action will ramp up...

Kogoro can be responsible, Pretztailfan95! You know, every once in a little while... yeah, I do love those two, but they kind of annoy me too. STOP ACTING LIKE LITTLE KIDS AND GROW UP, YOU TWO! But it's really funny and sweet too, so ^_^ YES FIRELINE HAD AN EPIC RESPONSE. They left and epic comment! Rather like you just did... XD Patience, Padawan... yes, IT has been written... but it's more of a sixty-something than a fifty-something... MUAHAHAHA! But it comes after the major Heiji scene, so at least you have that to look forwards to, right? ^_- (what major Heiji scene? You'll have to wait and see, won't you? XD) *gets pester spray* Gotta love the shameless plugs ^_- Yeah, I'll do four and five, but I'll let you have Heiji if I can give MY bishie a cameo... XD The fourth wall better look out! Man, that thing's getting such a battering these days, Kyoukai No Rinne's had a good few goes at it in the first few chapters alone... Of course I did! The talented Pretz is on DA, people! She's Pretzkororo95, and I'm still Mangaluva, same as everywhere except YouTube (DAMN THEM)! Phoenix, I think... I know, it's a weird spelling, huh? But who cares? Phoenixes are awesome! They're my favourite mythical animal! They're so beautiful, they're immortal, and, well... FIRE! *fights back inner pyro* pretty fire... I FORGOT THE PARENTHESIS! NOOOO! *grovels and begs forgiveness*Of course Gardevoir is prettier than Charizard! I never said that Charizard was pretty... just TEH AWESOMENESS! Admit it, Black Charizard ownz all for coolness. Quilava's cool too, but he's not teh shizz as Charizard is. Togekiss? Don't know that one. (Told ya I pretty much lost track after Celebi) wait, is that the further Togepi evolution that my cousin was going on about that looks like an aeroplane? Yeah, I live in Scotland, but I was born in Colorado and Mom was born and raised in Missouri and Oklahoma... she still hangs up flags and makes brownies and sausages every year for Independence Day, and a bunch of her friends who are also from America but now live in Scotland often come over. Last year, though, we were at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, for Fourth of July... my brother and I got chucked out of the actual building and into the grounds for making horror movie fans shit themselves by jumping out behind them screaming “HEEEERE'S JONNY!” XD The evening got kinda less funny when some guy got smashed and cracked his head open by the pool, though... We don't hate ALL Americans! We love Obama! We just think (think? Know) that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of the flying monkeys are absolute morons and/or selfish, greedy bastards that make the Tories look like freaking RSPCA volunteer workers... oh, and the lasting impression is that the vast majority of the country have the IQ of a pot plant. Combined. We don't hate you, just feel very, very sorry for you. I loved the kiss! I was punching the air, going “FINALLY!” I kinda guessed that it was Kobayashi-sensei, though... after all, Shinichi had mentioned a while back that she looked almost exactly like Sato without her glasses, so when Shiratori had his flashback I wondered “what if it wasn't Sato, but someone who looked just like her? Now who looks just like Sato...?” I think it's sweet, though. THIS WAS INDEED AN EPIC RESPONSE. WOOT! *e-five*

I'll agree that when you're wandering around in disguise, it's not wise to carry personal items, Fireline, but this IS Kaito, and you're right- it would only be a problem in the highly unlikely event of capture .”To maintain” got through, yeah. Dunno why they censored the other words. I mean, they let the language of the Banterful M8s through in-chapter...Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make Heiji's phone calls so ambiguous. I was trying to imply that he called Yuusaku first, before calling the Moris afterwards; he figured that Yuusaku needed to know first. I didn't mean for it to be so ambiguous or confusing, sorry. ^_^; Yeah, nobody quite has a handle on how the friendship between Kaito and Hakuba works, least of all the two of them XD the nature of the explosion will become clear. Don't worry, the doves are all right. Since his alibi was travelling for a magic show, he would naturally have taken some of them with him, and the rest are with Jii, like they were while he was in hospital (I might have mentioned that, I might not ^_^;). So there's no crispy-fried dove nuggets, thankfully. And please do- I'm actually quite enjoying my chapters, and Pretz's chapters are completely Pretz- that is, funny as hell but with good dark tones where necessary XD

I do not claim to own any of the characters in Meitantei Conan. They are the intellectual property of Aoyama Gosho. All characters, couples and locations, if Canon, will be faithful to the manga, so if you're into fics with weird pairings like Shinichi and Heiji, the back button is at the top there. The fic may not make sense if you have not read up to chapter 698, which you can do at a site called (read between the lines) O/n/e/ma/n/g/a, but I advise you to buy the official Tankoban novels (up to volume 29 are out in English at the time of writing) so that Aoyama-sensei can afford to continue gracing us with his imagination. Now, I hope you enjoy the fic! (If you don't, please see my previous comments re the back button).