Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ When Pandora's Box Is Opened ❯ Rebuilding ( Chapter 87 )

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Forwards

“Freedom!” Kaito sang happily, swinging out of the hospital on his crutches. Saguru rolled his eyes. Like he'd kept to his bed like he was supposed to for the past fortnight…

“You're still going to need those for two weeks,” Aoko reminded him.

“Yeah, I know…” he said with a cheeky grin.

“… So we have until then before all hell breaks loose,” Saguru predicted with a sigh. He and Akako had come to greet him as they came out- and they were holding hands, Kaito was interested to note. He wondered how long that had been going on. Valentine's Day had been a week ago, a week after Pandora had lit the sky, which Kaito had had to spend in hospital, though a blushing Aoko had supplied him with chocolate, much to his mother's evident delight. She was healing fairly well, though still not capable of sitting up and still having to take all food in IV form, leaving her disturbingly weak and pale, and Kaito was glad to see her laugh. He'd already promised to visit her every day until she was released, though she had made him swear to go back to school. She had also had a nurse bring her a phone to call Jii and ask that he made sure Kaito stayed with him, stipulating that Kaito was not getting the house to himself now that he and Aoko were together (leading to even deeper matching blushes).

The Osakan couple- and they were a couple, if the way Kazuha had kissed Hattori (before nearly breaking his arm for “worryin' me ta death ya aho”) when he'd turned up full-size was any indication- had left together on Valentine's Day, the day after the antidote had been discovered. Hattori didn't seem to be undergoing any negative side-effects, which had been making Kudo antsy as hell until he'd been released this morning, dying to be declared fit enough to take one of the little pills. Kaito wondered if he'd taken it yet. Ran would be leaving school about now, as Aoko, Saguru and Akako just had. She'd probably be in for a happy surprise when she dropped by the Kudo's…

“The Blue Parrot's quite near my house, so we can still walk together!” Aoko said happily as Saguru, ever the gentleman, took Kaito's bag from her. “It'll be nice to get back to normal, won't it?”

“Do you do normal?” Saguru asked bluntly. Kaito made a show of thinking deeply about the question.

“I could try,” he said. “But I think the result would be, as they say in the West, “Mega-Fail”.” They all laughed.

“Bocchama, I am so glad to see you safe,” Jii said tearfully as they entered the Blue Parrot. “I am sure… Toichi-sama would be so proud.”

“Yeah,” Kaito said softly. For a moment, some of the shadows flickered across his eyes- his Poker Face hadn't been quite the same since the heist where Aoko had learned the truth- but then he brightened up again. “Anyway… I'll tell you all about it later, Jii-chan. I have been challenged!”

“Challenged?” Jii asked curiously.

“We've got a fortnight on you,” Akako said with a shadow of her old malicious grin. “This time you are going down.”

“Bring it, Rosalina.”

“Just be careful of your ribs when you're swinging that remote around!”

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“Home sweet home,” Shinichi sighed, wandering into his house. He'd been sorely tempted to just go straight to Hakuba Labs- Hattori had gotten the antidote a week ago, after all, and had reported no ill-effects, despite his worries that Hakuba would have stuck something extra in to poison him- but he needed to drop off his stuff and get a change of clothes, after all.

As it happened, Ai was sitting on the bottom of his staircase, holding up the little pill that represented his life, his salvation, his return to normal…

“When're you going to take it?” he asked curiously after he had cooled down from his involuntary yelp of glee, taking the pill from her with a triumphant if slightly embarrassed smile.

“I'm not,” she explained. Shinichi stared at her. “I'm staying as Haibara Ai.”

“What?” Shinichi said in surprise. “But I thought… you wanted to…?”

“I never really did want to get back to normal, Kudo-kun,” Ai sighed. “I always… you were forced to take the drug, forced out of your life, forced out of where you belonged against your will. I took the pill to die, Kudo-kun, because Miyano Shiho had nothing else. And I burned, as you did… and like a phoenix, Haibara Ai was born from the flames.” She glanced at him with a tender smile. “Miyano Shiho is long dead, Kudo-kun, just like the rest of her family. I'll never forget her, but I have a happy, full life ahead of me… and I want to live it. I'm ready to try again. All the way, I only wanted the antidote… for you.” Shinichi was frozen to the spot as he listened to her talk, and didn't move even as she stood up, which made it easy for her to kiss him. On the lips.

“Wh-” he muttered when she stepped back, walking past him.

“It's time for me to start afresh… in more ways than one,” she said softly. “You two be happy, all right? Oh, and if you hurt oneechan again, I'm going to poison you. For real this time. Be warned.”

Shinichi smiled and laughed as the tiny scientist walked away. “Guess yesterday wasn't the last time I'll see the Shonen Tantei-Dan after all…”

“We will stalk you if we deem it necessary,” Ai called distantly. Shinichi heard a little giggle behind him.

“Kaa-san?!” he yelped as he whipped around. “I thought you were at the hospital with Tou-san…”

“I was, but I gave her a lift back when she was released,” she said. “Jodie-chan's apartment isn't far away, she insisted that she'd walk back… I left a change of clothes out in your room… better change soon so you can go meet your other girlfriend! You little ladies' man, you!”

“Kaa-san!” Shinichi groaned. “Haibara's not-”

“I know, I'm just teasing,” Yukiko giggled as he blushed bright red. “I told you she had a little thing for you, didn't I? I think she wanted to do that for a long time, though. I'm glad. Now she has all the closure she needs to move on and be happy…”

“Yeah,” Shinichi said, glancing back at the closed door. In his mind's eye, he saw the sisters walk away, the sad, dark-haired women and the quiet, light-haired scientist, laughing together- freed at last.

Then he ran upstairs. Time to commit himself to the fire and darkness… for the last time ever.

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“… So when should we go shopping?” Sonoko asked.

“How did we get here from finals?” Ran asked curiously.

“Well, remember, Ayako's wedding is finally happening just before finals!” Sonoko cried. “It got put off for so long because of the whole murder thing… I've invited Makoto-san to come with me, of course, but we need outfits…”

Ran couldn't help giggling. Somehow, immortal murderers, blazing infernos, the FBI and CIA and the secret to immortality were all washed away by the normality of Sonoko's babbling about color-coordinating dresses and shoes and easy dismissal of “the whole murder thing”. She suddenly hugged her best friend.

“Ran!” Sonoko shrieked with a laugh a she nearly dropped her bag. “What-?!”

“Just for being you,” Ran sang happily. “Anyway, I can't come shopping today, but I swear I will soon… mind if I invite a date too?”

“If Kudo-kun's actually in the country,” Sonoko snorted. “Although I'd like to get my hands on that jerk… vanishing for so long without a word, who does he think he's-?”

“Ai-chan?” Ran said in surprise, cutting Sonoko off as the little blonde girl rounded the corner.

“Oneechan!” she said in surprise, then flushed for some reason. Then she smiled. “I've got to head home, but guess who I saw in Beika?”

“Who?” Sonoko asked, as Ai winked at Ran.

“Shinichi-niichan!” she squealed, in a cute imitation of Ayumi at her most hyper.

“Kudo-kun?!” Sonoko yelped. “That sonnova…”

“He's finally back, huh?” Ran growled, putting up an angry front for Sonoko's benefit but winking at Ai. “Then I've got something to say to him…”

“You go girl!” Sonoko yelled as Ran ran off, giving Ai a quick high-five as she passed. “Give that jerk what-for!”

“The antidote…” she thought, tearing down the familiar streets. “He's back… he's really… forever…”

She ran as hard as she could, remembering, oddly, the day that Shinichi had vanished; she had run just as fast through the cold rain, frightened, desperate; but now the sun was beating down on her, warm for February, promising the coming spring, a new start for everyone…

The Kudo mansion loomed up before her; once a symbol of loneliness, a reminder of what she had lost, but now…

She burst through the door in time to see Shinichi coming down the stairs, talking to his mother as he buttoned his shirt, moving his recently-healed shoulder a little gingerly.

“Shinichi…” she gasped, staring at him, drinking him in. He was back… he wouldn't leave her again… he…

“Oi, oi,” Shinichi complained as he saw tears filling Ran's eyes. “Ran, it's all right…”

“I know,” she sobbed with a weak smile. “We promised.” She flung her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder, clutching him as if she would never let go.

And she'd never have to. Ever again.

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In Hakuba Labs, scientists frantically tried to contact their young master to inform him that all of the APTX data that they had been supplied with- the only data on the elixir of immortality in existence!- had been suddenly devoured by a terrible virus which had not only destroyed the data but wiped the Hakuba Labs computers too. Saguru, on receiving the news, seemed unsurprised, only smiling oddly when he set the phone down.

“It seems the Night Baron has struck the Hakuba Labs central computer,” he commented.

“Oh dear,” Kaito said in a carefully blank tone. Aoko swung at his head, which he ducked reflexively.

“It's better this way,” Akako said airily. “It is nought but a curse…”

“I'm sure whoever hacked into the computer will prove unfortunately untraceable,” was Saguru's only reply, with a slight smirk, restarting the game.

“Infinite lives is cheating,” Kaito commented.

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Time flowed on.

Even after the lab was rebuilt, Ai never really moved back in with her “great-uncle”. Jodie and Shuu remained together; there's nothing to form a bond like bringing down the most evil criminal organization ever conceived. When they arrived at the party on the fourth of May, they were holding hands; they were also holding the finished paperwork that, through the Witness Protection Program, not only brought Haibara Ai officially into existence but entrusted her to Jodie Saintemillion and Shuuichi Akai as her adoptive parents. They made sure she ate.

Heiji and Kazuha turned up together. Going out didn't seem to change their attitudes towards each other hugely, if the way they argued as usual was any indication. The only difference was that their arguments now tended to end in make-up kisses rather than huffs. Rather disgustingly passionate make-up kisses.

Akako, unable to get a place of her own as all traces of Koizumi Akako had evaporated and, due to being born into the Organization, all traces of Kurosawa Akako's existence had vanished long ago, continued staying at the Hakuba Mansion. Jodie was helping her put through the paperwork to make Kuroki Akako a reality through the Witness Protection Program. She had chosen another new surname, so as to divorce herself from her two unhappy pasts- but she had also chosen a name which reminded her of them, so that this time, she would not forget. She knew all too well what foolishness that was. Saguru had been heard to comment on the irony that he only found her bewitching once she had lost her magic.

Sato and Takagi, having been invited as well, arrived sporting matching engagement rings; Shiratori, now very openly dating Kobayashi-sensei, gave them his friendly blessing. Yumi and Chiba were probably high-fiving each other.

Kogoro did end up staying at Eri's condo with Eri and Ran upon his release; Eri refused to let him sleep on the couch this time. He reregistered the Mori Detective Agency as operating from there, and possibly due to skills he had picked up from Shinichi through Hypnopaedia, was gaining successes of his very own. It probably helped that, with the reunion with his wife, his lazy demeanour dropped and his confidence rose. He also stopped drinking all day, to Ran's joy, but she never did get him to give up smoking.

Hidemi eventually resigned from the CIA with a very substantial pension, returning to broadcasting under the pseudonym Mizunashi Rena. This led to Eisuke's return to Japan and Teitan High, and living with his sister had clearly boosted his confidence; he only fell over once at the party, and did no lasting damage.

Sonoko, who hadn't really noticed that anything huge had happened, never got around to maiming Shinichi because Kyogoku Makoto returned from his travels to complete his high-school education, leaving her too happy to remember that she was ever mad at Shinichi. Or maybe it was the half-price sale at the mall. She's an easy girl to please.

The Shonen Tantei-Dan were upset by the loss of their star member, but soon bounced back, as young children often do. They were to continue running into murders occasionally, but under the tutelage of their Shinichi-niichan, who on his return to Japan kindly took the kids under his wing, they seemed likely to be Meitantei by middle school.

The three thousand, four hundred and sixty-four members of the Shadow Syndicate arrested worldwide were tried in one hundred and ten countries, and depending on their particular country's court system, were given between five and ten thousand years. Kaito, whose cast had been removed and thus let loose upon the world, had laughed at that, wondering if he shouldn't have let them have the Pandora so they could fill their sentences. Aoko just swatted him over the head with a mop. They were spending a lot of time alone together at the Blue Parrot, though Jii said they were planning something, which he found even more worrying.

Insurance premiums paid out enough to rebuild Kaito and Agasa's houses, as well as Café Poirot, which due to the Mori Detective agency vacating the upper floors expanded substantially. It soon became a popular meeting place for anyone even faintly related with detective work, from cop couples in desperate need of coffee to kids seeking meetings with the Shonen Tantei-Dan. Kaito asked for a few changes to be made to the layout of the house, both to compensate for the loss of a room and to move his mother's room to the ground floor, which would be easier on her during her rehabilitation. She was expected to make an almost full recovery, but there were still several scars and joint or muscle pains that she would bear for life.

Yuusaku's leg, unfortunately, had been twisted and broken beyond any hope of a complete recovery. He could walk almost completely normally if he had a cane, though he still hadn't quite gotten the hang of climbing a staircase in under twenty minutes. Yukiko was patiently helping him practice, though she reminded him that it wouldn't matter much once they returned to LA, where every building had elevators and their own place was effectively a bungalow. However, both had agreed to stay in Japan for a while, as now that Shinichi and Ran were in a serious relationship they couldn't really let him have the house all to himself, could they? Unless, of course…

“Happy Birthday,” Ran giggled, leaning up to kiss Shinichi as people swarmed his house. “Congratulations on turning nineteen…”

“Instead of nine,” he murmured happily, looping his arms around her to pull her closer. The red orchid necklace scraped his neck as they kissed, his tongue tracing over her warm, full lips…

“Fweet-fwoo!”

“If ya just wanted ta make out, why'd ya invite everyone fer a birthday party?”

“Give him a break. Can you blame him? He can finally make out with his girlfriend without her being called a paedophile, after all…”

“If I give you cake, will you all shut up?” Shinichi asked, throwing murderous looks at the others.

“Cake?” Kaito asked, suddenly perking up. “Chocolate cake?”

“If you choose to give him chocolate you will reap the consequences,” Aoko said warningly.

“Sugar-high Kaito-kun. Oh, the fun we'll have,” Saguru said dryly. Akako just laughed, following Aoko and Kazuha into the kitchen as Yukiko called for assistance bringing in cake and plates. Ran made to follow them, but Shinichi held her back.

“Hey,” he murmured into her ear, out of the hearing of the others, who were currently bickering with Kaito- Ran shuddered slightly as his warm breath brushed her ear- “White Day's coming up. Want to go out for dinner?”

“You shouldn't take me out for White Day when I haven't even gotten you a birthday present yet,” Ran said softly.

“I know what you can give me, if you'd like,” he said quietly. “Just one word.” Ran hitched in her breath, stiffening at what he was implying. Then she shrieked as a cloud of pink smoke enveloped them.

“Kuroba…” Shinichi growled, then frowned as the smoke cleared and yet he and Ran seemed normal, without odd hair colours, strange clothes or anything written on their faces. “What the…?” he made to raise his hand, whether to check on his hair or clothes he hadn't decided yet, but then stopped as something tugged on his hand. Linking his pinkie and Ran's was a red thread.

“Something up, lovebirds?” Kaito said innocently. Shinichi just snorted even as he and Ran blushed.

“Told you that red thread was connected to you,” she said quietly as Shinichi fiddled with the knot on his pinkie. He just grinned, his smile turning triumphant as the string came loose, unrolling into a red flag.

In the white daylight, the phantom will fade forever.

The various detectives paused, staring at the message while Kaito worked the rest of the party, his progress discernible by occasional puffs of smoke and yells of surprise.

“Who wants cake?” Yukiko sang, bringing in a massive chocolate cake on a platter, the girls following her with stacks of paper plates and forks. The cake had nineteen candles around the edge, with inner rims of eighteen and seventeen candles. “To make up for the birthdays you missed,” she explained softly as Shinichi approached the cake, mockingly raising a hand to shield himself from the heat.

“Did ya disassemble th' fire alarms before lightin' that?” Heiji asked, to general laughter.

“Wait! We've gotta sing before you blow those candles out!” Kaito cried. The song that erupted a moment later, however, did not sound like the normal birthday well-wishes.

“Happy Birthday!

Now you're one year older...

Happy Birthday!

Your life still isn't over...

You did not accomplish much

But you didn't die this year

I guess that's good enough!”

Kaito ducked and vanished when several fists made for his head.

“Did he just throw his voice into everyone's mouth?” Shuuichi asked, looking around for the rapidly dodging magician.

“…using everyone's own voice, yes,” Saguru sighed. Even he laughed when Kaito collapsed, Ai having somehow managed to trip him.

“Only you,” Jodie chuckled as Kaito stared at the girl in pure shock. Ai stared him down with her own perfect Poker Face. The Shonen Tantei-Dan giggled until Ayumi fell over.

“How about the actual song?” Yuusaku suggested.

“Give me a minute to duct tape him,” Aoko growled menacingly to further laughter.

Shinichi finally blew out the candles as those around him- his allies, his dearest friends, his family of both the present and hopefully the future- sang “Happy Birthday”. The smoke faded into the air, seeming as it vanished to take a strange, creepy, brilliant bespectacled little boy with it.

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The song Kaito sings is “The Happy Happy Birthday Song” By The Arrogant Worms.

Head for the hills, Marie Ravenclaw! XDXD

Beauty is truth, KSA Key-chan, and ain't that the truth… XDXD

Maybe he'll tell them someday, KageNoNeko… or maybe they'll sleuth it out XD

There's just nothing for Miyano Shiho, Mel72000. I think she will stay as Haibara Ai.

Just to cool down, FHP2208 XD Good luck, Shiratori-keibu! ^_^

I'm going to be releasing two fics simultaneously, Mimzsilver. They will both be much shorter than this. The first is A Phantom Thief, which due to the demands of plunnies and voters will be my first shot at KaiShin. The prologue is in “The Back Burner”. If that's not your thing, Forgotten But Unforgiven will be published at the same time, and it's canon couples- and absolute buckets of angst. I won't start publishing them for a while, though.

Mario Kart OWNZ, Pretztailfan95 XD Ran, methinks XDXD Actually, I tend to blame Gin… more cheesy fluff? XD OMG I would totally read “Yuusaku's Secret Doomsday Device “ XDXDXDXD *bows* It means “you're welcome” ^_^ I hope this was up to your standards, and your very own special oneshot in “Places Of Memory” ^_-

It came to me like poetry, Desperatembrace XDXD

Smiling and crying yet, Silver Shadowbreeze? ^_^

I answer reviews when I get them, A Bilbiophile so… erm… It'll have been ages since you wrote the reviews that I'm answering XDXD but that's what he is! (to ch6) love the coincidences XDXD (to ch8)

We'd expect no less of the Kaitou Kid, StargateNerd XDXD

I know, I probably use it too much, ChrissyViolet, but what can I say? Fics make me happy ^_^ (I use that one too much as well XD) (I did it again!)

Really, Yuki Taiki? I dunno, I felt like he was a bit OOC but hopefully not too much, allowing for character development…

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 30 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).