Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ When Pandora's Box Is Opened ❯ Ashiteru ( Chapter 88 )

Chapter Eighty-Eight

Ashiteru

“Kaito…”

“Shh. Just one minute, Aoko. Literally one minute.”

“It feels windy. Where are we, Tokyo Tower?”

“… yes.”

“Kaito… it feels really windy.”

“…three, two… one.”

As Kaito removed the blindfold from Aoko's eyes, she found herself standing on top of the world.

She gasped, wobbling on the thin foothold, literally the very top of Tokyo Tower- but his strong arm was around her waist, holding her steady, and she felt safe; he would never let her fall. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, noting as she did that he was wearing his Kid regalia. So this was it; the last time.

A second later, the sky exploded into light.

All around them, fireworks exploded into the sky; red, blue, yellow, green, a rainbow of colours, turning the night sky into a brilliant spectrum of dazzling fire. Aoko faintly heard screams of shock from down below, and wondered as she stared out over Tokyo at how much of the city she could see, an unbroken vista from her open vantage point. The city was painted with brilliant lights, dazzling her.

“It's so beautiful,” she whispered. “Was this… what it was like?”

“Every time,” he said softly. Then, putting a finger to his lips to signal to her to be quiet, he brought a microphone to his mouth as a searchlight lit the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers, a good distance away. In the dancing lights, Aoko could faintly make out a white figure.

“Good evening, Minna-san,” he said quietly into it. In the distance, Aoko could hear the words echoing through the Tokyo Streets from the dummy.

“I must apologize for not sending a notice, but I am here to steal nothing but your attention tonight,” he continued. “It will not be for long, and then you may be on your way again, just as I shall be on mine. I am retiring, you see.” Aoko could imagine the gasps of shock. “I thought it only polite to say goodbye before I left you again. I have the only jewel I shall ever need…” he glanced down at her, his deep blue eyes sparkling in the dark like precious sapphires, “…the most beautiful jewel. Now, it is time for my final disappearing act. You have been a wonderful audience, ladies and gentlemen- thank you, and goodnight!” With that, the white shape- the dummy- fell, seeming to fade away as it did so. Something else, meanwhile, clattered gently into the pavement on the ground.

At the bottom of the building, Hakuba Saguru approached the box. He heard the faint clinking of a cane on the pavement as Yuusaku vanished. Opening the box, he found the diamond inside.

“What?” Akako muttered in surprise. “Wasn't that destroyed?”

“Yes, but among the items seized from the Syndicate vaults were very large number of jewels that they probably had no right whatsoever to,” Saguru said quietly, turning the jewel around. “It's a wonderful match, they'll probably never notice that it's a separate jewel…”

“And that's it,” Kaito said softly, his microphone tucked away. “It's all over. The Kaitou Kid is gone now, gone forever. After all, a gentleman keeps his word.” He flashed a grin at Aoko, before looking out onto the continuing fireworks, his face occasionally thrown into sharp relief by the coloured light.

“Goodbye,” he whispered. “It's all over, Tou-san. Goodbye…”

Aoko stayed there, just holding him while they watched the fireworks in silence, the colours reflected in the glistening tracks on his cheeks.

“Now…” she said, a while after the fireworks had died, darkness and silence stealing over the city once more.

“I know,” he said softly. “When I get back to the Blue Parrot, I'll lock everything up, I've got a big old chest that'll do the trick…”

“Not that,” Aoko interrupted him. “How… are we going to get down?”

Kaito gave her a wicked grin as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“Want to fly with me, pretty lady?”

Aoko planted a soft kiss on his lips as he expanded his hanglider.

“Go on then,” she whispered. “After all, I'm not letting you escape me. Never again.”

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Shinichi chuckled as he and Ran watched the fireworks explode into the sky. Others in the restaurant had frozen with their forks in midair, some even getting up to press their faces against the window like children at a festival. Well, it was an awe-inspiring sight- and, if Kaito kept the words that he was currently projecting around Tokyo's streets, a practically historic moment.

“I guess this is his White Day present to Aoko-chan, huh?” Ran said, also staring engrossed at the fireworks. “Goodbye to the Kaitou Kid…”

“I guess,” Shinichi agreed, fiddling a little nervously with his cutlery. Then he took a deep breath. “Ran… I don't know if it's a little soon for this, but…”

“I've been waiting nineteen years, Shinichi,” she said softly as he stood up. It might as well have been the two of them alone in the restaurant, absorbed as the other patrons were in the light show. Shinichi grinned smiled as he knelt down, his nerves making the grin a little wild. Ran could feel tears stinging her eyes as he drew out a small box, unable to suppress a wide, if watery, grin.

“Then, Mori Ran,” he said, opening the box, the ring inside turning different colours in the dancing fireworks. “Will you marry me?”

Ran choked out a little sob, just managing a “yes” before she broke down into something that she couldn't decide if it was laughing or crying. Shinichi slipped the ring onto her finger before standing up, pulling her to her feet and kissing her. The sommelier, having been watching them, laughed and started clapping. A few of the other patrons noticed and started cheering with her, realizing what had just happened, and soon most of the restaurant was cheering. Ran and Shinichi barely noticed, locked together as a huge red firework exploded in the sky, spreading out in an elaborate pattern like the petals of a flower, a blue firework still raining down sparks like a blessing.

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“CONGRATULATIONS!”

“Who told them?!” Shinichi hissed as he and Ran were dragged into their classroom by their jubilant classmates, who seemed to have found some way to fit the entire year into their homeroom.

“I only told Sonoko…” Ran muttered, and then they both sighed.

“Finally!”

“Seen this coming since second grade…”

“It's so wonderful!”

“When is it going to be?”

“Five thousand, pay up, we still have four days…”

“Wow, that ring is gorgeous!”

“Nice catch, Kudo…”

“SILENCE!” A teacher called, stepping into the room. The congratulatory crowd around Ran and Shinichi back fearfully. “Just what are you all doing? Get back to your classrooms!”

“Sensei, finals are over…” Nakamichi ventured. “And Kudo and Mori-san just got engaged… do we actually have anything better to do than party?”

“Really?” the woman said, peering at Shinichi and Ran, who held up their left hands to show her their glittering rings. “Congratulations, I suppose… well, it is a rather special occasion and I must admit, you only have four days until graduation anyway…”

“PAAAR-TAAAY!” Aizawa screamed happily, cutting off the rest of her words as somebody plugged in their iPod speakers. Shinichi caught Ran's eye, grinned and shrugged, then turned into the back-slaps and lewd jokes of the soccer team as Ran was engulfed by squealing girls. Sonoko had an especially wide grin.

“If you're doing it western-style, aim the bouquet at me!” she demanded.

“I would have thought you'd be a bit more depressed about Kid vanishing,” Ran teased. Sonoko, to her surprise, shrugged.

“Well, I was sad,” she admitted. “But… I could never bring myself to dump Makoto-san. He's just so sweet, you know? He…” she flushed a little.

“Did you finally tell him how you felt?” Ran asked excitedly. Sonoko flushed a little more. “Did you… show him how you felt?”

“Ran!” Sonoko squeaked. “Well… Isn't it just romantic, though? The fair maiden's first kiss with her true love under the showering fireworks… about the only thing more romantic is…” she pinged Ran's ring, before both dissolved into giggles.

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“I can't believe it…” Max sighed. “The Kaitou Kid… retiring?”

“Ain't it great we were here for it, though?” Alex said happily. “It's like, a historic moment…”

“What a way to end a holiday,” Hazel agreed.

“What time's your flight?” Luke asked.

“Aren't you coming back to Scotland?” Taylor asked with a frown.

“Are you kidding?!” Luke laughed. “This is a country where all the high-school girls wear sailor suits! I'm going nowhere!” Several female fists skelped him across the head.

“I'm hanging around too,” Charlotte said, not looking up from her ever-present book. “I got a temp job teaching English at a high school nearby… Their English teacher is going to be out for the next term due to an injury.”

“We're flatsharing because I have a job too!” Laura sang. “I applied to a mangaka who was looking for assistants and I got the job!”

“Congrats!” Dillon said, high-fiving her. “Me, I'm outta here. What about you, lovebirds?”

“We're going to travel a bit more to investigate Asian Philosophy,” Alex said. “For my book, you know…”

“You philosophers are lazy sods, why don't you get a real job like the rest of us, eh?” KJ joked.

“I'm not getting a real job,” Richard said, making a cross with his fingers. “You can't make me do real work. Eh, brother?”

“The Council of Insanity shall never do real work, brother,” Max reassured him.

“What a holiday, eh?” Charlotte murmured, staring out of the window.

“Are you going to post your travel diary on Bebo or anything?” Laura asked. “I know you always keep one.”

“I think so,” Charlotte giggled. “I bet it'll make an interesting read…”

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Six months later

“Sorry I'm late,” Heiji called, bursting into the room, where Shinichi was nervously straightening his tie in front of the mirror. “Movin' out, ya know, takes ages ta find anythin'… ready?”

“Pretty much,” Shinichi sighed, smoothing back his hair. “I have to say, I thought you and Kazuha were going to go to the Osaka Police Academy…”

“Yeah, us too,” Heiji shrugged, “but we both got accepted ta Tokyo an' Oyaji said it was better, so… only problem is we're in th' same class as Hakuba…” he laughed guiltily. “Thought Aoko was gonna go too, ta be honest…”

“I think she's had enough of crime,” Shinichi laughed. “I think nursing will be just her thing, if she controls her temper… she and Doctor-to-be Akako ought to be a good duo…”

“Hondo's in th' class too,” Heiji remembered. “ `Parently his neechan talked him outta the CIA. His coordination's gotten pretty good, too… gettin' pretty popular, if ya know what I mean…”

“KUUUROOOBAAAA!”

“What th'-” Heiji yelped as Shinichi burst into the room in a white shirt and boxers, looking absolutely furious. He glanced from the sniggering Shinichi in front of the mirror to the new Shinichi.

“Busted, Kaito,” Saguru said dryly, wandering in after Shinichi. “For some reason, I thought it best to check all of the broom cupboards in the building…”

“I was hoping to make it at least halfway up the aisle before he woke up, I'd get a bigger audience,” Kaito sniggered.

“Speakin' a' the audience, you oughta know, Hakuba,” Heiji asked. “What the hell is Koizumi-han wearin'?”

“I did tell her it looked more appropriate to a funeral than a wedding…” Saguru said, cheeks pinking slightly.

“I was thinkin' more like some kinda club…” Heiji muttered with a grin, getting himself punched in the arm by the now redder Saguru.

“I have to be out there in two minutes, you idiot!” Shinichi yelled at Kaito, ignoring the bickering tantei. “Now give me back my suit!”

“Only because it's a special day,” Kaito said with a shrug, clicking his fingers. Two puffs of blue smoke and about ten seconds later, the black suit was back on Shinichi and Kaito was wearing his white tux (not that white tux, that was gone, but he liked the color).

“This is why you are not my best man,” Shinichi muttered, checking himself in the mirror.

“Yeah, but in all your agitation over that you didn't have time to be nervous about what's coming up, right?” Kaito said, patting his back as he strode jovially out of the room. “Oh, and Heiji, you're gonna need these…” he flicked the wedding rings towards Heiji.

“What th'- when did he-?” Heiji yelped, patting the pocket where he'd been keeping the rings.

“Kami help Tokyo Tech,” Saguru muttered.

“Chem labs with him are going to be so much fun…” Shinichi sighed, gently banging his forehead against the mirror, then flattening down the resultant damage to his hair.

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“Something old…” Aoko said, smoothing Ran's veil.

“Something new…” Yukiko giggled, checking on the zip on the back of her dress.

“Something borrowed…” Eri said, clipping her ruby earrings into Ran's ears.

“What'll be yer something blue?” Kazuha asked curiously.

“Hopefully, he's standing at the end of the aisle,” Ran giggled, a little tearfully.

“You can cry, my makeup jobs are waterproof,” Yukiko reassured her, a little thickly as she was crying too.

“Well, since you've disregarded my endless warnings about marrying baka-tantei childhood friends…” Eri said, hugging her daughter gently, careful not to crush her dress, “Good luck… I think you two'll be happy.”

“It worked out eventually for you, Okaa-san,” Ran laughed.

“If any one of you starts crying, we all will,” Akako declared, which wrought tearful laughs.

“Ready, Ran?” Sonoko asked, smoothing her maid-of-honour dress.

“Where are Ayumi-chan and Ai-chan? You need your bridesmaids!” Aoko said fretfully, scurrying off to look for the girls.

“This is Kudo-kun's wedding too, they've probably been murdered…” Sonoko muttered, to some uneasy giggles.

“Thank Kami bodies have stopped dropping wherever we go,” Ran sighed. “He's been called out by Megure-keibu plenty of times, but he's never there at the time of the crime anymore… either my luck is cancelling out his, or whatever Shinigami curse he was under lifted with…” she trailed off, not inclined to talk about those years of disaster, not what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life and therefore would hopefully feature no murders. Kaito's mother, who was sitting in a wheelchair in the front row with Kaito and Aoko- she was healing well, and most of her injuries were gone aside from scars, but she was still under doctor's orders to take it easy as possible- was testament to just how long gone it all was now.

“Oh, just a couple of photos!” Yukiko insisted, raising her camera. “Wonderful… you're lucky, you're naturally photogenic, Ran-chan… so many people just look terrible on film. Sure you won't try film acting?”

“I really love stage acting, though,” Ran said.

“Arigato again for putting Ran in touch with your old contacts,” Eri said, hugging Yukiko. “I can't wait to see your debut, Ran!”

“I'm not playing a big part,” Ran said, her blush still visible- Yukiko's makeup really was wonderful, only hints to accent rather than a thick mask of powder and blush.

“Yet,” Yukiko said with a wink. “I'm leaving a lot of my best makeup and costume materials in the house, by the way. By the time you and Shin-chan get back from your honeymoon in Hawaii, the house'll be all yours… oh, aren't they cute!” she squealed, referring to the little girls in matching red-and-pink dresses.

“We're here, oneechan!” Ai called, dragging Ayumi by the arm. “Ready?”

“Always,” Ran said, smiling as she turned to the doors.

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And that's it, ladies and gentlemen… just the epilogue left. Thanks for sticking with me thus far! ^_-

He does indeed, StargateNerd XD

Nearly 1000, Marie Ravenclaw… I can probably make it if you include the reviews for TFWITW XDXD

I haven't finished writing either of my next fics, Mimzsilver, which is why I'm going to be on sporadic oneshots only for a while until I've written enough of them to start posting. Watch your inbox! ^_-

FFnet is screwed up, Pretztailfan95 DX better now? I guess it is judging by the EPIC REVIEW! XD You gave me a mental image of The Night Baron standing on the roof of Snoopy's kennel, by the way… XDXD She doesn't eat enough, it's been commented throughout. What, you've never known any couples that do that? Hey, you never know… I love happy endings ^_^ especially after TONS of angst XD Sonoko's an easy girl to write too XDXD It was meant to be Kaito laughing, did his name get blanked? :/ Horribly debilitating injuries aren't that funny, you know… Kaito RULES! Happy Birthday to you! ^_^

If I can convert her I will be so proud, Kayla Edogawa. WOW, you do a lot. I just have Creative Writing club, Justice and Peace Group, Debating Society, Comedy Club, Rangers, the Magazine Team and the Red Cross Shop… XD

Arigato, Desperatembrace ^_^ Totally! A Phantom Thief. HOPEFULLY I'll be publishing it within a couple of months, but if exams get in the way (and they shouldn't, only two of my classes have formal exams this year) then it might not be until Christmas.

I love the Happy Happy Birthday song, SetoJouFan, so of course I had Kaito sing it XDXDXD I'm going to sing it for my brother's next birthday XD

This is the final chapter, only the epilogue left, KageNoNeko. Good luck with the homework ^_^;

… teeth, DiGi? XDXD

Kaito has his own way of doing things, Moonclaw -Moony- XDXD

Go for it, nataeiy1 ^_- I'd love to see it when it's done!

Dou Itashimashite, Mel72000! Gotta love Kaito ^_-

Glad you liked it, FHP2208 ^_^

Not quite the end, MyMelo… tomorrow is the end. I love happy endings… and AoKai fluff as well <3 I wanted to do a bit more on them, though I do have a very fluffy oneshot reserved for my BFF's birthday coming up… ^_-

*dances with KSA Key-chan*

You caught up, ChrissyViolet! ^_^ I'm glad you like it, though it's not much good against English homework, since Chaucer barely speaks recognizable English… I wonder if Eta and Ushi ever met him? XD They're neck and neck, I'd say… XDXD (and the XDs pull ahead! XD)

Pretty much everything's cleared up now, Silver Shadowbreeze. Just a fluffy epilogue left… ^_^ They may have given him a run for his money, but I'll bet you Kaito won… You can't play a video game properly with infinite lives. It's too easy, too boring, and other players hate you…

The end is tomorrow, Yuki Taiki ^_-

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).