Disclaimer: Gosho Aoyama is the rightful owner of the Detective Conan series and not me. Still wish I did though.

Banters

"No!"

I jolted up, wide awake in bated breath. It was that dream again. That cursed dream. Even though humans are supposed to forget almost every dream he dreamt of right after waking up, I just can't get that dream out of my head. For one, it wasn't just a dream, It's a nightmare.

I blinked continuously, trying to register what just happened into my mind. Confirming that I am now in the real world and not dreaming, I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. Well, my day is off into a bad start, I could only wonder what stupid things could happen later on.

Better to just go with the flow then.

"Finally! You're awake Shinichi-kun!"
Hakase! Even now, it feels strange looking at people alive when I saw them die. Was just a dream though.

I have moved into the Hakase's house ever since the start of this school year. The uncanny resemblance between me and 'Shinichi' is now showing and the people at the agency might notice how much I look like myself.

"I was starting to worry when you began to sweat beads. Didn't sleep well, did you?" His moustache bouncing up and down with every word that comes out of his mouth. I could only shake my head, still a bit nauseated from what I just saw. "You better get up now, the kids will be coming any minute now."

Right. Almost forgot that I agreed to accompany them on the way to school. I got up not so smoothly, bumping here and there, my damn head still hurts. The professor helped me on the way down to the kitchen to avoid furthermore minor injuries.

"Sleeping Beauty finally woke up. I was starting to think I would be accompanying the kids on my own. At least you had the decency to wake up." Haibara, with a small smirk planted on her face. Yeah, that annoying smirk. "Oi, oi. Don't even make this day worse than it has already been." At least she shut her trap. Grabbing some toast for breakfast, I sat myself right across from her. She really does look pretty once she's finished expressing hate and nonchalance at literally anybody.

"See something you like, Kudo-kun?" How the hell does she even see me with her eyes closed, not to mention, her cup of coffee practically covers her eyesight. I felt my cheeks warming up so I indulged myself to my own cup of coffee to avoid furthermore inquiries. Seriously, this dream is taking an effect on me.

"You know Haibara…. You should really stop frowning everytime, everywhere."
"And why is that?"
"In all honesty? You look better that way."
"Hmph. Such obvious flattery doesn't work on me Kudo-kun."
"It's called the truth! Not flattery."
"You really didn't even have to mention it. I know."

I opened my mouth to retort once more but nothing came out. I watched that annoying smirk gracing her face again. Seriously, this girl! I would very much like to win at least one argument against this woman.

"Don't tell me you're starting to like me Kudo-kun!" She said adding a fake gasp and a fake shocked expression on her face. "Hah! You wish!" Honestly, I really love these occasional banters we had. It makes me feel like were at peace. As if we have no Organization fighting or running away from. Plus, this is one of the few moments she would actually smile a true smile.

"You should smile more often too."
"Seriously Kudo, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? I know I'm pretty and all but do you really need to say all this?" Her smile quickly changed into a playful grin. This woman is really hard to talk to.
"Tch."

Ding Dong! The kids are here. I calmly took a sip at my coffee as I watched Haibara standing up to greet the kids since the Professor's back in the lab. Even the way she just walked, she made it look so elegant. I shook my head to get the thoughts out of my head.

I'm starting to think I didn't just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

The sun shone brightly above Teitan Elementary School. It was a nice and warm day to have a boring school day for our two shrunken teens. The blinding light caused one auburn haired girl to glare back at it, which of course is to no use. Sighing, she went back to 'listening' to the teacher who's teaching things she already knows for God knows how long.

"Don't worry, you're not the only one." Conan, with a drowsy look on his face is obviously mustering up everything he can to avoid falling asleep and face the consequences. This is not a rare occurrence. It happens everyday. Not almost everyday, EVERYDAY.

"Say Haibara, what do you think about dreams?"
She was taken aback at the unusual question. He definitely would not ask this if nothing happened.

"Well, it can occur anytime while sleeping, but detailed dreams happens during deep, REM sleep when the brain is most act-"
"No, no. Just generally, not the scientific part of it."
"Well I can't say much, since I get nightmares more often than normal dreams. The best dream I could even receive is if my sister's alive."

She had this sullen look on her face that screams 'I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS'. This was one of those rare times where she would let her guard down for him. But the situation makes him want to hit himself for not being fast enough to save her sister, Akemi, from the hands of the Organization.

"Sorry for asking."
"You better. Does this have anything to do with how you were acting earlier this morning?" She asked with her 'annoying as hell' smirk once again.

Damn was he flustered remembering the thoughts he had.
"N-no. Not at all!" He denied, but the pink tint on his face betrayed him.
"Ara..? So it does.. Tell me about it." This does not fare well for our shrunken detective. He can't think of any possible excuses to get out of this. He heard a soft sound beside him. Hey, he actually made the Ice Queen giggle, that's a plus point for him. "Tch, what're you laughing at?" He tried to keep a 'mad' face, to no avail. "Why're you red? Don't tell me you had dirty dreams Kudo-kun. I wonder who it was about.."

If Conan could've even been redder than he was, he definitely just did. "I-idiot, Of course not..!" She just chuckled in reply. They raised their heads to see about half of the class looking at them, so does the teacher.

"Edogawa-shi, Haibara-san. You appear to be not listening at all. Since the whole school treats the both of you as prodigies, it wouldn't hurt to ask the both of you a simple question wouldn't it?"

Conan visibly gulped while Haibara just stared back at the teacher without any interest at all. As if nothing even happened. "I want you to solve this orally. Evaluate the function. Assuming you know this of course…" A small smirk gracing his lips. Haibara just yawned in response, slightly pissing him off.

He wrote the problem on the board : P(x) = x3 - 7x + 6

After about two seconds of thinking, "P is equals to x 2 minus 7 plus 6 over x." (P=x2-7+6/x, in case you want to see it easier.) They both said in perfect unison. The teacher's smirk fell off his face quicker than a lightning could. The class stared in amazement at how they solved the problem as if it was easier than breathing. "Both of you can now take your seat." Their teacher said obviously annoyed, if the scowl on his face is an indication.

Are these even children?

"So we're all invited to a party of someone we don't even know?"
"They're my friends I've met in a convention."
"And why do you think we'd come with you, professor?"
"I'm pretty sure you'd choose to come with me rather than spend more days in a school you're not even learning from."
"Touché"

The 2 shrunken teens could only sigh in defeat. They would really like to attend some stupid party rather than spend a day in school. "Pack up. Bring a handful though. We'd spend 3 days there. Long party isn't it?" The professor said with a sheepish smile on his face.

….

After they packed up, they obviously, went inside the car to go wherever the party was going to be held. It was a particularly nice night. Add that there are no traffic jams to prolong the trip. Bored out of his mind, he decided to strike up a conversation with anyone or ask questions first. He preferred the latter.

"So what's this party all about?"
"Their 40th wedding anniversary, as it was stated in the invitation"
"40th, huh.." Conan had a dreamy look gazing at the night sky. How he wished he could reach that amount of years being married to someone he truly loves who truly loves him in return. For him, it's kind of out of reach now, Ran having a boyfriend and all that.

"Missing your girlfriend Kudo-kun?" He can't tell for sure how she felt by saying that, having no expression at all. I wish I have the right to call her mine though. "She's not my girlfriend and never will be." He spat with a rather bitter tone which surprised the three of them.
"Ara, did I hit a nerve..?" She was met with silence. "Uh, you're no fun Kudo. I'm just trying to converse."
"Then try to avoid the personal things."
"So I did hit a nerve!" He could only sigh, "Why'd I fall for this trap again?"

"You should move on Shinichi-kun, she's also been engaged a few weeks ago."
"I know Hakase, it's just.. not easy you know?"
"Well you should at least try. Plus, there's plenty of fish in the sea."

I don't know why but Haibara glared at the professor right after that one statement. I pondered for a moment. Maybe I should really try to move on, I've been doing nothing the past few weeks thinking about that day I told her I'd be gone for good. It was in the same week I faked my death.

(Flashback)

"Ne Haibara. I was thinking if maybe you could hand me a temporary antidote just for toda-"
"No."
"Oh c'mon! It wouldn't hurt to take at least 1 or 2 more temporary antid-"

"Yes it would. If you take another temporary antidote, the number of temporary antidotes you would be able to consume, if you ever still, would be approximately down to 3 or none at all. Your immune system's almost immune to the antidote Kudo-kun, who knows, maybe if you finally take the actual antidote it won't have any effects."

"Haibara.. I just want to say goodbye to Ran. It hurts me seeing her wait and wait for 'Shinichi'. And the fact that by each day, I look more and more like myself, she's starting to think I'm myself. I don't want to hurt her anymore. So please, just this once."

She thought over it for a couple of minutes before reluctantly agreeing. "Just this once." She reached over to a box and handed him the red and white pill carefully.

"Yes! Thank you, thank you very much!" And before he even knew it, he took her into my arms hugging her tightly. He immediately let go of her and looked at her face. She was a bit pinkish and looked surprised.

"Uhh, sorry. I was just caught up in the moment. He-he." Well that was embarrassing. But she is warm, he has to admit. He finds it hard to accept that someone as cold as this woman could be so.. warm. "Soo… I'll see you later then. And thank you once again!" He said with a very contagious genuine smile.

She shooed him from the laboratory but instead of getting back to work, she just stood there. She smiled and with a very flustered face, she hugged herself. "Idiot Detective…"

…..

It was a cold but nonetheless nice night. After an unexpected call she received from Shinichi telling her to "Let's meet up later, I'll pick you up. I have something to tell you." Which left her quite anxious as to what he wanted to talk to her about, she quickly got dressed up. It was not of any help that Sonoko overheard their conversation over the phone. Saying things like 'Maybe he's going to confess?' or something like that. But she had to admit, she liked the idea of that happening.

So here they were, not talking yet. After finishing their orders, Shinichi started talking.

"So Ran uhh.. I know it's sudden but I just wanted to talk to you personally one last time."
"One last time? What do you mean?"
"I'm kind of.. leaving the country for good. I'm going to live in America now, my flight's scheduled for tomorrow."

That shocked her. That left her whole world crumbling down into pieces. In other words, she was left devastated. After all this time waiting for him to come back, she tells him that he would leave and never come back again? That's kind of unfair.

"W-why..? After all this time…" There were tears in her eyes, she was already sobbing quietly as to not let the other customers notice.

"I know I'm an asshole, I'm very sorry Ran. So if you have anything left to tell me, please tell." He was dying inside. He hated goodbyes. He never liked it and was never good at it. In his experience, goodbyes always leaves a dreadful feeling to the receiver.

"I-I just h-have one qu-question to ask of you. Shinichi, d-did you ever l-love me?" She dropped the bomb. It was this very question he hoped she wouldn't ask. He would have to tell her the truth, but coat it with a lie in the end as to not make it more painful than it already is.

"Yes. Yes I did. I loved you so much Ran, but that was a long time ago. But now, I still love you but it's more of a love for a… a sister." God, that took up all of his courage to tell her that. Every word that came out of his mouth felt like a double edged sword. But there's no other way to lessen the pain. "I'm so, so sorry Ran."

After that, she silently, but violently cried. Life is really not like a fairytale, this was not the happily ever after she thought she would have. But there's nothing that could be done. It's been decided.

She stood up to leave the expensive restaurant. "I l-loved you Shinichi. V-very much. And if this is g-going to be our last conversation, I just want to tell you have a nice life in America a-and goodbye." Then she burst out of the door. She ran as fast as she could. Damn that hurt so much.

…..

She watched the television in horror. It was the headline of the news. The plane Shinichi was in crashed as of 11:04 of Monday morning. She couldn't stop the tears from falling out of her eyes. This hurt even more than what she felt yesterday. It was like a piece of her whole being was being taken away from her.

"And the shocker, the body of one "Kudo Shinichi" was found at the crash site, but was not allowed to be shown on camera for the severe damages done to his body." Her mind shut down. She felt her whole body go numb. She can't take it anymore and soon after, fainted.

…..

It was his funeral. Black clothes could be seen everywhere. It was even raining, what a perfect coincidence. Yukiko Kudo, his mom, was crying excessively-
Nice acting mom Ha-ha.

While being comforted by her husband Yusaku. It was a typical funeral scene, a lot of tears being shed and such. What surprised him the most was Inspector Megure crying. He was one of the toughest man he knew in his life. He never thought that the Inspector was so fond of him to such extent. He decided he would tell him the truth after defeating the B.O.

And then there was Ran, she looks devoid of emotion. He deduced that she already cried herself the past 2 days she ran out of tears. The scene breaks his heart too. But there's no other choice. This has to be done.

"Don't you think you were a bit too harsh Kudo-kun?" Haibara, in a black Lolita dress, walks up beside him and stares at the scene herself.
"There's nothing that could be done Haibara. This is the only way to stop the pain."
"Isn't it ironic though? In order to end the pain, you have to inflict even more pain."
"Well, we both know that this is just how life is."

They both just stared at the scene, one with a sullen look, one with an expressionless mask.

"Haibara, if I actually died.. Would you attend my funeral?"

She was taken aback at the sudden question but quickly replaced it with her expressionless façade.

"I wouldn't." Now it was his turn to be surprised, he kind of expected that answer but he didn't think she would actually say it. That hurt.

"Why not..?"
"Hmph, wouldn't you like to know?" He turned to see a smirk beginning to bloom on her face. Goddamn this woman. "Hey! Not fair!"

(Flashback End)

The car stopped. They're at their destination. A luxurious, 7 star hotel stood in front of them. Guess it wasn't just a normal 3 days party. Even Haibara looked a bit surprised. She'd probably try anything to make me buy her a handbag again. Sighing we went in.

Well, here goes nothing.

EOC
So this is probably the only 2 chapters I would be able to post for the next 2 weeks because Life will get busy again. And I just want you to know I'm not going to do any research regarding this story so If you see any mistakes, fuck it I don't care about it unless I say so. And regarding that math problem, if that's wrong sorry again because I suck at math lmao. So see you again!

P.S
I don't recheck my work so if you see any grammatical mistakes or spelling mistakes or something like that. Please tell me.