Wow, it almost feels like it's not over. But it is... A lot of things have happened since I first started, and I learned a lot of things since I started as well. Like "1 day does not a great fanfiction make" and "if you set deadlines for your fanfictions, you must foresee procrastination" :P
But really, it's been a lot of fun writing these, and thanks to all those out there who took the time to review to tell me how much fun they had reading these!
Lastly, please enjoy this one, and have a great... well, rest-of-Valentine's Day!
(Something I need to say about this story: there are a lot of ways to interpret how the aptx 4869's antidote, both in time and potential lethalness. But I'm choosing now to go with the version I learned from Movie 7 (or 8? Hard to remember now). So just a warning for those who haven't watch it.)
In a cramped taxi in the middle of a street of Tokyo, two people were half-heartedly arguing.
"How'd you get wrapped up in this?" Kogoro asked his wife aggressively, crossing his arms and looking off to the side.
"I don't know," Eri snapped back, "I can't remember why I came here, so don't get angry at me."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you wanted to get tricked into this."
"Now now," Ran butted in, leaning in from the window, "you'll never have a good time if you don't get along."
"I never said I wanted to do this though!" Kogoro almost shouted at his daughter, obviously unhappy. "You're always trying to get us back together, but what you don't understand is that we don't want to get back together! If we did want to, we'd-"
"Just forget about it..." Eri sighed, getting the attention of her husband. "We're both here, we might as well get dinner. I still have to pay you back for that chocolate, you know."
"I... I guess so..." Kogoro said, still displeased. The driver of the car then took off, and left Ran behind, waving them goodbye.
"Have fun!" She shouted, waving them down the evening-lit road until they turned out of sight. Yes, she did it! There went 'Part One' of her Valentine's Day plan. Now she could only wait for 'Part Two' to unfold... if it ever did. Truthfully, she didn't have much faith it would. But there was always a chance, and as long as there was a chance she'd be clinging on to it.
She started walking back to her house, but noticed something. There was somebody standing in front of the door. She was too far away at first to notice who it was, but with every step she took the person seemed more and more familiar. He was standing in front of the office door, knocking. Perhaps he wanted to hire her father. In that case, she'd better tell him-
No, wait. It couldn't be. She started walking faster, then running to the bottom of the staircase leading to the entrance. She stopped, and looked up. Yes, it was!
"Shinichi!" She said, surprised to see him not just there but even at all.
He turned at hearing her and saw her. "Ran?" He asked back, sounding surprised as well, but not quite as much as the girl.
She stood shocked still, staring up at him as if he were a ghost. He looked a bit tired, and sick. He was sweating a bit and breathing harder than normal too. He, too, appeared to be stuck to the ground, like a deer caught in front of a pair of headlights. Eventually, Ran went up the stairs as fast as she could go. She slowed at the top, getting a more level look at him.
"Where have you been?" She asked him, letting a little more emotion spill into her voice than she would've liked.
His surprise broke into an assured smile. "Oh come on," He replied back playfully, "I work hard for so long on my case, I finally get enough time to come here and this is the first thing you say to me?"
"Oh, is that still your excuse?" She accused him, starting to get angry. "The case is too important, the case is too hard! If it keeps up like this, you'll never get it solved!"
"This isn't a case that I can just solve, Ran. This is complicated, and more intricate-"
"Then just stop! Leave the case, call it unsolvable!"
"I can't!" He said forcefully, gritting his teeth, "I'm too involved! I can't simply leave without putting peoples' lives in danger!"
"Then why are you even here? Shouldn't you be working on that case?"
"I came back for you!"
Ran stopped; did he just say-
"Believe it or not, Ran, I miss you. I miss being around all my friends, I miss living at my own house. I'd go back in a heartbeat if I could. I'd-" But here Shinichi bent over and fell into a coughing fit, and couldn't finish his sentence.
"Are you okay?" She asked concernedly, coming up close to him and putting her hand on his back.
"No… I'm not alright… I mean, it's just a cold, but... I think I have to go back soon…" He sputtered between coughs, to Ran's horror.
"You can't go yet!" She said fearfully, "You just got here! Not only that, but look at how sick you are! You're in no condition to leave!"
"I don't have any other choice…" He muttered, sweating a little and shutting his eyes as if in pain.
"Shinichi…" Ran whispered, feeling tears start to form in her eyes.
He managed to straighten up, but he was still breathing heavily. "It was nice seeing you again," He said with that stupid, proud grin of his, "even if it was for such a short time. I believe my ride is here…" Sure enough, the girl turned around and saw that a dark car had pulled up, with a large man hidden in a dark cloak sitting at the wheel, waiting on Shinichi. "Hopefully, next time will be longer, ne?"
"How do I even KNOW there will be a next time?" She asked him downheartedly.
"Because… because I love you." Ran felt her heart skip a beat. Did he? "No matter what, no matter how long it takes, I'll come back to you because I love you. And you can count on that." His shining, blue eyes gave her all the confidence she needed to believe his words.
He slowly walked to her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. She relaxed into his warm embrace, and hugged him back just as strongly. The two forgot their worries momentarily as they leaned together, sharing in the close moment they were sharing. Then Shinichi bent down a little and whispered into her ear, "Bye Ran." He broke the embrace and started walking towards the car.
Ran stood there alone, confused about how she should be feeling and about what exactly she was feeling at the moment. She knew he... he cared for her, but at the same time it felt like he didn't, like there was something in the way. Something was missing.
"Ah!" Ran gasped, remembering something that she had forgotten. "Wait right here, I've got something for you." And she waited until Shinichi turned around and looked like he was going to stay before she ran upstairs and into the kitchen. She quickly grabbed the chocolate heart she had made earlier for him- the one she spent such a long time making- and ran back downstairs to find Shinichi, looking worse than ever. He was gasping for air a little and had a hand over his heart.
"Here, I made this for you." She presented her chocolate to him. "I wasn't sure if I'd get to give it to you, but it looks like luck was on my side this year!" She smiled at him, and Shinichi couldn't help but feel his heart swell at seeing that.
"Thanks Ran." He told her, and took the heart in his slightly quivering hands. He took a small bite off the end, and chewed it carefully.
"Well?" She asked him, feeling anticipation in waiting for his answer.
"It's great!" Shinichi smiled boyishly at her, "Best I've ever eaten!"
"R-really?" She blushed a little, not suspecting such high praise from him.
"Yeah!" He exclaimed, taking another bite from the heart and chewing it energetically, still smiling at her. She giggled a little at how silly he was looking, but then sighed after a short moment.
"Do you really have to go?" She asked him sadly, to which he had to nod to since he was still eating the chocolate. He swallowed, and then tried to say something, but Ran had come up close and gave him a small kiss which made him stop in his tracks. It was absolutely magical, her lips pressed against his, and his body acted without his consent and pushed back into the sweet kiss. Although it was short, the effects still fogged his mind with faint pleasure for minutes afterwards.
"Come back here as soon as you're done, okay?" She asked him, blushing furiously from just giving her first kiss. She could actually taste the chocolate from Shinichi's lips on hers now.
Shinichi grinned widely. "With that type of motivation, how can I not?" Ran reddened even further at the statement, which made Shinichi only find her more cute. "Goodbye Ran," He said more seriously, bringing a tenseness back into the conversation, "I'll see you later." And with a wave of his hand, he turned around and went down the stairs to get to the car. She watched him coughing into his hand as he got into the automobile and wondered if he'd be alright.
"Thanks for helping me with this Agasa," whispered Shinichi to the cloaked driver, out of range of Ran's hearing, "I just wish I could've had more time."
"You know how it is," Agasa whispered back, "Since Haibara didn't have time to make the full antidote, we had to use the cold pill and that Paikaru liquor, and you don't get much time with that..." Agasa looked out the window at the girl standing silently at the entrance to her house. "Are you sure this was worth it?"
"No doubt." He said simply, and coughed into his hand, feeling a bad headache coming on.
Tan watched the car as Shinichi and the driver seemed to talk a little. He coughed again, and she was suddenly reminded of something else. Right as the car took off, she nearly jumped down the stairs and chased the car a bit, yelling "You'd BETTER not have given me your cold!"
"Of course not!" He laughed back out the open window. Ran waved him away as the car faded away in the distance. She walked back to her house, still feeling a little puzzled. She probably should have been feeling abandoned, or sad that he was gone, but right now nothing could have brought down her mood. Maybe it was the kiss-
She blushed again at the thought. She had just gone up and kissed him without any warning. Oh well... she had just gone with her instinct, and now she was happy that she did. And she was able to give her chocolate to him for the first time since he left-
Now that she thought about it... She licked her lips to get at the chocolate that Shinichi had 'left behind'.
...He was right. It did taste good.
Wow, even on the last one I'm still begging you for input. But still, a writer must have input, or he'll never improve. So if you don't mind, click that little "Go" down by the "Submit Review" box. It could even be one word.
Happy Valentine's Day!!!