Soooo, hi.

In this chapter, I incorporated Ran's perspective since I have something else planned for this fic. ;) Read the A/N at the bottom to find out. :)

IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER! ASDHJGASHJD! I finally finished a multi-chapter story! Yay! *cough* even though its pretty short. *cough*

ANYWAYS! Second semester has started in school.. and guess what?! I got an early acceptance to my very first choice in University! YAAAAY!

Also. I just want to point this out just in case some people get pissed off at me for not replying to reviews and PMs. LOL. I'm sorry, between school, writing, finding a job and being hypersomnia-ic (I NEED at least 13 hours of sleep everyday. Its not even funny.) I can't find the will to reply to any of yous. But, just know from the bottom of my heart...

THANK YOU! YOU GUYS MAKE MY DAY! *kisses and hugs and glomps all of yous*

And from time to time, the long criticizing comments some of you leave just practically makes my heart swell. I appreciate the inputs and the pointing out of mistakes.. it helps me A LOT. :) Again, thank you. :*

So, without further ado... The last chapter of Choking on a Lifesaver!

DISCLAIMED.

When Ran had heard him scream, she was frantically running and asking people if they saw a small bespectacled boy wandering around on his own. The scream had startled almost everyone in the vicinity of the sound wave, most people choosing to walk away as far as possible from where it resounded from.. but not Ran. She knew the voice (having concluded it to be Conan) and she was scared, to say the least. Conan had never screamed like his life depended on it. No matter what.

So with the thought of saving her wayward little brother from whatever it was hurting him, she ran towards the back alley, unconsciously noting that it was the same as the one Shinichi ran to the night he 'disappeared'. It never really registered with her; the only thought she had was Conan... and the sight she stumbled upon almost made her want to scream as well..

On his knees, the child looked like there was something killing him from the inside, blue eyes so wide Ran thought it was gonna burst out of its sockets. She was about to call out when Conan slumped on the ground on his hands and knees, crawling a few feet before finally collapsing; tired, dull eyes staring at the black canvas above them.

"..Conan-kun?" She cautiously called out, slowly making her way towards him.

The child jumped before grabbing his head in one hand, pushing at the bridge of his nose as he collapsed on the wall. Ran hurried her way towards him, looking him over for any bodily harm as he slowly brought his gaze up to meet hers, bringing in a small weak smile, "You found me, Ran-neechan.."

Ran bit her lip, gathering the even smaller looking child to her arms as she sat on the grass, encasing him in a tight hug as tears flowed down her face, "What happened, Conan-kun?" she asked the little boy that buried his face in the crook of her neck, "Did someone hurt you?"

He shook his head, his breathing uneven as if he was crying, yet Ran knew he wasn't, "..I just remembered something bad." he croaked, his voice sounding awfully hoarse. And from the scream he let out, she didn't doubt why it was so.

Shifting so that her back was leaning on the same wall Conan had been leaning on, she tightened her hold on the fragile child, noting the way he seemed to whimper ever so softly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

For a while they sat in silence, happy chatter muffled by distance flowing towards them, and Ran thought that the bespectacled child had fallen asleep. Once she was about to stand, he spoke, in a voice far too weary and far too tired to her liking, "...I hate this place." he murmured, shivering slightly.

Ran frowned, Why would he hate an amusement park? "Why?" She prompted, hoping that the child would let go of what was troubling him so deeply that it looked like it was going to kill him, "Was it because of some ride you went on?" She asked, and she almost scoffed at her words. This was Conan, for God's sake! If it was any normal child, she would've agreed, but she knew, deep down, that this child was different. That he had some sort of secret he didn't want the world to know.. and if he was willing to share it to her, she'd listen with everything she had and comfort him as he did her whenever Shinichi's lengthened absence took a toll on her.

"No, it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"This is where everything started." He whispered, almost too softly.

Everything? She wondered to herself, choosing not to speak. Instead, she waited for the little boy to continue his monologue. She unwound an arm from Conan's frame to wipe the tear residues off her cheeks and eyes by the sleeves of her jacket, before returning it to its place around his shoulders.

This seemed to have encouraged Conan, choosing the moment Ran settled to speak, "...My whole life, I've set my future into something definite and attainable." He started, raising his arms that were hanging uselessly by his sides to wrap around Ran's neck, settling his cold hands on the nape of her neck, underneath her long hair. He felt her shiver slightly, tightening her hold on him even more, "The day I came here, everything came crashing down."

She hummed softly, closing her eyes as she leaned her cheek on the crown of his head, the unnatural cowlick that reminded her of Shinichi pleasantly brushing against her nose. He smells like mint. She thought absently, once more waiting for the child to continue.

"I was thrown from my comfort zone into somewhere I had no idea how to act." He murmured, his voice growing softer, "No one listens to me seriously anymore, I have to actually deceive people and lie to them to get to the stupid truth.."

This caught Ran's attention. She frowned, opening her eyes a fraction as she gazed around them, trees and bushes obscuring them from view, yet, she stayed quiet, not wanting to disrupt the child unless he clams up again.

"But that doesn't even matter.. because at the same time, if it weren't for what happened, I wouldn't have experienced everything I did now." He said, fisting his small hands, sharp nails almost digging into the sensitive skin of Ran's neck, "I lost everything that mattered to me before.. but now, those things are just useless to me now. Fame, money.. all those stereotypical crap that make people happy." He ground his teeth together, making Ran wince at the painful sound, "And now I found things I'm gonna have trouble letting go off when Haibara finally makes that goddamned antidote.."

Finally speaking, Ran asked, "...You're sick, Conan-kun?"

He chuckled darkly, "Definitely sick."

"From what?"

He took the time to answer. He didn't even know why he was telling Ran all this when one slip could cost him his identity and her trust. When one slip and she would connect the dots showing that Edogawa Conan is the child-sized version of the Kudo Shinichi she knew. Though saying they were the same was probably stretching the truth already... He knew, as clear as water, that he wasn't that same person; the person the hogged all the fame he could get, that reveled in chasing down criminals for the adrenaline (though he did have that ever hatred towards murderers before that he had now, just not as pronounced), the person that looked but never saw.. No, he was a kid before; a brat. He scoffed, the irony of his situation getting the best of him. How is it that when he actually shrunk, he became much more mature and weary than his older version? Especially considering his line of work. He shook his head, remembering Ran was with him, "Homesickness?" He said, unsure, "But I wouldn't actually call it that since there's only one thing I miss from my old life.."

"..Your.. old life..?" Ran repeated, "So you probably miss your parents, huh?" She asked, though her tone sounded as unsure as she felt. Conan never showed any kind of weakness regarding his parents. Its as if they never even existed. Startled out of her thoughts by his sudden laugh, she let go of him, unwrapping herself from his tiny body and staring at him with endless curiosity, "Conan-kun?"

"I haven't lived with my parents in a long time, Ran..-neechan," he said, catching his slip, standing and stepping out of her hold to stand a few feet away from her.

Ran frowned at the new information, much more confused with the mystery of Conan than she had been in the beginning, "Then what?" She asked, annoyance slipping into her tone.

You. He thought, smiling at her. He shook his head, "It's nothing."

She narrowed her eyes at him before an idea struck her, "Then," she started, "Which life do you prefer?" She asked, grinning her innocent smile that always made Conan blush and think naughty thoughts.

"Eh?"

"Which life do you prefer?" She repeated, bringing her face closer to his, "This one, or your old one?"

Conan blinked, he never really did think about that. Sure, he'd take the antidote as soon as it was available, but if he had to choose which life he would continue living; Kudo Shinichi's set life, where everyone he knew bowed to his every whim and especially with the unavoidable fame he would get when he took down the BO... but maybe he could ask Megure-keibu and the FBI to keep his name out? But then again, he wouldn't be able to graduate high school when he already missed a year.. Conan's life was fine, better even.. He's made friends-real friends-that would stick with him no matter what, he knew what being humble means, and the peaceful and carefree(if you didn't count the dozens of murders he came across with as well as the constant need to hide) life he lived was refreshing.. and it was tempting to just tell Haibara not to continue the antidote so he can start over... But, he grinned, looking at Ran with unbridled love, "..Where Ran-neechan will accept me, of course." He chirped.

Blinking, Ran swore she saw Shinichi instead of Conan. She shook her head, not again. It isn't even plausible... She smiled at Conan, "I'll accept you no matter what, Conan-kun," she assured, "Don't worry." She stood up, dusting her pants and grabbing her phone to text a quick message to Sonoko saying she found Conan.

Unbeknownst to her, Conan threw her a sad smile, "Promise?" He asked, knowing full well he didn't mean it.

Without looking away from her phone, her eyes softened, her thoughts on the little boy beside her as they took their first steps outside the muddle of grass they sat on contemplatively, reaching for his hand as she pressed the send button. She looked down at him, smiling a melancholy smile, "I promise." She said as they stepped back out into the crowd-filled walkways of Tropical Land.

Conan looked away, keeping his face blank as he stared unseeing to the front, "I'm not gonna hold you to it." He muttered softly as they rounded the fountain just as it shot its wall of water up once again.

Ran frowned, "Why?" She asked, "Is it because you don't trust me?" She blinked, she wan't exactly gonna ask him about trust of all things, but it suddenly slipped from her mouth. She cleared her throat.

Conan's head shot up to meet her, blue eyes narrowed in curiosity, but seeing the confusion written in her face, he grinned, "Of course I trust you!" He said, "Your the person I trust most, Ran-neechan."

"But why won't you believe my promise?"

He sobered from his grin, eyes filling with self-pity along with the world-weariness Ran had come to know from the child, "..You'll hate me." He whispered, enough for her to hear.

"Eh?" Ran frowned, stopping in her steps as she gazed down at the boy refusing to meet her gaze. Several times she'd seen him like this when he thought no one was looking, and in those times, she never saw a little bespectacled seven-year-old boy, but a person so tired and so lonely... "Who are you, really, Conan-kun?"

He looked up, deep blue eyes showing unhidden paranoia in a moment before disappearing as fast as it appeared. He smiled, not his usual grin, but a soft, languid smile that taunted her, "That's a mystery for another day, Ran-neechan.." He said, letting go of her hand and walking ahead.

"Conan-kun!" From the distance, Ayumi's voice called out, running towards the two solemn friends, Genta and Mitsuhiko right behind her leaving Ai walking in step beside a waving Sonoko. Coming up to him, she gushed, "We thought you got kidnapped!"

Behind her, Genta huffed, "And to think you call yourself smart."

Since when did I call myself smart? Conan sweatdropped, just as Ran came up behind him, shooting him a concerned yet suspicious look, "Well, I just got distracted.." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck in a show of embarrassment.

Sonoko came up to him a stern frown on her face, the grin she had focused on Ran gone as soon as she laid her gaze on Conan, "Well, I think we should've left you!" She scolded, pointing her finger at him in a jabbing motion, "You cost us an hour looking for you instead of fetching dinner and enjoying the rest of the night!"

About to get her thoughts across to protect Conan from the mean neechan, Ayumi opened her mouth only to be cut off by Ran, "Sonoko.. It's fine." She said in a consciously sad voice as she remembered the state she found him in, "It wasn't his fault."

Sonoko glanced at her with worry, noting the slight down tone in her best friend's voice. Ran shook her head, mouthing an 'I'll tell you later' that Conan didn't miss, before ushering the children to the exit. She was suddenly tired, and though she was sure the children didn't want to go home anytime soon, she wanted to keep Conan away from this place as much as possible.

No matter how she looked at it though, she didn't understand what the child had been spewing off just minutes ago. His old life? He was seven! And what the heck did he mean by her hating him? She shook her head, once again gaining a worried glance from Sonoko which she ignored.

As they rode the bus home, Sonoko chatting amiably beside her and the Shounen Tantei a few seats away from them, Ai and Conan talking in hushed tones, she felt something click within her. It was time she stopped ignoring what was tugging at her gut and face it head on.

She was gonna solve Edogawa Conan's case no matter what it took.

And maybe then, the child will finally let her in.

Sequel?

Actually, as been seen in my past fics, I tend to partner up the cast with someone they rarely interact with or just normal canon shtuff. I was planning on Sonoko being the one to find Conan, but then, I'll leave it for another time, cause I have a different idea for those two. So I used Ran! Yay! Canon! xD Anyway, I am planning on a sequel, I just dunno when to start it. Plus, there's still Behind Glinting Glasses to finish (and the other stories on hiatus) soooooo, the sequel probably won't come up for the next few months.

Again, reviews and criticisms are greatly appreciated! :)