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3. Conflicted

"Ran! Where have you been? I was getting worried, and why are you all wet? Haven't you an umbrella? It's almost eight - another five minutes and I would have called a police search for you!" Ran gazed blankly at her father's unusually anxious face.

"Where were you?" He urged her. Ran opened her mouth and closed it again. What should she say? That she stood half an hour out in the rain, sobbing helplessly, until a car pulled over and asked her whether she needed a lift home? As if her father would approve!

"Karate practice, you know, Dad," she said with a brave attempt at normalcy. But apparently Kogoro Mauri was not fooled. He opened his mouth as if to say something but quickly closed it. Sighing, he grabbed a towel lying on the sofa and tossed it to Ran. "Use it otherwise you will probably get pneumonia!" He said. Turning away from her he said, "Your eyes are red -you have been crying but I don't know what's wrong with you... " He paused, then looking directly at her said, "I hear that kid's back." When she didn't say anything, he continued carefully, "I don't know what has happened between you both but if that kid's hurt you again then I swear…"

"No Dad," she hadn't intended to shout but it came out as a high-pitched scream. "You don't understand."

"Oh, don't I?" said Mr Maury, "I am your father young lady! You think I never saw you cry all those days? You were a wreck without him! You think I never saw you search for Kudo in Conan's face… " Ran winced; it was the first time her father had said Shinichi's name out loud. She had not expected him to remember Shinichi's name let alone how he looked like 10 years ago.

"… phone conversations begging him to come back," her father continued, "I can never forgive him for … for what he did to you! Never!"

"But Dad... "

"Oh yes," said Kogorou lowering his voice, "I heard about the Conan-business from Inspector Megure, but that doesn't give him the right to hurt you. Be reasonable, Ran."

Ran pondered over this; her father was apparently right but she had already forgiven Shinichi for all the times he had hurt her, his lies, broken promises… she was ready to forgive him… to start afresh… but was he?

Kogorou cleared his throat. "Dad?" Ran turned to him, still going over things in her head. Kogorou frowned then shook his head; this sort of thing was best suited to his wife or to be precise: his ex-wife, Eri, but in this case it was necessary, no, absolutely imperative to take stock of the situation and figure out how best to deal with it. Kogorou mulled over things, smiling slightly as he thought of ways to deal with the situation, the most tempting one being a judo kick right in Kudou's gut.

He sighed. Maybe that would probably not go down well with Ran. He stood up. "Why don't you have a bath? I will have dinner ready by then and then we can perhaps have a little tête-à-tête together, yes? Ran laughed, in spite of herself, "But you can't cook, Dad!" "No matter", Kogoro huffed, "We will order in some takoyaki… but don't tell your mom, okay? She still thinks I am learning to cook."

Ran let out a small smile. He tries so hard, she thought to herself, I must look happy – at least for his sake. "Sounds great, Dad!" she said, aloud before turning away, "I'll be right back".

Kogoro's smile turned into a frown as soon as her back was turned. He picked up his cell phone and typed in a text.

It is as we suspected. He's back and she can barely handle it.

He hit 'Send" and proceeded to order dinner. This would suffice for tonight.

Her cell phone beeped. She frowned at the disturbance and peered at it over a pile of neatly organized files of her latest case – something about a wife suing her rich husband after running away with his money. It was a far cry from her usual sort of cases – which nearly always involved blood and gore – but fascinating nonetheless. Her work allowed her to engage with all sort of characters and no one knew more than her, about the complexities of human nature, about the various masks people wore – and to what extent they would go to preserve their masks. Here, the law sided with the woman but she had just the most compelling evidence to prove the truth, she thought as she almost caressed a CD lying beneath her personal notes.

Smirking, Eri Kisaki leant over to pick her cell phone. A glance at it, and her smirk vanished as soon as it had formed.

It is as we suspected. He's back and she can barely handle it.

Her face softened as Eri, the famous lawyer, thought of her daughter. I am sorry, Ran, but it seems that the women of our family have a streak of falling for men who break their hearts .

Eri understood teenagers, especially the ones like Ran and Yuki's kid and especially the serious sad ones like Shiho Miyano. Shinichi was essentially a good kid, but whatever he chose – there was nothing he could do except perhaps offer her daughter a shoulder to cry on.

A tear trailed down her cheek.

I won't have you suffer the way I did.

"YA DID WHHAAATTT!"

"There's no need to shout. I told you I need time to figure myself out!"

"YA HAD ALL DA TIME IN DA WORLD!"

"I have been in hiding for the past year but don't worry I have been working on how I feel towards whom. Man, give me a break!"

"Yer crazy Kudo," Heiji sighed, "Ya could've made it up to her and yet ya say yer conflicted. Hell, ya could've been at a date with her right now if only ya had not messed up!"

"I could have, wouldn't I?" Shinichi muttered, "I will think about it. Meanwhile, tell Kazuha to check up on her."

"I'm not tellin' her anythin'. It's yer mess, man, clean it up!" Heiji sighed, then rubbed his temples, "Yer looking at an illusion, boy, it won't work, that ojou chan and you. You both are too similar to truly get along. Any relationship would consume you both and drive you mad."

"If that is all you have to say Hattori, then there are matters I must deal with. Good night!" Shinichi said coldly as he slammed down the phone.

Hattori gazed at the phone. Now what sort of behaviour was that. "Kazuha!" he called out aloud. "What's it?" his girlfriend looked up from her homework.

"I need you to call Ran-chan soon and check on her."

"Roger that." She looked at the phone in his hand, and then at his face, "So it didn't go well. Ah, poor Ran-chan!"

"It's worse. He left her crying on the street. He fled from her, for crying out loud!"

"He didn't!" Kazuha was mortified. Heiji nodded morosely.

Shinichi Kudo tossed and turned in his bed. He couldn't sleep no matter how much he tried. He sat up, feeling breathless. It was a cold night yet a thin sheen of sweat covered him.

Conflicted. Why on earth did he tell Heiji he was conflicted?

What should I do, he thought desperately. Ran, his dear childhood best friend – he couldn't live without her. She made him happy. He felt alive when he was with her. He was lucky to have her. But Haibara – Shiho, he could just not forget her. Though he had known her only for a short time, a deep bond had been formed due to all they had been through together. She matched him in intelligence and wit like no other girl had, and he genuinely wanted to make her happy. Her absence in his life would be physical, like a pulsating ball of energy in his chest, which made him afraid. It would spread over him, consuming him and ultimately, break him. He could not lose her. And lose her he would, if he chose Ran.

Author's note: Thanks to Laura, ads, Meitantei Shinku Ran Edogawa, and Guest for your kind reviews. It made me really happy. About the pairings, all I can say is that you need to stick with the story to find out. Things are not what they seem with Shinichi. However I can understand his confusion, can you guys?

This chapter was a bit longer that the previous two. We get a little insight on the other characters here. I have tried to keep them as canon as possible.

As always, read and review!