Disclaimer: Detective Conan is mine… in my dreams:D

I know! I know! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. To be perfectly honest, I had been thinking of giving up on fanfiction entirely… until I reread this story again. Seriously. I read it and I was like… did I write that? There's no way I could let this story just disappear. Yeah, I know. Something I should have realized a LONG time ago. Sorry!

Anyway. I hope you all haven't forgotten what this story is all about. Reread it if you have to, it'll be a nice reminder… (pretty please?) And I just worked out the dates for the cultural festival and Valentine's Day… etc. Anyhow, it all works out. :D

Enjoy!

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Silent Life

Chapter Eleven

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Her eyes narrowed at the sight of a laughing girl hugging a small brown-haired child. In a few days… he had told her. Not tomorrow!

So why exactly was she stuck in the airport at seven in the morning? There were so many other things she could be working on… more important things… like the development of APTX's antidote. And yet here she was.

Haibara sighed and reluctantly tore her gaze away from the happy couple. They really were a happy couple. They deserved to be happy. She deserved nothing.

"Ai-chan! It's been so long!" Ran walked over to the small girl and enveloped her in a warm hug. When there was no response, she drew away and smiled. "How've you been? I heard from Mitsuiko-kun and Genta-kun that you and Conan-kun are together! Is that true?"

"N-No!" Conan ran over to the two of them and waved his arms wildly. "That… that was just a dare, right Ai?" He looked over at her for confirmation… and reassurance. She nodded back at him.

She shouldn't be feeling this way. Just yesterday she had told him to not think of her as anything other than a friend. So why was she so… she didn't even want to say it… jealous. But… she couldn't help it. Last night she had dreamt of Shuichi again… but at the end of her dream, his face became… Shinichi's.

"Edogawa-kun is right," Haibara crossed her arms, remaining distant from the other two. "There's nothing going on."

She didn't have to look at him, she could already feel the frown forming on his face. He had asked her to call him Shinichi… Conan… but there was no way she could bring herself to be any more familiar with him. She wanted so much to do just that, but the biochemist genius had a sinking feeling that she was already having a lot of trouble letting go.

"But you call her Ai now," Ran's eyes went from Conan to Haibara and back to Conan again.

Yes… he calls me Ai now.

A part of Haibara felt like she herself had killed any possibility of a relationship with Conan when she pushed him away the day before. But it was all for the best. He was just confused… but then again, so was she.

"It was part of the dare, but the name just stuck," she handed Ran the red scarf she had been knitting before. She had thought long and hard about it, and in the end she had finished it. "Um… here." Haibara avoided the older woman's gaze. "I had made this for you before as a going away present, but I was sick on that day so I couldn't give it to you…"

She could feel Conan's eyes on her. It hurt that the eyes were surprised. Had he really thought that she had refused to see Ran off? Clearing her throat, she continued, "I know it really isn't cold in America like it is in Japan but-"

She never got the chance to finish her sentence. Ran had already pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you…" she whispered. Shiho's eyes closed. This kind of feeling… felt so familiar. Just like when Akemi… except she wasn't Akemi. Haibara gave Ran an awkward pat on the bat before gently pushing her away.

"You're welcome."

The karate champion straightened up and wrapped the scarf around her neck. "It's so soft… thank you…"

"You needn't repeat yourself. One thanks is more than enough." Haibara knew she was being cold, but she couldn't help herself. Her small, albeit meaningless, but still important to her… dream vacation with Shinichi was over.

Conan elbowed her in the ribs, "You don't need to be so mean about it." He whispered. "She was just being nice."

She knew. And it made her feel all the worse. This simply confirmed everything she had already known. That Ran and Shinichi were made for each other, and that she was just a cold-hearted scientist causing the both of them so many problems…. And yet they were still so kind to her.

After watching her for a moment, Ran smiled and took the strawberry-blonde's hand. "Ne… Ai-chan, why don't you and I go have a girl's day out today?"

"What?" Haibara looked up, started.

"I said I wanted to spend the day with you. You wouldn't refuse me, right? I'm only here for today and tomorrow!" Haibara had a sneaking suspicion that Ran was up to something. Her smile was too large, and it was odd that anyone would want to spend the entire day with her.

She wished Shinichi would ask to spend the day with her.

… where did THAT come from?

Well, she knew where it had come from… but she didn't think that she'd actually… think it out loud… (weird) She was getting weak. Emotions were beginning to soften her iron-grip control over herself. There had been only one thing she had been grateful to the organization about. It was the ability to shield herself away from pain. Not shield… more like numb… but it worked wonders when she was sad. There was no way she could let go of that. It was her one lifeline.

Haibara turned to look at Conan who seemed a little disappointed.

Because he couldn't spend time with his precious Ran-neechan.

"I… wouldn't you rather spend time with Edogawa-kun and Mouri-san? I mean… I don't do much… I don't really talk much either," her eyes were unconsciously glued to Conan even as she spoke to Ran. She'd decided in her heart to make him happy. If he wanted to be with Ran, she wouldn't deny him.

Ran seemed to notice, and a tiny smile appeared on her lips, "Unless you and Conan-kun had some other plans today?"

His dark brown eyes regarded the two of them for a moment. He gave Haibara a lopsided smile. "Nah… You two should go on ahead. We can rehearse lines together some other day."

Not that the two of them had been planning to rehearse anyway. He had planned on being stuck to his "older sister" all day long.

"Then it's decided! Otou-san!" She waved her father over. "Can you take my stuff back home for me? I'm spending the day with Ai-chan!"

As she spoke, Conan tapped Haibara on the shoulder and whispered into her ear, "Are… you sure about what you said yesterday? I…" He looked at Ran. "I… still… I… I don't know… I…"

Her eyes were comforting and she shushed him with a gentle pat on the back. "I told you to just trust me, didn't I? Ask me one more time and I'll really get mad."

The sheer intensity of the look he had on his face… the look that was directed at her, Haibara Ai… Miyano Shiho… was impossible for a child of seven or eight to possess. She had never felt something so… extremely… deep before. Even Shuichi hadn't looked at her that way. It scared her.

His eyes searched hers, as if looking for the right answer, but he found none. She was sure of it. She let no emotion cross her face… no sign of the love she felt for him. She would return Kudou Shinichi his normal life… and make him happy if it was the last thing she did. And his happiness was centered around Mouri Ran.

"I…"

She gave him a look that warned him not to say any more, but he continued anyway. "I need a favor then."

"A favor?"

"Yes… I-"

"Let's go, Ai-chan!" Ran took her hand abruptly and began leading her out of the airport. "Want to go to the mall today? I'll help you pick out some clothes… you'll look really nice!"

Haibara swallowed a nasty comment about how Ran's fashion sense would never be able to quite match up to her own and looked back at her small detective.

Her small detective… what she wouldn't give to be able to voice that out loud. It sounded so… right. It felt good to just think it… but she knew it wasn't true. She always did love to lie to herself.

He waved his arms at her frantically, trying to get her attention before forming his pinky and thumb into a "phone" sign and putting it next to his ear.

So he'd give her a call later to let her know about his favor. The favor… which most likely had to do with becoming big again.

Haibara looked up at the girl who was in reality younger than she was. This is the woman that Kudou Shinichi loved and deserved, and she deserved to be happy too.

As soon as they had left the airport, the young scientist pulled her hand out of Ran's grip. There was no reason to act cozy with Ran when Kudou wasn't around. She had only held hands with the girl Shinichi loved because it'd make him feel better.

She had to fight the tiny spark of hope in her heart… it was all Kudou's fault anyway. What on earth had possessed him to act has he had the day before? The feelings that had slept dormant inside her heart were beginning to bubble to the surface. A chance to be with him… she shook her head furiously before coolly crossing her arms.

"And what exactly are you planning, Ran-san?" her eyes shifted over to Conan's real object of affection. "This is… a little sudden, and I can assure that my wardrobe is hardly lacking."

How was it that whenever she was alone with the woman, Haibara couldn't bring herself to act the child that she was supposed to be impersonating! Was it that she didn't want to lose to her?

To her surprise, Ran didn't answer her, and instead took her hand once again (her iron karate grip kept Haibara from pulling away), leading her across the street and into a small dessert shop.

Something was definitely out of place, and Miyano Shiho's ever instinct screamed that Ran was up to something… though in Ran's case, the 'something' probably had good intentions behind it. Haibara should have been able to relax. The store itself… it was called Peach Sunday, was pretty and peaceful enough. Light cream-colored walls with large windows letting the sunlight slip through the clear panes… white chairs and tables… kind looking waiters and waitresses.

She decided to blame her paranoia on her lack of sleep, once again courtesy of a certain Japanese Sherlock Holmes.

A waitress walked over to their table. "What would you like to eat Ai-chan?" the girl's sweet giggle was innocent enough, but the mischievous glint in her eye made Haibara uneasy.

She absentmindedly twirled a strand of strawberry-auburn hair around her finger and frowned, "Coffee will be fine. Preferably espresso." Something strong would wake her up, espresso had become a favorite of hers ever since she'd come to live in Hakase's house and was frequently up trying to make an antidote for APTX 4869. A rueful smile crept onto her face as she realized that she had never worked so hard for the organization before… finally a thought she could be proud of.

"Ai… chan…"

Haibara looked up before inwardly smacking herself across the face. Both the waitress and Ran were looking at her as if she was crazy. She managed a shaky laugh, "Uh… haha. I wanted to see what you would say if I ordered coffee… um… a vanilla cream soda please."

The waitress laughed and marked the orders down before leaving. Ran, on the other hand, kept staring at her.

"Ai-chan…" she sighed and shook her head before smiling. "Never mind."

Haibara decided it would be better not to ask. She turned to look out the window, but Ran's voice stopped her.

"Ai-chan, you like Conan-kun, don't you?"

Her eyes widened. Any normal elementary school child would have turned bright red, began to stutter, and try to avoid the older girl's gaze. She, however, was not an ordinary elementary school child.

She looked straight over at the brunette. "No," she lied. "the relationship you heard about between us was just a dare. You can ask Yoshida-san too." Haibara made a mental note to immediately inform Ayumi that her "relationship" with Conan was off.

"That's not what I meant," there was a kind smile on Ran's face. "I mean… I think that you really like him!"

When there was no response from Haibara, she continued. "You're always so serious and mature… and so cool about everything, but when you look over at Conan-kun, and he's not looking… there's just…" She trailed off.

"Just…?" Miyano Shiho wanted to slam her forehead on the table in front of her… hard. What was she thinking encouraging Ran to continue?

Ran thanked the waitress who brought their desserts over. "Just that…" she leaned her chin on her hands. "You have this very gentle look in your eyes when you look at him. That's why… I think you like him."

That had done it. Haibara did her best to battle the furious pink stain that was threatening to spill over onto her cheeks, but she had the sinking feeling that she was failing. "I…" she stammered. "Edogawa-kun and I are not like that."

"You're blushing," the high school girl giggled. "I just wanted to tell you that I think Conan-kun likes you too… and-"

"Why are you telling me this?" Haibara cut her off. She couldn't bring herself to look over at Ran. The girl had no idea what she was saying. She didn't know that Edogawa Conan was, in reality, Kudou Shinichi.

"Because I want to get to know you better and because I want to give the two of you a hand!" Haibara noted bitterly that the happy wink Ran had given her was eerily like the one Akemi had given her when the two of them had chatted about Shuichi.

Shuichi and Shinichi… was it ironic that their names were so similar? Fate must hate her. She was one of the worst of the bad guys… the very person who had created APTX, and she was always falling for the good guys - an FBI agent and a brilliant detective.

"I was just thinking that maybe I could set the two of you up on a real date! What do you think, Ai-chan?"

She sighed. "Ran-san…"

"Mou! I keep telling you to call me Ran-neechan!"

Haibara ignored the comment and continued, "What makes you think that the person Edogawa-kun likes is me? If anyone, I think the person he has his eyes on is you."

"So you admit that you like Conan-kun?" Ran smiled at Haibara's blush. The small blonde was really a good person at heart, she could tell. It was sad that someone so tiny was so serious… a little girl should enjoy her childhood more! "I just get the feeling that the two of you would go so well with each other. I mean, you're both very mature and similar in a lot of ways! Plus, I keep catching Conan-kun staring at you when he thinks no one is looking."

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Conan looked over at the sleeping Mouri Kogoro, and hid a smile. While it wasn't uncommon for him to be sleeping in the middle of the day, today he hadn't been drinking… at least not yet. Even if he was a huge failure as a detective, Conan had to admit that he was a father that cared a lot about his daughter. The man hadn't been able to sleep at all last night, he'd been too excited about Ran coming home.

"You must be disappointed that Ran is spending the day with Ai…" he murmured before checking his watch. It was already three in the afternoon… a little over four and a half hours… the two of them should be done shopping.

Ran he wasn't so sure about, but he doubted that Ai was much of a shopper though she was always looking at those fashion magazines.

I think… it'll be okay to call now.

He dialed Haibara's cell phone.

Ring… ring… ring… "Moshi moshi?"

Conan smiled at the sound of her voice. "Hey Ai, would it be okay for the two of us to meet now?"

"Kudou-kun!"

He frowned at how off-balance she sounded. "Sorry, was I interrupting something?"

"No… not at all…"

Was it just him or did she sound embarrassed? "Where are you now? Is Ran still with you?" He looked to make sure that the sleeping detective hadn't woken up.

"I'm in a restaurant called Peach Sunday. And yes, Ran-san is here… she just went to the restroom, but I think this is a good place for our conversation to end. As much I love to spend time with the girl of your dreams I think I'll leave the hour-long chats with her to you."

He grinned. Maybe he had been imagining things, this was the same old, sarcastic Haibara he knew and loved. Loved… he had a feeling that if Ai could hear his thoughts, she'd slap him.

"Hold on a second… Ran-san! One of my friends just called me, and I have to go now. Thank you for the vanilla soda. I hope you have a nice visit."

He waited until he heard her leave the store before speaking again, "I guess you really do like vanilla don't you?"

"Don't you know it's rude to listen to other people's conversations Kudou-kun? I realize that we had both already established that I was more of a sherry, but it's not as if I could order wine at a dessert shop. I actually ordered coffee first but… forget it. Where do you want to meet up?"

"I'll see you at Hakase's house then."

"It'll take me at least an hour to get there."

"I don't mind waiting."

"… okay. Bye then."

"Bye." The shrunken detective stuffed his hands into his pockets and stepped out of the apartment. He walked in the direction of the professor's house but stopped half way.

Peach Sunday… that was the place Hakase had brought him and the detective boys for some desserts a few months ago. If he remembered correctly, Haibara would have to take the Red Line train to get back…

Conan took off in a light jog towards the subway station. It wasn't far, he might as well surprise her by meeting up with her there.

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To Be Continued…

And yes, I guarantee that it will be continued, though maybe slowly. School is starting and I really want to finish my other story Hidden Secrets soon… it's near its closing!

Anyhow, please review and tell me what you think about the way the story is progressing!