Stay! By My Side

Chapter 36

Shinichi's POV

"It's been a month and your life is a mess, Kudo. Not gonna lie."

Hattori and I arrived in this park two hours ago and we decided to stay here for literally no reason. Hattori didn't even ask me anything, in which I was very thankful of, while other person would normally bombarded me with things I didn't have the answers of.

"I must have been look like a lunatic, ain't I?"

"The letter." He paused, looking intently at my face before he continued. "What part of the letter bothered you the most, honestly?"

"Honestly? I don't really know. She left."

"You screwed up, man." He sighed, threw away a random leaf which he'd played of for a while.

"Do I look that bad?" I said, blinked awfully slow, surrendered at the pain growing in my chest.

"You look brokenhearted."

Didn't have any comments on that statement, I continued to drag myself down into a deeper misery and questioned myself. What did I do wrong? Did I make her left? Was I not enough to make her stay?

"What is it in your head now, Kudo?" said Hattori again after a long pause.

I didn't answer that immediately, since I myself didn't really know what's inside my head anymore. Since Haibara took eighty percents of the space. Only when Hattori showed a hint of being impatient did I finally let it out.

"Haibara. I guess?"

"You guess?" He threw me a mixture of disgusted and sympathetic gaze while shaking his head in disbelief. "We both know it's a fact already. Stop self-sabotaging, would you?"

"What self-sabotaging are you talking about?"

"This, Kudo!" He half screamed as he gestured to all of me up and down, his eyes were widening that I thought they might popped out anytime soon. "What you are doing now is self-sabotaging. Please don't tell me you are oblivious enough to not realize what kind of feelings you have for that little lady of yours."

"What are you even talking about right now?"

"You're in love, for God sake."

What? I'm what?

"Oh, come on!" He stood up in frustration while I continued following his movements with my gaze in confusion. "Really, Kudo? And I can't believe you actually are the great detective of the east."

"You know what, I still don't understand where this conversation is going."

And right at the moment, i felt my Shinichi Kudo Cellphone vibrating. Lazily, I took it out of my right pocket and eyeing the caller ID. It's Professor Agasa.

I didn't give much thought as I answered the call until.. "Ran is here," and when I didn't say anything as I was stunned, Agasa continued, "She insisted for all of us to have a dinner together. Please come here soon, I have no idea what's going on."

Still stunned, and mostly feeling bad because I didn't think about Ran at all, I still didn't say anything. "Shinichi? You hear me?" A few beats passed until I was able to bring back my focus on the current circumstances. "Yes, I hear you. Will be back soon, on fifteen minutes. Hang in there, yeah?"

The call got off after the Professor said "Okay, bye, I'm hanging up now!" in some kind of squeaking panic voice. I got up on my feet and cueing Hattori to get back to Agasa's house.

"We need to get back," I said when Hattori followed suit, "Ran's there." And I wonder why.

"Mouri?" Said Hattori while still keeping up with my pace, confused. "What's the matter? Anything from the agency?"

"Don't know. Agasa called in whisper, might be related to Haibara." He just hummed in response, not saying anything further.

We walked in silence, minds occupied by our own separate matters. I promised to arrive in fifteen minutes but we actually took only ten. The front door was opened right at the moment Hattori closed the gate. Agasa must've had been very anxious.

The old man ran off of the front door towards me and Hattori, stumbling and stuttering, clearly was in stress. "Shinichi," he said, panting, making his whispers unclear, "R-R-Ran is here, C-C-Cooking, and A-A-A-Asking about Ai...hh..hh.. Kun."

"Whoa, old man, relax for a bit." Hattori instinctively grabbed Agasa's upper body since he was about to fall down on his leg. "What's wrong?"

And before Agasa could answer his question, a familiar cheerful greet was shouted from inside the house, coming from a certain someone I would call of as My Girlfriend. Well, Shinichi's girlfriend to be precise. If it was Haibara, she would be both Conan and Shinichi's.

Damn, what was inside my mind just now?

"Conan-kun, Heiji-kun, you're here!" She was standing by the door, waving her left hand up above her head while holding a ladle with her other hand. "I'm preparing the dinner. It will be up in a few minutes."

"Ran-Neechan, hello." I left my greeting hanging, not really sure what to say next. Instead, I waved my hand groggily and put on a weak smile.

"Mouri-san! What a pleasure." It seemed that Hattori grasped the situation I was on that he stepped in. And I was thankful for that. "We were just strolling around the neighborhood, me and Conan, looking for a fresh air."

"I didn't expect you to be here, Heiji-kun, honestly speaking." She said, giving Hattori too much of a warm smile it felt odd, while the rest of us headed inside the house.

"I almost think that I would never see you again forever, Conan-kun." She talked to me this time, putting on an act of a pouty sister with her both hands on her waist. "I decided to come here considering you wouldn't come home anymore, you know."

"Ahahaha, it's not like that Ran-Neechan." I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, silently realizing it was a very long time ago since I last paid a visit to the agency. Calling Ran every few days without fail made me forget that myself as Conan had never met her since I didn't remember when.

"It's okay," she said, sounded far away, "I know you must have been missing her these days since she left."

I suddenly stopped walking for an unknown reason. "Um, you mean Haibara?" The question gained an immediate response. Turning her whole body to face me, she then squatted down so we both were in the same height. A few moments passed in silence before her right hand reached the top of my head, nuzzling my hair and said, "Who else would occupy this little head of yours if it's not her?"

Suddenly, I could see every details that's happening in the room. Details like how Agasa's eyes were widened in horror, and how Hattori was having a hard time to hide his surprise, and also how the beautiful irises in front of my eyes slowly reflecting deeper and deeper pain.

And then it all became clear, she cared a lot so I must've had been making her worry. "I'm sorry, Ran-Neechan," was all I could say. I looked away, staring at my feet instead, "I didn't intend to make you worry, I'll visit the agency more often from now on."

"No, it's fine, stay here all you want Conan-kun. I will visit you instead, the Professor wouldn't mind. Would you, Professor?"

"No," Agasa finally found his voice back, "I wouldn't mind, of course."

"Shall we? Dinner?" She's back to her usual kind manner as she gestured toward our well served supper. I felt guilty. But she was always understanding and considerate, and I was thankful for that.

That's Ran for you.

I smiled, genuinely this time, fond of her warmth.

"Finally," Hattori shouted, "a proper meal after days of convenience store nasty food."

Wait a longer Ran, hang in there a little more. I'm getting close to the end of this race.

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Author's note

Hello again to my ever patient readers. Thanks for your kind comments and votes. I really wish you'd enjoy the upcoming chapters. I apologize for taking too long, but I promise you, we are getting close to the end of the race, just like Conan-kun said. :D. Thank you again, see you veryyy veryy soon.