Detective Conan - Magic Kaito oneshots

Family Secrets

Originally Shinichi wasn't meant to be sick for this, but then I got my first and hopefully only taste of the 'ronies, so someone had to suffer with me.

The box in the secret space, beneath the floor boards of his father's private study, not the library where Yusaku usually worked, the study, the only room in the house that Shinichi was forbidden from entering without explicit permission and active supervision, the box covered in cobwebs and dust, contained the end of Shinichi's world as he knew it. The end of the truth about his entire family as he knew it.

He should've been more shocked, but then again he'd just healed, one could maybe call it that if it was limited to the physical sense of the word, from over a year of living in a shrunken body, so he was kind of experienced at having his entire worldview spontaneously upended.

And if he was to be pedantic about it he was still healing, still hoping that the weakness of his muscles, the fragility of his immune system, the increased instability of his bones, his cells, wouldn't last, still hoping the nightmares that bordered on panic attacks on bad nights would leave him alone one glorious day in the future.

Peace and quiet, order and tranquility, were things of the past, a past that seemed so blurry in his memory as if it had been decades and not just one single year ago.

He had been taught many lessons the hard way, that year. Had seen a lot of things beyond his imagination, beyond his comprehension. He'd learned to stay afloat amidst the chaos, because he couldn't allow it to drown him. And at some point it became second nature, nothing he even needed to put energy into.

So he wasn't shocked when another revelation came along, this one tilting his picture of his heritage on its head. It obviously would've been too much to ask to give him the time to resettle himself in his old life as Shinichi Kudo in peace. But Shinichi did what he had gotten best at, rolled with the punches.

And maybe it was his own fault a bit as well that he even found out in the first place. The past year had greatly helped him to clean up his act, anyone with the necessary knowledge and contact to Shinichi before and after shrinking could clearly see that living as Conan was a massively humbling experience for the young detective.

Had helped him overcome some emotional constipation, helped to reevaluate when to put the facade of the arrogant macho to use and when it was actually worth being vulnerable, dropping pretense. But what shrinking had not cured was his limitless curiosity.

And so Shinichi found himself in the door of his father's study, not remembering how he got there, what he could possibly want in there, how he'd gotten the door unlocked. Had Haibara drugged him when he'd been next door this morning?

It was one of those days where his thoughts were too chaotic for him to reign in, he couldn't remember. He might've forgotten to eat and drink again... and sleeping, yeah... Sleep deprivation also played its part, probably, his eyes and head ached, pounding home the, literally, painfully small number of hours he'd slept in the last few days. At this point he could smell the scent of sleep on the sheets of his bed from across the room.

Nightmares and cases, more cases, more nightmares. Who could've known that the police would come knocking down his door with cases they wanted his help with as soon as he was back (in his own body). Well, he should've known, should've expected it really. Had kind of been occupied with other things though.

Like telling his friends the truth about his absence. And then weathering their rightful fury, then hoping, waiting for their forgiveness. Ran and Sonoko's hurt faces etched into the back of his eyelids for the two weeks it took them to process his story, the fear of losing his best and only friends up until high school driving up his cholesterol to unhealthy levels.