31_days | [March 6, 2008] [Detective Conan/Case Closed] Pulse

Title: Pulse

Day/Theme: March 6: You are everything I –

Series: Detective Conan/Case Closed

Character/Pairing: Shinichi/Ran

Rating: PG13/T

He blinked. He was unsure as to what had woken him up. He blinked again. There was no discernable Annoying Alarm Clock of Death, unless he’d already thrown it out the window and forgotten about it…a hurried trip to said window, looking out and down proved that no, he hadn’t thrown his alarm clock out the window. He heard the faintest of beeping in his ear, however. He shook his head, attributing it to a ringing in his ears. The noise seemed to fade, anyway, so he returned his attention to the problem at hand.

What had woken him up? For that matter…where was he?

Shinichi Kudo blinked again, taking in his surroundings. Bed. Nightstand. Closet. All normal things to have in his room. That was odd though…Something about this wasn’t right. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but…

BEEP

Shinichi jumped, his heart hammering at the intrusive noise. Probably Ran, he reassured himself. Come to yell at me about always being late.

BEEP

He chuckled. If she didn’t come and walk with him to school, she doubtless thought he’d never make it there. He loped into the hallway, descending the stairs and arriving at the front door, uncaring that he was still in his pajamas.

BEEP

He opened the door, mouth open, ready to reprimand her for ringing so many times…but she wasn’t there. Now that was weird. He scratched his head in confusion. Maybe he’d imagined it? But he could have sworn…

“Shinichi?”

He turned at the voice, and saw Ran walking up to the gate. Had she been there before?

“I was just about to ring the bell…why are you standing out here in your pajamas?” Ran looked at him in bewilderment, taking in his bare feet and flannel attire.

Shinichi had the grace to be somewhat embarrassed. “Sorry…I thought I heard something…I’m gonna get ready now…”

He opened the gate for her, but then hastened back into his house, prepared for the marathon it would be to get ready and get to school on time.

And his house was coated in dust. He blinked. …the hell? There was a layer of dust on everything. Ever the detective, he noticed immediately that there were footprints set gently into the carpet. At least five different pairs of feet. Not including his own or Ran’s.

“Shinichi?”

It was Ran again.

“Ran, don’t come in here just yet…” Shinichi started, turning towards her.

“Baka. Hurry up and get dressed. We’re going to be late,” she chastised him, bonking him lightly with her schoolbag.

“But Ran, look at…” Shinichi’s protests died in his throat. Upon turning back to the suspicious dusty room and the footprints…he saw nothing. The scene he’d just beheld wasn’t there. No dust, no footprints…it was unreal.

“Shinichi, are you okay?” Ran had come up to stand next to him. She looked concerned, and rested her hand on his forehead.

BEEP

Shinichi shook his head, blinking. Ran just looked more concerned. “Shinichi, what’s wrong?”

“Did you just hear –”

BEEP

“Shinichi, we’re going to be late for school! Look at the time! Come on!”

And he was dressed in his uniform, outside the gate to his house. He blinked. Well, wasn’t this disconcerting?

He let Ran drag him up the sidewalk, trying to determine what was wrong. Was he suffering from temporary selective amnesia? Narcolepsy? Wouldn’t Ran have said something?

BEEP

And what the hell was that? Didn’t Ran hear it?

“Hey, Ran, did you just hear –”

“Shinichi, go to class!”

And she was gone again. When had they gotten to the school? What was going on?

“Kudo, are you lost?”

Shinichi turned, surprised to see none other than Heiji Hattori. He was walking casually next to Kazuha Toyama, carrying a briefcase over his shoulder.

“Heiji…do you go here?”

Heiji shrugged. “School’s school, right?” he put something in Shinichi’s hands, leaning in and muttering conspiratorially in his ear. “Don’t worry. I haven’t told Ran. But careful; if you don’t tell her soon she’ll probably kill you.”

“Tell her what?”

Heiji pulled back, winking. “Exactly.”

Shinichi blinked, and looked at the object Heiji had given him. It was…a pair of his Dad’s glasses? What would he need these for?

BEEP

…

Everything was hazy. He blinked slowly. It hurt. He felt…hot; like he’d been lying in the sun for days. His lips were cracked and dry…upon trying to run his tongue over them he found something blocking the way.

BEEP

There. It sounded closer now. Maybe he’d finally figure out what it was…

…

BEEP

Shinichi blinked. Where had Heiji gone? He glanced in his hand, only to realize that the glasses were gone. Well, that was weird.

“Shinichi! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Hurry! We’ll miss the play!”

Ran was back. She was pulling him to God-knew-where by the elbow.

“Ran? What are you talking about?”

“I knew you’d forget. I told you months ago that we would be going to this. It’s the play the Primary school is putting on for Parents Week!”

Shinichi frowned. He should have remembered something like that. For that matter…hadn’t he just been at school? A quick overlook to his person proved that he wasn’t in his uniform anymore. He sighed. If the Universe would kindly stop, I’d like to get off, he thought wearily.

“Look! There’re some seats! Hurry! I think it’s starting!”

Shinichi just let Ran continue leading the way, and she sat them comfortably a few rows from the front just as the stage curtains opened.

It proved to be some kind of science fiction story. It was obvious that the kids had been watching too much TV. Shinichi watched in amusement as one large boy got into a brawl onstage with another boy dressed as an alien, shouting about rescuing the Space Princess. The Space Princess, though, was seemingly in love with someone else, and wouldn’t be rescued by anyone but him.

It was really quite the show, considering the kids had thought it up themselves.

“That’s weird.”

“What?”

“I’ve been looking in the program…and he’s not there.”

“Who?”

“You know, Agasa-hakase’s relative? He’s been living at my house while you’ve been gone. Conan.”

“Conan?”

It seemed to strike some kind of chord. It sounded so familiar…He looked up at the stage. Why was it that some of these children seemed so familiar? One girl in particular, a petite girl with short auburn hair, was standing stubbornly by the “escape pod” which was really a glorified cardboard box, looking at him; staring at him with a ferocity that made him uneasy. He quickly looked away from the strange girl, and back to the pain plot.

The Space Princess had refused all help and was now betrothed to a hideous alien monster. The little girl looked out into the audience, casting her eyes about desperately for her rescuer…She smiled. Her eyes had fixed to a point just past Shinichi. He turned, to see what she was looking at.

BEEP

…

Something was brushing his forehead. It was cool, wet, and wonderful on his flaming skin. His throat felt sore. He brought his tongue up to lick his lips, relieved when he was able to do so. Something cold poked his mouth. He tentatively opened it, and was rewarded when something slipped through, cold and crunchy…ice?

He blinked. His head felt like it was on fire. His eyes were burning, too. He shut them. He heard muffled sounds floating about over his head. He couldn’t comprehend them.

BEEP

There it was again. He turned his head toward the sound. He opened his eyes, ignoring the burning. He saw numbers; numbers, switches, and squiggly lines. He closed his eyes. They burned, and it felt better to have them closed. Just for another minute or so though…

…

BEEP

“Shinichi? Hello? Are you in there?”

“What?”

“Have you been listening to a word I’ve said?”

Shinichi glanced around. He was sitting at an outdoor table of a restaurant whose name eluded him. Ran sat across from him, frowning angrily. “I was actually trying to humor you for once, you know,” she said huffily, grabbing her milkshake and sucking the straw in sulkiness.

“I’m sorry…I’ve been having an off day, I guess…” Shinichi said, looking at the half-eaten food before him in amazement. Had he really eaten all that? Without remembering it?

“Hmmph.”

Shinichi shook his head, bringing his gaze back to Ran, smiling apologetically. “I’m sorry, Ran. I shouldn’t be spacing out when you’re trying to talk to me.”

Ran nodded, still looking slightly grumpy. “Fine. Apology accepted. But you have to let me finish my story.”

Shinichi nodded, going for his own drink.

“So…anyway. My dad just randomly sits down. That’s what he’s known for now, you know. He’s the famous “sleeping detective,” known for his unique way of sitting, looking like he’s sleeping when he makes his most brilliant deductions. And he tells us that the guy had come into the apartment before, and he’d mistaken the other actress, Yuko, for Yoko because they looked the same from behind…”

Shinichi paused. This case sounded familiar…

“...And it turns out the real person who killed the guy was –”

“ – himself,” Shinichi intercepted without even realizing what he was saying.

Ran scowled. “You said I hadn’t told you this story before.”

“Yeah…he jumped backwards onto a knife that was frozen in a block of ice, making the allusion that he’d been murdered when it was really an elaborate suicide.”

“Okay, so I have told you that one. Hey, I know! How about the case we solved just recently! There was this famous Potter, and he invited us over because he was a big fan of my dad’s, and then his daughter-in-law had hanged herself…only it was murder! The trick was really kind of simple – the guy had –”

“ – stuck her cell phone in the false bottom of one of the pottery pieces, and when she woke up, when it rang, she was on top of one of the shelves, and so she accidentally fell off and hanged herself.”

Ran looked at Shinichi in amazement.

“How on earth did you know that?”

Shinichi brought his hand to his head. That’s what I’d like to know!

“The only ones there were me, Dad, and Conan. Unless…did Conan tell you about it?”

Shinichi felt like he should be remembering something. What was it?

“Who’s Conan again?”

“You know, that kid with glasses? You’ve met him before. He fancies himself a detective, and so he follows my dad everywhere.”

Shinichi looked at his hand, gasping in surprise when he saw the glasses there…the glasses that Heiji had put in his hand that morning.

BEEP

“Ran, do you hear that?”

“Hear what, Shinichi?”

BEEP

“Shinichi?”

“Shinichi!”

BEEP

…

“Shinichi? Can you hear me?”

“Ran?”

“Thank God! After the fire, you got this fever, and it wouldn’t break no matter what we tried –”

“Fire?”

“And the doctor had to intubate you because you stopped breathing –”

“I did?”

“But he said when your fever finally broke that he’d start you on a better medication that wouldn’t make you so groggy –”

BEEP

“What is that?” Shinichi violently tried to sit up, wrenching his head over to find the source of the noise, and Ran restrained him – quite easily. Shinichi realized abruptly that he was still small.

“It’s just your heart monitor. It’s been measuring your pulse.”

“Ran…”

“Funny thing, though, it kept speeding up, slowing down, speeding up again…what were you dreaming about anyway?”

Shinichi glanced up at Ran, and she just smiled at him. It’s okay, she seemed to say without words. And Shinichi felt that she wasn’t just comforting him because he’d apparently been through a fire. Or something. She really meant that after everything…it was okay between them.

Shinichi grinned uncertainly. “It was a little of everything.”

Ran sat down in a chair that Shinichi suspected she’d occupied for a long time. She reached over, pulling a bucket from behind one of the machines, and offering Shinichi a piece of ice.

“Well?”

Shinichi blinked. “Well what?”

Ran grinned. “If it was a little of everything, then certainly we have many topics of conversation. And it’s been a little one-sided. So tell me; what was the best part of your dream of everything?”

Shinichi thought. And he smiled. “Well…you were in the whole thing. But you thought I was crazy…and we saw the weirdest play…”

-O-

A U T H O R S N O T E

O.O

Holy Dude! I didn’t think I had it in me! *(dies of randomness)*

I blame too much TV and the book “Dealing with Dragons” by Patricia C. Wrede. It’s about a princess who lives with a dragon of her own free will, and won’t let the knights come to rescue her, going so far as to put a sign outside the cave that tells them to go away. :D

Anyhoo…

*(goes off to sleep now)*

~Ayaia