Friendship: Chapter 4

#01: Detective Conan (Shin'ichi/Conan & Shiho/Ai)
...xXx...

Shin'ichi tried his best to look presentable for his meeting with Ran. With Shiho's help, he was able to change back for a while so that he could talk to Ran directly. He had wanted to call her, but Shiho insisted that Ran deserved more than a mere phone call. Looking at his girlfriend who was still in her child form, he withheld the urge to cringe as he felt like a pedophile.
Feeling his eyes on her, Shiho looked up. "What? Do you want me to come with you?"
He seemed to consider the idea for a moment. "Will you?"
Shiho shrugged. "Who knows?"
He scowled. "I'm serious, Shiho. If you're there, it might—"
"Hurt her even more," she interjected. Gazing at his blue eyes, she continued, "Do you really want to see her hurt, Shin'ichi?"
Shin'ichi looked away. "I don't want to give her false hope. She might think that I will change in the future even though we've never been in a relationship. If… if she meets you, she will understand why she doesn't have to wait for me anymore. We will remain as childhood friends and no more."
"You're going to be late," she commented before reading her magazine again.
"Fine!" he grunted and left to the meeting place with Ran.
Unknown to him, his girlfriend's eyes were following his retreating form.
He was a bit late, but he eventually made it to the coffee shop. Upon entering, her big smile was the first thing he saw, and his gut twisted at the thought of wiping that smile off her face soon. He shook his head mentally and went to her table. "Ran."
She smiled. "I was surprised that you would call and ask to meet here."
The blush on her face was noticeable, and he really wished Shiho could be here with him. Would he survive this meeting without making her cry? If she didn't cry, he was still afraid of her skills in karate. Honestly, he would love to to keep his body intact by the end of this meeting. A waitress interrupted his thoughts.
"What do you want to talk about?" Ran began after they gave their orders. She had been excited when she got a phone call from Shin'ichi. Though it wasn't a date, it was as close as she could get from him. After all, Shin'ichi rarely asked a girl out on his own unless… She flushed red at the thought of Shin'ichi confessing to her.
Oh, how wrong she was.
"Ran…"
She looked up, face slightly red. "Yes?"
He paused. Gods, he couldn't tell her when she looked at him like that. A sigh escaped his lips.
Ran blinked. Her childhood friend didn't look good. He seemed as though he was in trouble. "Did something bad happen?"
An awkward laugh was his answer.
"Shin'ichi?"
He looked away from her. "I called you here because I want to tell you that… you don't have to wait for me anymore."
She felt her heart drop as she numbly replied, "W-what?"
Glancing up at her, he repeated, more firmly, "You don't have to wait for me anymore."
Everything around them seemed to stop moving as silence settled between them.
Shin'ichi cringed inwardly when he saw her clenched fists. He was ready to run when she looked up at him with a smile. There was nothing in her smile that told him that she was happy with what he had said. Also, her eyes were blazing furiously.
"I'm sorry; can you please say that again?" Her voice was too calm for his taste.
Before he could open her mouth, she flipped. "After all this time, you asked me to wait for you, and now, you suddenly told me not to wait for you! Do you have any idea how I always worried about your safety? Are you playing with me, Shin'ichi? You think I can forgive—"
"For your information, he didn't ask for your forgiveness," a new feminine voice cut in.
Both looked at the newcomer, and Shin'ichi's heart skipped a beat. "Shiho."
Without warning, Shiho leaned in and kissed his cheek in greeting. "I'm sorry for being late."
Ran forgot her anger when she saw the girl kiss her Shin'ichi. What made it worse was that Shin'ichi seemed comfortable with the gesture. She was hoping that she was dreaming, but when she pinched her own arm, she couldn't ignore the obvious pain that told her that what she saw was real.
"Who are you?" Her voice was above a whisper.
Shin'ichi wouldn't deny that he was glad that Shiho had come to his rescue. When she was here, Ran wouldn't be so violent. "Shiho, my childhood friend, Ran Mouri."
He looked back at Ran. "Ran… This is Shiho Miyano, my girlfriend. She just came back from England yesterday."
The word 'girlfriend' rang loudly in Ran's mind. Girlfriend? Shin'ichi already had a girlfriend without her knowing? Was this the reason she didn't have to wait for him anymore? How long had they been together? Why did Shin'ichi never tell her anything about this Shiho? She blinked. Somehow, her features looked familiar…
Shiho nodded at Ran. "Pleased to meet you, Mouri-san."
Startled, Ran quickly replied, "Ah, yes, pleased to meet you, Miyano-san…"
Shiho took a seat beside Shin'ichi.
Ran eyed Shiho thoughtfully. "H-have we met before?"
"I'm afraid we haven't met before." Shiho tilted her head slightly.
Soon, the waitress brought their orders. When the waitress asked Shiho about what she wanted, Shin'ichi replied for her, "She's fine."
Without further ado, Shiho started again, "As I said before, Shin'ichi didn't ask for your forgiveness today. He's working on a big case that needs months or probably years to solve, so he didn't want you to wait for his return. You guys have been good friends, so he wanted to tell you this first."
There were a lot of things to process, but Ran really wanted to know the answer. "What about you?"
Shiho blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry?"
"Wouldn't you have to wait for Shin'ichi, too?"
A small smile appeared on Shiho's lips. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that aside from being Shin'ichi's girlfriend, I'm his partner."
The realisation hit Ran like a ton of bricks. Shin'ichi had chosen a partner who truly understood him as a detective. "So… you're a detective as well?"
"I'm a scientist. Shin'ichi and I met when we solved the death of my older sister."
"Ah… I see…"
Shin'ichi didn't take part in their conversation because he thought it would be better for Shiho to speak to her instead of him. Ran would never understand what they had gone through together. And he did consider Shiho as his partner when it came to solving cases. To be honest, Shiho was the only girl who could outwit him.
"So… what kind of case requires that much time to solve? If you don't mind me asking…"
"I'm sorry, Ran. It's confidential." He gave her an apologetic look.
"It's okay. I'm just curious about it."
No one spoke until Ran's phone rang. "Please excuse me."
As soon as Ran left the couple, Shin'ichi let out a relieved sigh and looked at his girlfriend who was sipping his coffee. "Change your mind?"
"The least you can say is 'Thank you.'"
"Thank you then."
Shiho glared at him. "Don't say it if you don't mean it."
Shin'ichi grinned. "I always mean what I say, Shiho. Really, thanks for coming."
"You're my boyfriend, are you not?"
He replied by entwining his hand with hers. "Should we go on a date after this?"
"As a thank you?"
"As a date."
She hummed quietly.
"You're my girlfriend, are you not?"
"Very funny."
"Hey, I'm just stating the truth."
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you, Meitantei-san."
Throughout the exchanged, neither noticed Ran, who was watching them with a sad smile. She knew right then that Shin'ichi and Shiho truly belonged to each other, but…
"I'm sorry, Shin'ichi. I have to go and see Sonoko," she said quickly as she retrieved her handbag.
"Problem?"
Ran shook her head. "Nothing to worry about."
Shin'ichi and Shiho knew that Ran was forcing herself to smile. Shiho had wanted to release Shin'ichi's hold on her hand, but he held on, unwilling to let her go.
"I guess I'll see you around then…"
"Yes." Shin'ichi nodded.
Ran gave them a nod before leaving. Both remained silent for a long time.
Shin'ichi gave her hand a squeeze and murmured, "I'm a bad friend, aren't I?"
Shiho didn't offer words of comfort. Instead, she squeezed his hand in return. "We have to leave before it's too late."
"I guess so."
Both put on matching ball caps before leaving the coffee shop hand in hand. In the end, they didn't go anywhere as Shiho refused to go on a date with him. He would never know what her problem was. Yet, he somehow knew that Shiho understood his feelings. When they reached Agasa's place, she didn't say anything to comfort him, but she did remain by his side until he left Professor Agasa's place.

...xXx...

A groan came from the spacious bed. Shin'ichi knew for sure it was still early since his alarm was still silent on his bedside. What woke him up was his buzzing phone. As much as he hated it, he had to pick it up since it didn't stop ringing. Grabbing his phone, he narrowed his eyes at the caller.
"What the hell, Hattori?" he snapped as soon as he flipped the phone open.
"That's my line, Kudō!"
"Is that what you want to—"
"What did you do to that nee-chan?"
His fuzzy mind slowly became clear as he sat up. "What do you mean?"
"You know, Kazuha told me that you—"
"It's none of your concern, Hattori."
"…"
He heaved a sigh. "I just told her the truth. Shiho and I are going out. As you know, both of us are involved in my case, which is not yet solved. I don't want to endanger anyone unnecessarily."
"Are you serious with the girl?"
"Of course, I am." Mom and Dad already approved of her, too.
"…"
"Hattori…"
"What?"
"I'm going to leave Japan in a week."
He waited for the inevitable and pulled the phone away from his ear as Hotari began to rant. In a week, Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara would be no more. Both characters would face an unfortunate accident that would cost their lives. Well, he felt bad for the children, but he had no choice in the matter. To be honest, he didn't want to leave. However, after talking to his father last night, he had agreed to go to his parents. He did say that he wanted to solve the case by himself, but he was desperate. He wanted to solve the case as soon as possible because someone from the Black Organization was still obviously after Shiho's life. During the Twin Tower's incident, he almost lost her, and he refused to relive the experience. Thus, he would move to America along with Shiho. Of course, Shiho said no, but after much persuasion from his mother, his girlfriend finally relented.
"Done?" he asked when the phone became silent.
"Why do you want to leave, Kudō?"
He lay back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "I can't stay like this forever, Hattori. With my father's help, I will make sure that I solve the case soon."
Hattori seemed to catch his desperation as he replied, "I guess you really like her, eh?"
Closing his eyes, he smiled. "Yeah." More than you can imagine, Hattori.
"Will you return?"
He grinned. "Don't worry about that."
A sigh. "Well, see you in a week then. I'm not sorry for calling you so early by the way."
Hattori hung up before he could reply. Shaking his head, he shut his phone and scanned his room. After meeting Ran yesterday, he had excused himself to sleep at Professor Agasa's place when in truth he went back to his own place. He wished to stay here before leaving Japan. Looking at the digital clock, he noted that he still had two hours before he needed to get up. Without anymore interruption, he drifted into a short, dreamless sleep.

...xXx...

It took them two years to seize the Black Organization. A year after that, Shiho was finally able to make the antidote APTX 4869. Looking around absentmindedly, he thought about how he had come to this coffee shop to meet Ran again after ten years. Since that faithful day, their relationship became a bit awkward and strained. Still, they exchanged a few words over the year. Though he wanted to share his story, he never said anything since Shiho was involved. He was quite aware that Ran didn't like Shiho. After a few minutes, Ran came. He was not surprised to see that she came with Araide-sensei, her fiancé.
"Kudō-kun, it's been a long time." They shook hands as he stood up.
"Yeah." Shin'ichi looked at the couple before him and smiled. "I guess everything's good."
"Shin'ichi, what about Miyano-san?" Ran asked hesitantly.
Before he could answer, a 5-year-old boy approached their table. "Otou-san."
Ran gasped in shock. "O-Otou-san?"
Shin'ichi gave her an apologetic smile. "This is my son, Daichi."
Unlike Shin'ichi, Daichi had brown hair. The boy gave a small bow in greeting. "Pleased to meet you, Oba-san, Oji-san."
Ran nearly fainted. She couldn't believe that Shin'ichi had become a father without her knowledge. On one hand, she was sad that he didn't say a word about his family. On the other hand, she felt guilty. Since their last meeting here, she had never asked anything about Shiho. She was too afraid to ask. Just one year ago, she finally accepted Araide-sensei's proposal, and she also didn't tell him.
"Daichi, where's your mother?"
Daichi replied by looking out the glass window.
They all gazed outside and found Shiho with a 3-year-old girl who was busy licking her ice cream cone.
Ran took a deep breath when she saw Shiho's round tummy. They were expecting another child soon. Somehow, Daichi had left them and joined his mother and sister. As soon as the boy pointed at this shop, the little girl waved excitedly with her unoccupied hand. She looked at Shin'ichi, who had a happy smile on his face as he waved back at his family. Family… Shin'ichi had truly moved on, and all this time, she was under the delusion that he would change his mind. After all, they were childhood friends. Yet… she was wrong. She could see it now. Shin'ichi was happy, happier than she had ever known.
A smile touched Shin'ichi lips as he gazed at his daughter. Unlike his slightly emotionless wife, his little girl was bubbly, just like her grandmother. If it was not for her black hair, his daughter would be a perfect copy of his wife. After a while, he looked back at Ran and felt someone pinch him when he caught her sad look.
"What's her name, Shin'ichi?"
"Aiko."
"She's so cute," she commented lightly before smiling. "I'm sorry, Shin'ichi."
Shin'ichi shook his head. "No, I am sorry. It's not that I wanted to hide it from you… I'm just…"
"Thank you."
They gazed at each other before Shin'ichi nodded. "You're welcome."
Araide, who had been watching his former students, remained silent. Of course, he knew their history. Looking at his fiancée's face, he knew Ran still loved Shin'ichi. But he knew for sure that after today, she would be able to let go of her past. It seemed his waiting would be paid off soon.
They ended the meeting sooner when Shin'ichi received a call from Heiji. After a quick introduction between Araide-sensei and Shiho, they parted ways.
Shin'ichi had the urge to say the same thing as ten years ago, but Shiho seemed to know what he was thinking and said, "You are a good father and husband."
He smiled at Shiho. His friendship with Ran might have been strained, but he still believed that given time, they could strengthen their relationship once again. And he shouldn't be worried about that as he still had his family. Out of everything, family was his priority and something he could not lose. Losing his family would be like losing Shiho, and that was something he refused to lose.

The End

Thanks for reading.

Prev Chapter 1—Friendship Chapter 2—Best Friend Chapter 3—More Than Friendship Chapter 4—Friendship No More