Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ Orbital Query ❯ Night Stars are Shining in My Eyes ( Chapter 3 )

     For several very long minutes, nobody said a word. Finally, simply to break the silence, Conan spoke up.

     "Haibara... you said that using this... other cure would make us lose the chance to get back to normal? Why is that?"

     "When it comes to strategy, such as, for instance, a soccer play, which do you find easier? Creating a strategy, or countering one?"

     Conan thought about the question for a moment.

     "Countering, I suppose. When you create a strategy you have to consider all the different ways it can be countered and be ready for them. You have to anticipate as much as possible. To successfully counter a plan, you have to discover its most exploitable weakness and make use of it. Between the two, countering is relatively simpler.

     "And that's what you're doing with APTX-4869." he said as realization dawned, "The antidote we want is a 'counter-attack' to what it is in the drug shrinking us?"

     "Exactly." Haibara said with a nod, "Using the apotoxin as a base, I could hopefully develop a working cure and restore us to normal, even with our now limited time. But only so long as the drug remains in our bodies to be cured in the first place. Without it, I would essentially have to start from scratch in order to create a substance whose sole purpose would be to age us ten years. I would have to create a brand new drug instead of simply dealing with what's in front of us. By the time I managed that, we'd probably already be ten years older thanks to natural aging."

     "Wonderful..." Conan muttered. Was there no other way?

     Dr. Agasa cleared his throat to get the two shrunken teens' attention.

     "Shinichi, Ai-kun. We have a serious matter on our hands, right now."

     Neither could argue with him.

     "If we can't figure something out for a cure, you two may need to make a choice regarding this option. Risk it all and remain as you are, or take the slow cure to keep yourselves safe. I think it's best if you think on it and decide now. As soon as possible."

     Haibara and Conan looked at Agasa, confused.

     "There's a very good chance that, sooner or later, this choice will have to be made. And if you wait until later, when you're forced to make it, you might make your decision in panic and do something you'll forever regret. Or, you might believe you're about to be exposed or threatened when nothing is wrong at all and make your choice hastily."

     The man had a point. They could act prematurely, and doom themselves to a second childhood unnecessarily. They could make some rash decision out of fear and do the same. Best they think on the matter immediately.

     And suffer a sleepless night in the process... Conan thought to himself. Who had spent the last several hours after Ran sent him to bed tossing and turning on his futon.

     Conan should already be asleep, content that he wasn't going to use this slow-acting cure anytime soon, if at all. To even concede the possibility of doing so would be giving up on the hope of being restored to normal. Something he couldn't allow!

     The choice should be so simple. Yet, it wasn't...

     The fact remained. If things got bad enough, the Fail-Safe might be their only salvation. Their only means of staying hidden from the Black Organization and, as a result, staying alive. But, would staying alive even be worth it if they had to resort to staying children? With a frustrated groan, Conan got to his feet and stepped out into the living room of the Mouri apartment. He thought better when he moved, and Ran and Kogoro were heavy enough sleepers they wouldn't hear him.

     He paced around the room's furniture. Every so often, his eyes would wander to the door that led to Ran's bedroom. Ran. He couldn't just think only of how this dilemma affected himself. He had Ran to consider. She knew nothing of the Black Organization, of Conan and Haibara's real identities, of APTX-4869. Taking the slow cure meant giving her up completely. That wasn't something Conan was prepared to do.

     But will I still feel that way if my life truly does depend on keeping my secret?

     Conan wanted desperately to think he would. That no matter what, his desire to be with Ran as Shinichi and not Conan would be enough to risk everything for. He had rushed into danger for Ran before. But on those occasions, the threat had been apparent. Conan knew what would happen. With the idea of potential exposure looming over his head, the possible threats would be less obvious. Who would discover me first? What would they do if they knew? The fear such a situation caused might well make Conan seek self-preservation above all else.

     It's surprising, He thought, Just how short-sighted you become when your only thought is to survive. Speaking of...

     Conan looked to a set of horizontal lines marked on a wall. The lines Ran had drawn when she measured him. Lines, he now knew, she was putting well higher than they were supposed to be. Morbid curiosity tugged at him, he stood at the wall, putting his hand flat on his head and comparing the height to the lines. His hand was at only the lowest one. The first one Ran had made.

     Conan jumped at the noise of a door opening. Ran walked into the living room, clad in a nightshirt and rubbing her eyes. Conan wondered what she was doing. Ran was an insanely heavy sleeper. He couldn't have woken her up. Without even looking at Conan, she mumbled to herself and stumbled into the bathroom.

     Oh, that's all... Conan thought with a sigh of relief. He was about to hide in his room, to keep from being seen, and likely scolded, by Ran when she came out. But realized this was a good chance to take care of another matter that needed attending to.

     He waited for Ran to finish up and come out. When she did, he waited until she was about to go back into her room before he called out her name quietly.

     "Ran-neechan?"

&nb sp;    "Huh?" said the still groggy Ran Mouri, "Conan-kun? What are you doing up?"

     "I... I was having trouble sleeping." he said honestly, "Um... Ran-neechan... I... I just happened to notice something earlier today..." with that he gave a mournful look to the height lines. With a soft gasp, Ran knew immediately what he was referring to.

     "Oh... Conan-kun... I'm sorry, I never meant to-"

     "It's okay, Ran-neechan. I think I know why you didn't tell me. You just didn't want me to feel bad, right?"

     "Yeah," she said as she kneeled down before Conan, "I didn't know how you'd take the news that you haven't grown at all. I don't even know what it means, myself. How could I make you worry, too?"

     Conan was relieved. She wasn't suspicious. Not yet, anyway. Now, it was time to nip this problem in the bud before it got too big. Conan had already decided what to tell Ran.

     "It's okay, really. There's nothing to worry about." he said, trying to sound not-too-cheerful.

     "There isn't?"

     "No, I called my mom right after I realized my height. She told me that my family has a lot of people like me. We don't grow very much at all for a while but then we have big growth spurts all at once."

     God willing... Conan prayed silently.

     "Really?" Ran said, she breathed a sigh of relief, "So most of those in your family are just late bloomers? That's so good to hear."

     She gave Conan a hug. Conan enjoyed the close contact more than he probably should have.

     "Let's get to sleep now, 'kay? I don't know about you, but I need to meet with Sonoko to study for our next English exam." she said. Conan agreed and went back to his room. He hadn't made any progress on the Fail-Safe dilemma, but he had taken care of one potential disaster, at least.

     With a sigh, he cursed himself for the reminder of his other problem. He simply couldn't accept the idea of that slow cure. No matter how much he tried, it just felt too much like giving up. And neither Shinichi Kudo or Conan Edogawa were the type to give up easily.

     He lay back down, he considered his options. He wondered if there wasn't some third choice he was neglecting. Something else that could be done if and when the worst-case scenario came to pass. Conan felt like he was in the middle of a test of his faith. His belief that all would work out, if he could only figure out how. There had to be some way to deal with this.

     It came to him just as he fell into a restless slumber.