A Midsummer Night Caper (Detective Conan, Shinichi x Ran, #16)
Title: A Midsummer Night Caper
Author: Ran-dezvous
Genre: Romance/Humor
Pairing: Kudou Shinichi and Mouri Ran
Fandom: Detective Conan
Theme: #16 - summer
Word Count: 2,330
Rating: PG
Warning(s): Fluffiness. Cheesiness. And possible OOC-ness. If you’re allergic to any of the above, I suggest you run away from this fic as fast as you can.
Original Publish Date: October 30, 2007
Disclaimer: I don’t own Detective Conan. I only borrow the characters, brainwash them, and make them wear tacky outfits . . . before unleashing hell upon them.
Notes: Additional prompt from
candy__chan- balloons
Summary: The things a mere bunny balloon can cause . . .
The object was rather huge and gray. It bounced about in the wind, showing its large azure eyes and goofy smile. It constantly tried to free itself, but a force kept on tugging the object toward the ground, dragging it forward. On occasion, it would bob backward, hitting the skin of a certain dark-haired ten-year old.
This youth had distaste for that object-it looked ridiculous and childish. The thought of being also a kid didn’t even cross the mind of this egotistic yet very intelligent child. It didn’t take too long to bellow out to his friend-who happened to be holding the so-called atrocious item-in disgust, “Ran, could you get that stupid balloon off of me!”
The little girl, clad in a reddish-pink kimono, looked back at the irritated boy behind her. With an embarrassed smile upon her visage, Ran reeled the bunny balloon closer to her and apologized, “S-sorry, Shinichi.”
Shinichi took a bite of his takoyaki. “Where are we going, anyway? My parents told us not to wonder off too far!”
“Relax, Shinichi,” Ran replied, pointing to three silhouettes behind them. “They’re right over there. Now, could you help me find the guy with the goldfishes?”
“Oh, so you want to go goldfish catching, huh?” Shinichi asked, expressing disinterest.
“Mm!” Ran cheerily answered, the smile on her face widening. There was a certain sparkle in her cerulean eyes. “What do you think the prize is, Shinichi?”
“Maybe it’s another stupid bunny balloon,” he deadpanned, taking another bite out of his takoyaki.
“You’re just jealous ‘cause the old man didn’t give you one!” she retorted, continuing to walk with the balloon proudly in hand.
“Am not!” he scoffed in contempt. “Besides, don’t you think you’re too old for that stuff?”
“No. . . .” Ran spoke softly as she came to a stop. “You know something, Shinichi?” She turned to face him-and to Shinichi’s surprise, a lovely smile still radiated on her face. Before he even tried to think why Ran was still smiling, she said, “. . . you take things way too seriously.”
“Huh?”
“You heard me right, mister!”-she pressed her finger on his shoulder for a moment-“You always have your nose buried in a Holmes or some other mystery novel-I mean, the only fun thing I’ve seen you ever do is play soccer!” Ran stopped to catch her breath. “It’s a beautiful night, Shinichi. We’re at a festival-we’re supposed to have fun! And . . . well . . . um . . . well . . .” The little girl found herself pressing her index fingers against each other; she could feel the blood slowly rising to her cheeks.
“And?”
“I . . . I . . .” The tension in her chest was rising.
“Hey, little girl, would you like to catch some goldfish?” A hoarse voice called out.
“Y-yes!” Ran stuttered, though relieved. “Shinichi, could you hold this for me?” she asked, handing him the balloon. With her face still flushed, she rushed to the direction of the man’s voice, leaving Shinichi behind.
-
So there he was. Standing, holding a ridiculous-looking bunny balloon, staring at her as she attempted to catch goldfish with a paper net-and wondering what she was supposed to tell him.
Shinichi had just finished eating his takoyaki; he spotted a trash bin nearby and threw the stick inside. He then resumed his former position and continued to gaze at Ran-she seemed as if she was enjoying herself. There was no trace of her nervousness or . . . her blushing at all.
“It’s a beautiful night, Shinichi. . . .”
And it was a beautiful night. The stars were brightly shining, the merry sound of people laughing was in every direction . . . and she was there. Shinichi even considered joining her in her so-called fun, that is, if he didn’t notice that Ran’s balloon was slowly floating upward.
In a state of panic, he hurriedly tiptoed and raised his hands into the sky; however, the balloon was just too high for him. Stupid short body . . .
There were only two possible outcomes, none of them pretty. It’s either Ran would end up crying for the rest of the night or . . . Shinichi was going to be minced meat, courtesy of Ran’s karate.
A tiny bead of perspiration trickled down the side of Shinichi’s head as he grumbled in sarcasm, “Great.” His eyebrows were furrowed in frustration.
“Shinichi, look!” The chocolate brown-haired girl was rushing toward him, holding a glimmering object in her hand. “I won an onamori! Isn’t it pretty!” Ran then stayed still for a while, noticing that he made no reaction and . . . something else. “Shinichi, where’s my balloon?”
“I, uh, well . . .” he mumbled nervously, scratching his head. “I kinda lost it.”
“You what?” Ran’s anger was starting to simmer.
“I-I didn’t mean to! I was just standing here and the next thing I knew, the stupid balloon floated upward-look!” Shinichi pointed his finger to a grayish object drifting in the distance.
“Hah!” Ran scoffed in disbelief. “I bet you just let go it because you thought it was stupid.”
“No, I didn’t! I swear!”
“You’re a dead man, Kudou Shinichi!” She called him by his full name-that can’t be good.
“C’mon, Ran, it’s only a stupid balloon!”
“What did you say?” Her hands were now tightly clenched into fists.
“It’s only a . . .” He stopped in mid-sentence, realizing that whatever he was going to say would be taken against him. Another bead of perspiration trickled down his head as he saw that she was about to lose her temper.
“Grr . . .” She raised her hand into the air as she was preparing to give him a taste of her karate.
There were only two circumstances when Shinichi wouldn’t even bother to think about his pride, and both of them involve Ran. Those times would either have Ran crying or erupting like a violent volcano, ready to take down anyone who gets in her way.
This situation, unfortunately, was a perfect example of circumstance number two.
Only two words were in Shinichi’s head at the moment: run away.
And run away he did, with Ran right at his tail. A few people at the festival had been witness to the pulsating chase between the temperamental girl and her pitiful prey-and found themselves blessed that they weren’t in the boy’s shoes.
Shinichi was beginning to feel tired . . . and hopeless. Still, he trudged on, making his way through the crowd of people that lay ahead of him. As he was able to squeeze himself out of the crowd, Shinichi found himself panting heavily and he couldn’t continue running anymore. At that point, he was sure he was toast.
A few seconds left before Ran would beat him up. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt that much. . . .
Just a few more . . .
. . . and nothing.
Shinichi had already recovered his strength, and Ran still wasn’t there. He tried waiting for a few more minutes, and still nothing. He should be relieved, but instead, he was worried-Ran was hopeless when it came to directions at times.
Oh just great. Another point against Kudou Shinichi. Not only did he lose her balloon, he also lost Ran. Some best friend he was.
“Ran, where are you?”
No response except for the stares of people.
He retraced his steps, walking all the way back to the goldfish catching booth. She wasn’t there.
Maybe she rejoined his parents and her dad? He tried going there, and only found his mother scolding the two fathers for drinking too much sake.
He looked at his watch. It was getting really late-only thirty minutes left before midnight. There was going to be a fireworks display to mark the end of the festival . . . and if the adults found out that she was missing, things weren’t going to be pretty.
Shinichi set off to continue his search. He didn’t have much time left.
-
“Shinichi, where are you?” Ran repeatedly called as she wandered about in search for him. Her voice was much softer now, without any trace of her anger earlier. Experiencing a feeling of hopelessness, she stopped from walking and wiped the tears slowly cascading down her eyes. “. . . show yourself . . . please . . .” she mumbled, trying to stop herself from crying any further.
There were many times when she got angry at him for teasing about her sense of direction (or the lack of it), and as much she hated to admit it, he was right. Even the bunny balloon she held with so much pride a few hours ago didn’t matter anymore.
She then remembered something-her onamori. It was still with her. The man who gave it to her said it was a good luck charm . . . so maybe if she made a wish . . . it would come true.
Shinichi had always mocked her for believing in wishes, even on her birthdays-maybe he was right. But it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?
And thus, she held the object tightly, closed her eyes, and made a wish.
Fate would then become the judge of who was right.
-
Two minutes left. And he still hadn’t found her. At that point, Shinichi had made up his mind to tell his parents what had happened-and possibly face the fury of her drunken father. If it was the only way he can find Ran-
“Ran!” He could only see her from the back, but he was very sure it was her. Without a second thought, he ran towards her . . . and hugged her tightly, whispering, “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Shinichi . . .” was all Ran could say in response. It was a good thing he was hugging her from behind, or her face would have gotten even redder.
And he wasn’t letting her go. Instead, he squeezed her even more. It was then that the fireworks began to light up.
Dazzling with their brilliance, the fireworks were of every color of the rainbow; it added beauty to the starlit sky. Ran, who would usually make a remark about such things, remained silent. A feeling of warmth enveloped her body; she felt safe and protected in his arms. Her tears were already dry, and she somehow felt terrible for attempting to beat him up earlier. It was probably silly, but she couldn’t help but wonder what their relationship would be like when they get older . . . if they could be more than just friends. She immediately dismissed the thought, affirming to herself that everything was just a dream-a dream she wouldn’t want to wake up from. Her onamori really was a good luck charm, and she would cherish it for the rest of her life.
Shinichi had always been a rational person, the type who would always look before he leapt. But Ran had this way of bringing out a bit of his impulsivity, as evidenced by the position he was in right now. His sense of relief overwhelmed him so much that he didn’t even think before wrapping his arms around her waist-all he knew was that she was safe. He wasn’t exactly sure what led to do such an act, but he was happy and had no regrets. A few minutes later, he found his head leaning against hers. The possibility of him liking her more than just a friend even occurred to him; there was no place he would rather be.
“Aww . . . Isn’t that romantic?”
It took a while for the voice to register in his head. “M-mom!” he exclaimed, releasing her from his grip. The blush was evident on his face. “It’s not what it looks like!”
Yukiko bent down to meet her son down at eye level. “Oh I’m sorry, Shin-chan. Am I interrupting your date with Ran-chan?”
The two children looked like they were about to spontaneously combust. “D-date?”
“Well then, why were you hugging her like that, hm?”
Shinichi narrated the entire story: how they wandered off to go goldfish catching, him poking at Ran’s childish fancies which resulted to a telling off that he took things too seriously (okay, so maybe he left some details out), him losing Ran’s bunny balloon and how it made her angry, the chase . . . and well, you get the idea.
“Shinichi,” his mother began, straightening her back, “if you were going to make up a story, I was expecting you would have made a better one.”
“But it’s the truth!”
“Then what do you call that in Ran-chan’s hand?” she asked, pointing at the bunny balloon.
“A bu-” His eyes widened and his jaw dropped in disbelief. His finger was trembling as he pointed at the object. “H-how’d that get there!”
“Shin-chan, if you wanted me to keep this a secret, you could have just said so.”
“But-”
“You honestly don’t think you can’t trust your own mother, do you?”
“But-”
“Shinichi, I’m so disappointed in you.”
“But-”
“Shinichi, forget it,” Ran murmured, “I’m sure your mom won’t tell anyone about this.”
He made a sour face before finally saying, “Fine.”
Yukiko held her son by the hand. “C’mon, we’d better get back before something happens to your drunken fathers.”
As the three were walking along (with Yukiko gushing about her first date, summer romances, and the like), Shinichi whispered in Ran’s ear, “How’d you get your balloon back?”
“I didn’t,” Ran replied, “While I was looking for you, the old man saw me again and gave me another balloon.”
“Oh,” mumbled Shinichi with twitched eyebrows, a huge drop of perspiration trickling down the back of his head.
And there goes my first entry for 30 Tears-and it’s not even angsty! This fic is dedicated to
candy__chan, who originally wanted Kaito/Aoko or Heiji/Kazuha (but I incredibly fail), on her twenty-second birthday today. I just hope the fic’s decent enough-after all the major cramming I did yesterday to finish this on time-because her fanfics rock my world!
Constructive criticism is very much loved, and I hope you all support me for the remaining twenty-nine Tears. Until next time!
Crossposted to 30 Tears: Shinichi and Ran.