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Ran awoke, coughing violently.
"Ran! Ran!"
"D-dad?" Ran gasped weakly.
"Can you breathe? How does your neck feel?" Kogoro asked, looking at her worriedly.
"I-I can breathe, but...*coughs* my throat hurts..." Ran rasped, touching her neck and hissing in pain.
"Don't touch it. It's heavily bruised. I've already called for an ambulance. Can you remember anything that happened?" Kogoro asked.
"Remember...Shinichi...he...he was...and then....no, it couldn't...the lights were out..." Ran said, closing her eyes.
"Don't...don't strain yourself. Just take it easy. You can tell me later," Kogoro said, though his mind was working. Someone attacked his daughter! Everything was off, so somehow they cut the power. For a while to, with how cold it was. And somehow they got her to be docile? Was she drugged? She mentioned Shinichi?
Did he come back? Did he come back and someone was following him?
But why didn't he protect her? Why couldn't Ran fight back?
What happened?
***
"I don't remember," Ran said some days later, after her throat had recovered.
"Nothing?!" Kogoro asked.
Ran shook her head. "I'd been reading and the next thing I knew, you were waking me up," she said, looking at her hands in her lap.
"And no witnesses or evidence otherwise..." Kogoro said.
Ran lied then. She remembered what happened, but she couldn't believe it. It couldn't be Shinichi.
It couldn't.
***
Ran shook her head as she cooked. "Stop thinking, baka," Ran muttered to herself. "Dad will be back soon. Nothing will happen because the doors are locked and everything's fine," she told herself.
But she found herself shivering and the lights flickering. She looked up. "Just have to replace the bulb..." She said. She sniffed, as she chopped up the onion. "Jeeze, there has to be a better way to do this...."
"Don't cry."
Ran froze. Was that...a whisper? "...just my imagination," she told herself and continued chopping.
"Please don't cry."
Ran whipped around, holding up the knife. She definitely heard something that time. "Whose there?!"
"Don't cry...Ran-neechan...."
Ran felt a cold jolt go through her. "C-Conan...kun?"
The lights dimmed even more, some bulbs dying completely.
"Don't cry...."
"Conan-kun....you...was it you?! Were you...Conan-kun, were you Shinichi?!" Ran asked, looking around, dropping the knife. "Come out!"
"Ran-neechan," a voice said in front of her.
Ran looked down, gasping as she saw the figure. The figure that shouldn't move with how broken it looked. "C-Conan....?"
"Please don't cry, Ran-neechan."
And then Ran felt the knife thrusted into her stomach.
***
"A ghost."
"What?" Kogoro asked, staring at Ran. She had said she'd remembered what happened this time and what happened last time. She said it was the same person.
"It was a ghost..." Ran said, staring at the bed with distant eyes.
"Ran...this isn't a joking matter," Kogoro said.
"It's not a joke!" Ran snapped. "The bulbs...they were dead, weren't they? It wasn't someone cu the power, it's because a ghost was eating the power!"
"Ran, calm down. You're just confused," Kogoro said, standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not! It's Conan-kun and Shinichi!" Ran snapped.
"What?" Kogoro asked, looking bewildered.
"The ghost! It's Conan-kun and Shinichi! Shinichi hasn't called since Conan-kun died. It's because HE'S Shinichi!" Ran shouted.
"Ran, calm down! You're getting hysterical. You might open up your wound!"
"It's him! It's him! He's mad! He's upset and hurt and alone and he's gotten mad! It's Shinichi! It's Conan-kun!" Ran shouted. "Just believe me!" She shouted and continued to shout until a nurse finally rushed in with a sedative.
***
"Shinichi...why...why?" Ran muttered. She had eventually calmed down, but even now...She couldn't sleep. Everytime she tried, she kept thinking. "Why would you want to kill me, Shinichi?"
She kept trying to think of a reason, but then...a thought occurred. Shinichi never called her, but maybe...maybe if she called him?
She slowly crawled out of bed, wincing at the pain in her stomach, before grabbing her purse from the things Kogoro had brought from home. She just had to slip somewhere away from the machines.
She decided on the courtyard, trying to ignore the pain in her stomach. Just one call. This late, maybe he'd answer. Just one call. She'd bear with the pain of moving then, even if it brought tears to her eyes.
"Shinichi....please just pick up Shinichi," Ran murmured to herself as she scrolled through the contacts. "Just this once...PLEASE pick up when it rings, Shinichi." She pressed talk and put the phone to her ear, listening for it to ring.
Odd. It sounded like...a phone was ringing behind her.
"Ran..."
Ran looked over her shoulder in surprise. "Shin-ow!" She yelped, looking at the needle that was stabbed into her arm, feeling a far too cold liquid entering her veins.
"Don't cry anymore."
***
After that, things only got worse. With no other fingerprints found on the syringe, people were starting to wonder if perhaps RAN was doing it? Even when she was strangled, it looked like it was from some long strap. That perhaps Ran was somehow trying to kill herself.
There were inconsistencies, of course, but there was never any physical evidence of anyone being there at the time. Except for her.
It didn't help several patient testified seeing her in the courtyard. Alone. Completely and utterly alone.
She was strapped to the bed and when she recovered, was sent to the psyche ward. People would think she'd get better, but as soon as she had any sort of freedom, even a short time alone...
There was only one person who thought Ran wasn't suicidal.
Too bad Hattori could never get in to see her to see what was happening.
***
"I'm done," Ran said, her eyes sunken and hollow looking. "I'm done with all of it...it's too much pain," she said, walking up the stairs of a nearby hotel. She had escaped from the hospital. She knew it wouldn't be long until they noticed, but by then...it'd be too late.
But she could feel it. The familiar cold chill. The lights kept flickering.
"It's better this way..." Ran said, pushing open the door to the roof top. She looked around for anyone, not sure if she should be grateful or not that no one was there.
She walked over to the ledge, breathing in the night air. "Shinichi..." She whispered. "Kudou Shinichi....Edogawa Conan..." She said, repeating the names over and over again, feeling the shadows increase around her. She closed her eyes tightly, standing at the edge. "Please...Shinichi....Conan-kun...I'm tired of it all..." She whispered, feeling the tears well up and slip from closed eyelids.
"Don't cry anymore...please don't cry anymore, Ran...Ran-neechan shouldn't cry."
And then Ran felt a force pushing at her back and she didn't fight it as she tumbled over the edge.
"Ran! Ran!"
"D-dad?" Ran gasped weakly.
"Can you breathe? How does your neck feel?" Kogoro asked, looking at her worriedly.
"I-I can breathe, but...*coughs* my throat hurts..." Ran rasped, touching her neck and hissing in pain.
"Don't touch it. It's heavily bruised. I've already called for an ambulance. Can you remember anything that happened?" Kogoro asked.
"Remember...Shinichi...he...he was...and then....no, it couldn't...the lights were out..." Ran said, closing her eyes.
"Don't...don't strain yourself. Just take it easy. You can tell me later," Kogoro said, though his mind was working. Someone attacked his daughter! Everything was off, so somehow they cut the power. For a while to, with how cold it was. And somehow they got her to be docile? Was she drugged? She mentioned Shinichi?
Did he come back? Did he come back and someone was following him?
But why didn't he protect her? Why couldn't Ran fight back?
What happened?
***
"I don't remember," Ran said some days later, after her throat had recovered.
"Nothing?!" Kogoro asked.
Ran shook her head. "I'd been reading and the next thing I knew, you were waking me up," she said, looking at her hands in her lap.
"And no witnesses or evidence otherwise..." Kogoro said.
Ran lied then. She remembered what happened, but she couldn't believe it. It couldn't be Shinichi.
It couldn't.
***
Ran shook her head as she cooked. "Stop thinking, baka," Ran muttered to herself. "Dad will be back soon. Nothing will happen because the doors are locked and everything's fine," she told herself.
But she found herself shivering and the lights flickering. She looked up. "Just have to replace the bulb..." She said. She sniffed, as she chopped up the onion. "Jeeze, there has to be a better way to do this...."
"Don't cry."
Ran froze. Was that...a whisper? "...just my imagination," she told herself and continued chopping.
"Please don't cry."
Ran whipped around, holding up the knife. She definitely heard something that time. "Whose there?!"
"Don't cry...Ran-neechan...."
Ran felt a cold jolt go through her. "C-Conan...kun?"
The lights dimmed even more, some bulbs dying completely.
"Don't cry...."
"Conan-kun....you...was it you?! Were you...Conan-kun, were you Shinichi?!" Ran asked, looking around, dropping the knife. "Come out!"
"Ran-neechan," a voice said in front of her.
Ran looked down, gasping as she saw the figure. The figure that shouldn't move with how broken it looked. "C-Conan....?"
"Please don't cry, Ran-neechan."
And then Ran felt the knife thrusted into her stomach.
***
"A ghost."
"What?" Kogoro asked, staring at Ran. She had said she'd remembered what happened this time and what happened last time. She said it was the same person.
"It was a ghost..." Ran said, staring at the bed with distant eyes.
"Ran...this isn't a joking matter," Kogoro said.
"It's not a joke!" Ran snapped. "The bulbs...they were dead, weren't they? It wasn't someone cu the power, it's because a ghost was eating the power!"
"Ran, calm down. You're just confused," Kogoro said, standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not! It's Conan-kun and Shinichi!" Ran snapped.
"What?" Kogoro asked, looking bewildered.
"The ghost! It's Conan-kun and Shinichi! Shinichi hasn't called since Conan-kun died. It's because HE'S Shinichi!" Ran shouted.
"Ran, calm down! You're getting hysterical. You might open up your wound!"
"It's him! It's him! He's mad! He's upset and hurt and alone and he's gotten mad! It's Shinichi! It's Conan-kun!" Ran shouted. "Just believe me!" She shouted and continued to shout until a nurse finally rushed in with a sedative.
***
"Shinichi...why...why?" Ran muttered. She had eventually calmed down, but even now...She couldn't sleep. Everytime she tried, she kept thinking. "Why would you want to kill me, Shinichi?"
She kept trying to think of a reason, but then...a thought occurred. Shinichi never called her, but maybe...maybe if she called him?
She slowly crawled out of bed, wincing at the pain in her stomach, before grabbing her purse from the things Kogoro had brought from home. She just had to slip somewhere away from the machines.
She decided on the courtyard, trying to ignore the pain in her stomach. Just one call. This late, maybe he'd answer. Just one call. She'd bear with the pain of moving then, even if it brought tears to her eyes.
"Shinichi....please just pick up Shinichi," Ran murmured to herself as she scrolled through the contacts. "Just this once...PLEASE pick up when it rings, Shinichi." She pressed talk and put the phone to her ear, listening for it to ring.
Odd. It sounded like...a phone was ringing behind her.
"Ran..."
Ran looked over her shoulder in surprise. "Shin-ow!" She yelped, looking at the needle that was stabbed into her arm, feeling a far too cold liquid entering her veins.
"Don't cry anymore."
***
After that, things only got worse. With no other fingerprints found on the syringe, people were starting to wonder if perhaps RAN was doing it? Even when she was strangled, it looked like it was from some long strap. That perhaps Ran was somehow trying to kill herself.
There were inconsistencies, of course, but there was never any physical evidence of anyone being there at the time. Except for her.
It didn't help several patient testified seeing her in the courtyard. Alone. Completely and utterly alone.
She was strapped to the bed and when she recovered, was sent to the psyche ward. People would think she'd get better, but as soon as she had any sort of freedom, even a short time alone...
There was only one person who thought Ran wasn't suicidal.
Too bad Hattori could never get in to see her to see what was happening.
***
"I'm done," Ran said, her eyes sunken and hollow looking. "I'm done with all of it...it's too much pain," she said, walking up the stairs of a nearby hotel. She had escaped from the hospital. She knew it wouldn't be long until they noticed, but by then...it'd be too late.
But she could feel it. The familiar cold chill. The lights kept flickering.
"It's better this way..." Ran said, pushing open the door to the roof top. She looked around for anyone, not sure if she should be grateful or not that no one was there.
She walked over to the ledge, breathing in the night air. "Shinichi..." She whispered. "Kudou Shinichi....Edogawa Conan..." She said, repeating the names over and over again, feeling the shadows increase around her. She closed her eyes tightly, standing at the edge. "Please...Shinichi....Conan-kun...I'm tired of it all..." She whispered, feeling the tears well up and slip from closed eyelids.
"Don't cry anymore...please don't cry anymore, Ran...Ran-neechan shouldn't cry."
And then Ran felt a force pushing at her back and she didn't fight it as she tumbled over the edge.