FANFIC - Friendships of Sorrow

[sgamer82]

DETECTIVE CONAN
FRIENDSHIPS OF SORROW
AYUMI YOSHIDA
BY
Sgamer82

Despite the darkness, enough moonlight came in through the window that she could see clearly. She saw the little girl before her, clutching her cheek and trying hard not to cry. The girl looked at her, an expression of shock on her face. She saw her hand, outstretched, palm open.

"Y-Yoshida-san?" Ai Haibara asked, "D... did I? I-I'm... I didn't... Ayumi..."

That was when the door opened, and Haibara saw two black, shadowy figures standing before her.

* * * * *

Everything started out one afternoon at the home Haibara shared with Dr. Hiroshi Agasa. Haibara had opened the door and announed her entry.

"Yoshida-san asked to me to sleep over at her apartment again." she told Dr. Agasa when he asked how her day was.

"That's makes it, let's see, the seventh time now?" he asked.

"Eighth." Haibara answered as she found one of her magazines to start reading through.

Ayumi had been asking Haibara about that for weeks now. To date, Haibara had managed some excuse or another to keep her at bay.

"Why not just go?" Agasa asked her.

"As much as I appreciate Yoshida-san's attempts at friendliness, I simply do not wish to spend an entire evening playing the giggly little girl."

"Giggly?" The doctor asked, a smirk on his face as he tried to picture it.

"You know full well what I mean." Haibara admonished him.

"Well, you can't blame Ayumi-kun for wanting to be with you." Agasa told her, "You're probably the first friend she's that that's also a girl. As far as I know, her only best friends until now have been Shinichi, Genta-kun, and Mitsuhiko-kun."

"I fail to see how that's something to consider." Haibara retorted.

"I'll bet that somewhere Ayumi-kun got the idea that girls do things together. For instance, slumber parties. Being her only real girl friend, you're the one she wants to do these things with."

Haibara considered the doctor's words for a moment. It was often easy to forget, or rather make herself forget, that in the eyes of others she was a giggly little girl. Though those who knew her personally often took the "giggly" part out very quickly. Ayumi simply wished to spend time with someone who, as far as she knew, was a peer. For a moment, Haibara felt a little guilty for constantly and casually dismissing her requests.

These thoughts occupied Haibara's mind the rest of the evening and during school the next day. When class ended and a chance finally came, Haibara approached Ayumi, busily getting her backpack ready so she could head home.

"Yoshida-san?"

"Hm? Oh, Ai-chan!" Ayumi said happily. It still surprised Haibara that she let Ayumi call her that. Especially when, from just about anybody else, she couldn't stand it. It sounded demeaning, condescending; even when it wasn't intended that way. When it didn't feel like she was being talked down to, it felt more like it was being used for no other reason that custom, making it meaningless. Ayumi was the only one Haibara thought said "Ai-chan" with nothing more behind it than simple friendly affection. Haibara's guilt surged again. In the end, Ayumi was doing nothing more than trying to be Haibara's friend.

"Yoshida-san... about that sleep over..."

"I know... you can't come again, right?" Ayumi said, her eyes going towards her desk.

"Well... actually..." Haibara braced herself, "I think I can do it this time..."

"Really?!!" Ayumi nearly shouted, blue eyes going wide with excitement as they turned to look into Haibara's.

"Yes... let me know when and we'll do it."

"Oh! It'll be great!" Ayumi exclaimed, "We'll stay up real late an' watch movies an' eat ice cream 'til we burst..."

As Haibara listened to Ayumi list all the "fun" things they'd be doing, she tried to convince herself not to take it all back.

"...an' my mom an' dad'll order pizza! They promised they would!"

It's just one night... I can survive that.

"...Oh, an' pillow fights!"

I hope...

* * * * *

The sleepover happened that Saturday night. All things considered, the evening hadn't been as awful as Haibara had expected.

She and Dr. Agasa had arrived promptly at six thirty. For the benefit of Ayumi's parents, Dr. Agasa played the "concerned guardian." He gave them various numbers to reach him at. His face went beet red with embarrassment when Haibara made a point of noting that none of them were his mobile phone's number, where he could be reached anywhere, anytime.

Ayumi's mother and father seemed nice enough people. Much to Haibara's expected dismay, they called her "Ai-chan." Fortunately, like Ayumi, there was no condesension and the faintest hint of something other than courtesy in their use of it. Haibara found it didn't bother her much at all to hear the honorific from them.

As her host had promised, Ayumi's mother dialed a nearby pizza parlor for some dinner. Ayumi was especially excited, as the foreign dish was a rare treat in her household. The food arrived just as the night's episode of Kamen Yaiba was coming on. Haibara sat quietly, eating her meal as Ayumi, knowing Haibara didn't watch the show, explained everything Haibara didn't know about, whether Haibara wanted her to or not. Haibara had actually found the program somewhat enjoyable. Predictable, but done well enough that it wasn't too boring. More than she'd have expected from a kids' show, really.

For the rest of the night, Haibara and Ayumi spent most of their time in Ayumi's room. Ayumi had made sure they'd have plenty to do. Haibara found that Ayumi had prepared everything from dolls and toys to play-make-up to experiment with. Shiho Miyano hadn't generally been fond of makeup, but her older sister had taught her a few things nonetheless. Just enough that Haibara was able to leave Ayumi in awe. Even Ayumi's mother, who had supervised the girls, was impressed.

"Did your mother or an older sister teach you that?" she had asked. Haibara had answered with a simple "yes", with the tone of her voice making it clear she didn't want to go into detail. Mother and daughter let it go. Ayumi was having too much fun and Haibara guessed Ayumi's mother didn't want to possibly ruin it by upsetting Ai. That suited Haibara just fine.

Most of the night had gone well. Better than Haibara had anticipated, actually. She even caught herself having fun at times.

The night itself was fine. Nothing awful happened until the girls went to bed.

* * * * *

Both Ai Haibara and Ayumi Yoshida was tuckered out before the night was done. The two were allowed to stay up well past Ayumi's usual bedtime. As a result, she and Ai were tired enough that they were sound asleep quickly.

At least they were. Ayumi was gradually awoken by the feeling of movement beside her. She opened her eyes and saw Ai, sleeping next to her, tossing and turning. The movements were quick and, thanks to moonlight coming in from Ayumi's bedroom window, she saw Ai's face seemed to be contorted in pain.

"Ai-chan?" Ayumi said as she sat up. Ayumi watched Ai thrashing about for another few seconds before concluding that Ai was having a bad dream. Knowing what those were like, she decided to try and wake Ai up before things got too bad.

It didn't help. In fact, Ayumi wondered if she was making things worse. She nudged Ai just a bit, not wanting to wake her too harshly. The other girl moaned and began kicking her legs, almost as if she was trying to run away. Deciding to be a bit more drastic, she tried shaking her a bit. In response Ai only quietly cried out "No! Stay away!" Ayumi was getting worried now.

"Ai-chan! Wake up!" she said, the worry in her voice clear as she grabbed hold of Ai's arms. Ai became very frantic now, acting as if something had her in its clutches. Ayumi couldn't hang on to her. Ai managed to get one of her arms free and, in her thrashing, slapped Ayumi right in the face. In that same moment, Ai finally woke up and sat upright. She looked around, a scared look in her eyes. Then she saw Ayumi.

[sgamer82]

Despite the darkness, enough moonlight came in through the window that she could see clearly. She saw the little girl before her, clutching her cheek and trying hard not to cry. The girl looked at her, an expression of shock on her face. She saw her hand, outstretched, palm open.

"Y-Yoshida-san?" Ai Haibara asked, "D... did I? I-I'm... I didn't... Ayumi..."

That was when the door opened, and Haibara saw two black, shadowy figures standing before her.

Haibara suddenly felt numb with shock and fear. She could do nothing but stare, turning away only when one of the figures turned on the lights. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she clearly heard a woman's voice speak.

"What is going on in here?"

Haibara recognized the voice and, thanks to that, began remembering where she was. Still numb with shock and able to do little else, she sat and watched as Ayumi's parents took in the scene. Ayumi clutching her face, Haibara with a terrified expression on her face. The two split, Ayumi's father checking on his daughter, her mother checking on Ai.

"What in the world happened?" asked Ayumi's mother as she tried to calm Haibara.

"It was an accident." Ayumi explained, "Ai-chan was moving around because she was having a nightmare."

A nightmare? No... Haibara thought to herself, Not tonight... not here!

Haibara was all too aware of her dreams. They usually consisted of two of her old companions from the Black Organization, Gin and Vodka, tracking her down and killing her. Not just her, but anybody who happened to be with her at the time. Some times it was only her, others it was Conan Edogawa (a.k.a. Shinichi Kudo), or Ayumi or one of their other school friends, or some combination thereof. She couldn't believe it had happened here of all places!

Haibara heard, yet didn't hear, Ayumi explain about how she tried to wake up Ai and how that had resulted in Ai hitting her.

"I... hit you?" Haibara asked quietly. Ayumi nodded.

"I... I'm sorry..."

Everyone assured Haibara that everything was fine and that it was clearly an accident. But that didn't help with her guilt.

* * * * *

Once the adults were sure the two girls were okay, they made them get back in bed to get some sleep. Though neither girl was tired any longer. They laid in Ayumi's bed, wide awake for some time after they were left alone.

"A-ayu... Yoshida-san..."

"I know. You didn't mean it." Ayumi told her. She wasn't angry at Ai at all. In fact, she blamed herself for making things worse by moving her.

"Still..." Ai said.

"Do you have nightmares a lot, Ai-chan?" Ayumi asked.

"Mm... yes... I do."

"What happens in them?"

Haibara was silent, considering her answer. She couldn't tell Ayumi the full truth, of course. But she couldn't just dodge the question either.

"I dream about being chased by men who want to kill me." she said.

"Oh..." Ayumi decided not to press for more detail then that. The two laid together silently for a few minutes more. Deep in their own thoughts. Ayumi looked at her friend. Usually so calm and collected, to the point of almost looking like a grownup shrunk down to kid size. Now she seemed incredibly sad, and afraid. Ayumi was sincerely wishing there was something she could do.

That was when it hit her.

"Ugichi!" she said suddenly, as she got out of bed. Ai sat up, turning her head to watch as Ayumi began digging around in one of her toy chests. It took Ayumi some time, as she was looking for it in the darkness (she didn't dare turn on a light and possibly get in trouble with her parents), but she soon found what she was after. She pulled it out and held it out to Ai.

It was a stuffed plush doll. A bunny rabbit, to be exact. Complete with button eyes and a fluffy tail. Ai simply stared at it, her expression clearly saying "You have got to be kidding."

"A bunny?" Ai asked.

"Ugichi!" Ayumi said.

"Ugichi?"

"It's her name!" Ayumi explained, "When I was three, I snuck out of bed once and saw my parents watching some late night move. A really scary one. I had nightmares every night for nearly a week. Finally, my mom got me Ugichi. I slept with her the next few nights and didn't have one nightmare! It's a surefire cure for bad dreams."

This time Ai actually said what she thought, "You have got to be kidding..."

"What? I'm telling you, it'll work!"

Ai just stared.

"Just try it!" Ayumi demanded, stuffing the toy into Ai's arms.

"I don't need this!" Ai told her, handing it back.

"Yes, you do!" Ayumi insisted, giving it to Ai and wrapping her arms around it.

"Look, Yoshi-"

"Just try it one time." Ayumi said, "If you have another bad dream, then forget it. But I promise you that won't happen!"

Ai looked at the other girl. Ayumi had welcomed Haibara into her home, tried to share things she liked with her and, in general, show her a good time. She was even trying to help with Haibara's dream problems.

And how have I repaid her? Haibara thought glumly, I dodge her for weeks, come here expecting the worst, hit her! And now, when she tries to help me, I dismiss her idea like it's nothing!

"Very well. One time." Ai told her with a sigh. Ayumi gave her friend a big smile.

"You won't regret it." Ayumi promised.

The two went back to bed and fell asleep quickly. Though Ayumi made a point of staying up just long enough to make sure that Ai had the doll in her arms when she fell asleep.

* * * * *

As the sunlight began to shine through Ayumi Yoshida's bedroom window, Ai Haibara, Ugichi still in her arms, began to wake. As her eyes opened, only one thought occured to her.

That had to be the dumbest dream I have ever had.

She turned to lay on her back only to notice that she still held that silly doll of Ayumi's in her arms. She lifted it over her head and stared at it. Haibara had dreamed again after she'd gone back to sleep. It had actually appeared in her dream, leaving Haibara wondering if having it had actually affected her.

No. Couldn't be... it had to be some kind of trick...

"She worked, didn't she?"

Ai jumped a bit in surprise. She sat up and saw Ayumi on her bedroom floor playing with some dolls.

"Ugichi gave you good dreams, didn't she?"

"It wasn't the doll!" Haibara insisted.

"It was to." said Ayumi with a smug tone in her voice.

"It wasn't."

"Was."

"Wasn't."

"Was."

"Wasn-ugh... I can't believe I'm doing this..." Haibara said upon realizing she was getting into a "Did not. Did so" argument.

"Fine, it wasn't Ugichi." Ayumi said, "But then, how often do you have good dreams."

"My dream wasn't good." Haibara denied, "It was dumb. The dumbest dream I can remember."

"See, there you go! Dumb dreams are the best ones!"

Haibara just looked at the girl, who looked at her with a triumphant smile. Haibara was tiring of this. After a few seconds of silence Ayumi spoke up.

"Well?"

"What?"

"What did you dream?"

"You really want to know?"

"Of course!"

"Well..." Haibara stammered. She gave a resigned sigh. She knew Ayumi well enough by now to know she wouldn't let go of this without a satisfactory answer. And this time Haibara actually could tell the truth. Mostly.

"It started as most of my dreams do. I'm about to be killed by two men who want me dead."

"And?"

"And..." Haibara could feel herself blushing, "Okay... maybe the rabbit helped a little..."

"What happened?" Ayumi asked eagerly. Ai mumbled something that Ayumi didn't quite hear.

"Ai-chan..."

"The bunny appeared and chased them away!" she said quickly.

"Really?" Ayumi giggled.

"Yes... and then, you appeared. You asked if I wanted to do something fun. From there we went and gorged ourselves on a large mountain of cake..."

A near minute of silence followed.

...

...

...

"Was it chocolate?"

"Huh?" Haibara asked.

"The cake. Was it chocolate?"

"Um... angel's food, I think."

"Darn, I really like chocolate cake." Ayumi said. Haibara couldn't help herself. She started to chuckle. Ayumi joined in and the two had a good laugh over the whole thing.

[sgamer82]

The rest of the morning was uneventful. Ayumi's mother had a good breakfast ready for them. Ayumi's parents expressed concern over Ai's nightmares. Haibara assured them she was just fine now. However, Ayumi went into greater detail, explaining about Ugichi. Haibara tried not to make eye contact.

Doctor Agasa arrived for Haibara at about 11 a.m. By then, Haibara had her overnight bag packed and was ready to go home.

"I hope you had fun, Ai-chan!" Ayumi said as Haibara was stepping outside.

"I did." she said, meaning it more than she'd expected to, "We should do this again."

"Yeah!" Ayumi cried in agreement. Dr. Agasa looked down at Haibara in surprise. When they were in his VW headed home, he told he that he hadn't expected her to really enjoy herself.

"Me either." Haibara admitted, "But, for the most part, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected."

Upon returning home, Haibara was taking her overnight bag upstairs to her and Agasa's bedroom when she noticed something odd. There was a lump in the top of the bag. She found it odd because she was as meticulous in her packing as she was nearly everything else she did. Unzipping the bag, Haibara found an interesting surprise.

In the bag, on top of everything else in there, was Ayumi's stuffed bunny. She clearly had snuck it into Haibara's bag after Haibara finished putting everything else in there. Looking more closely, Haibara saw a note tied to it, written in what was clearly Ayumi's childish scrawl.

To Ai-chan,

To keep the scary men way.

Love,
Ayumi

Haibara couldn't help but smile. She put the gift on her bed for later. She still wasn't totally convinced it had any effect on her nightmares. However, that didn't mean she shouldn't experiment.

Just to make sure.



AUTHOR NOTES:
This was the first Conan story I'd ever done. I hope you enjoyed. Just a few comments of my own to finish it up with before moving on to posting the next one.

The name "Ugichi" is a play of "Usagi-chan" (Usagi=rabbit). "Friendships of Sorrow", obviously, is a play on Ai's name.

I'm kind of hoping to eventually have a series of stories, where Haibara has to interact one-on-one with various characters. Though so far I only have actual stories for Ran and Ayumi. Other projects (including other Conan stories) grabbed my attention away. Though I do have ideas for Dr. Agasa and Mitsuhiko (Her first days with the doctor, and teaching Mitsuhiko how to play chess)
#nosmileys

[sgamer82]

DETECTIVE CONAN
FRIENDSHIPS OF SORROW
RAN MOURI
BY
Sgamer82

Mouri Ran walked along the sidewalk. She had no destination in particular. She was simply a bit bored. Things were quiet at home since her father had had to leave town for a case. As often happened, Conan had managed to tag along. Though Ran herself had tests at school she couldn't miss, so this time the case was boys only.

I hope Conan-kun comes back in one piece... Ran thought to herself, knowing her father's lack of patience with the boy.

Her wandering eventually brought her to a familiar neighborhood. She saw two large houses, side by side. Her eyes automatically went to the name plate of the first house.

Kudo.

Even though she knew there'd be nothing, she couldn't help but look up at the windows to see if any lights were on. She missed Shinichi greatly. His occasional phone calls just weren't enough for her sometimes.

Hoping to distract herself from such thinking, she looked to the other nameplate.

Agasa.

The home Doctor Hiroshi Agasa shared with Ai Haibara. Ran had known Agasa for years, but Ai only a short while. Though they'd seen each other a few times, it was weeks (months?) before the little girl ever managed to even formally introduce herself. The child was an enigma to Ran. So quiet and introverted; almost never acting like your average child might. Ran sometimes found herself worrying about how she was faring in Dr. Agasa's care. He had asked Ran to take Conan because he wasn't confident in child rearing.

Well, since I'm here anyway, I may as well look in on them. Ran thought to herself as she walked to the gate of the house. She pressed a button on the intercom and waited a moment.

"Yes?" answered Ai's voice. Ran thought she heard noise behind. A lot of rushing around.

"Ai-chan? This is Ran Mouri. Can I come in?" There was a long silence before an answer came.

"Wait a moment." came the somewhat curt reply.

That was one of the things that confused Ran most. Ai seemed to have something against Ran, even though they hardly knew each other. Ran got the impression it wasn't really personal, but it bothered her nonetheless. Did she remind Ai of someone she disliked?

Soon after Ai's reply, Dr. Agasa came running up to the gate. He gave Ran a quick greeting as he unlocked it for her and ran back inside before she could ask what the big rush was. She walked inside the house, slipping off her shoes. Inside, Dr. Agasa was running here and there, quickly gathering this and that. She heard Ai's voice before she could even ask a question.

"Dr. Agasa's been called on some urgent business." she said, not looking up from the book she was reading as she sat in an easy chair, "Apparently it's a chance to patent one of his inventions. He has to leave immediately, though, to catch the last train."

"Oh, I see." Ran replied as she watched Dr. Agasa huff and puff as he ran around more than he probably had in years.

"Wait a second..." Ran said as a thought occurred to her, "Are you going, too, Ai-chan?"

"No." she replied.

"Doctor!" Ran yelled suddenly. Ai and Dr. Agasa both jumped a bit at the unexpected outburst.

"Doctor Agasa, if Ai-chan isn't going with you, just what were you planning on doing with her?"

"Uhhhhh...." Agasa stammered, Ai looked up from her seat, suddenly worried about where this was headed.

"Don't you dare tell me that you were going to leave a seven-year-old girl home alone overnight!"

Scientist and pseudo-child looked at one another. In fact, that had been the plan...

"I can't believe you!" Ran scolded, when the doctor's silence confirmed her fears. Agasa shrank back a bit in front of the young woman's fury.

"That's got to be the most irresponsible thing I've ever heard of! It's a lucky thing I came along."

Unknown to Ran, Haibara was suddenly very worried about where this was headed.

"Dr. Agasa, if you have to leave on this trip, fine. But you are not leaving Ai-chan home alone! I'm staying right here with her!"

"That's nice of you, Ran-kun, but..."

"There is no argument here, Doctor." Ran said, her tone making clear it was final. Dr. Agasa didn't dare try anymore arguing. Ran didn't see Dr. Agasa shrug apologetically at Haibara. Who merely shook her head.

Sadly, it was unavoidable. Haibara gave a sigh of resignation as Dr. Agasa continued his packing and made a quick exit. Haibara wondered to herself just how much of Dr. Agasa's sudden rush was done in the hopes of avoiding Ran's wrath and how much was intended to avoid Haibara's.

Ran's anger faded as soon as the doctor was gone. No matter how angry she was at Dr. Agasa she wasn't about to go and take it out on Ai. She hadn't done anything wrong, as far as Ran knew. Ran thought about what to do now. This sudden babysitting gig had been rather impulsive on Ran's part. As a result, she didn't have anything prepared.

She had Ai come with her back to her home to get some overnight stuff ready. Between the whole time between going home and coming back, Ai didn't say anything except a "Yes, Ran-san." when Ran told Ai to get her shoes on to go out.

Ran considered another thing about the little girl she found odd. Conan and all of his other friends called her "Ran-neechan." Ai, however, seemed to make a point of using "san." Ran didn't know if it was simply out of respect or if her dislike for Ran went so far as to avoid calling her a "Big Sister."

As she watched Ai sit at a table and begin her homework, Ran decided she was going to use this opportunity to get to the bottom of things once and for all.

* * * * *

Haibara struggled to keep her head. She knew Mouri had only good intentions as self-appointed babysitter. Though that knowledge did little to keep Haibara calm. She worried that she'd end up saying or doing something that would anger Mouri and start an argument. Worse yet, she might say or do something to make Mouri suspicious of her real identity. Haibara knew she didn't really act like a child. Not when compared to Kudo, or to her school friends. Ran had, more than once already, had the thought that Shinichi Kudo and Conan Edogawa were one and the same. For now, Haibara and Kudo had her almost fully convinced her theory was wrong. However, the mere idea that, not only Kudo, but Haibara too was a shrunk down teen would surely restart her suspicions again.

Maybe that's why I act like I do? Haibara wondered. Her often negative attitude towards Mouri perhaps being based in fear that she would figure everything out and endanger them all. On the other hand, while that could very likely be part of it, something else seemed to tug at Ai whenever the girl was around. Something that bothered her greatly. Something she could not yet identify. Nor was she interested in doing so. Haibara wanted nothing more right now than to get to the next morning without incident.

To that end, she decided to concentrate on her homework. It was a temporary distraction, and Haibara knew it. She would finish the ridiculously easy work quickly, as she always did. Still, it was something to keep her mind off of the situation. Oddly enough, while Shinichi Kudo was always complaining about the simplicity and utter ease of first grade schoolwork, Haibara found it unusually relaxing. When one spent most of their time working on what could very well be an impossible task, being able to concentrate on something ridiculously easy once in a while was strangely cathartic. As expected, she finished the homework within twenty minutes. Not quite so expected...

"That's amazing, Ai-chan. You finished it all so fast!" Ran said from behind. Haibara jumped a bit, wondering just how long she had been watching. She regained her composure quickly enough.

"Yes. So I did." Haibara replied coolly. Ran frowned at her.

"Ai-chan?" she asked the not-so-little little girl.

"Hm?" replied the child, as she got up as she began searching Dr. Agasa's bookshelves for a magazine or book to read. Another distraction.

"I've been wanting to ask... is there something about me you don't like?" Ai stopped moving for a moment.

"No, not really..."

"Well, it just seems that I bother you for some reason. I was wondering why."

"I don't know."

[sgamer82]

Ran wasn't sure if Ai was telling the truth or dodging the question. But she knew she wouldn't be getting an answer yet. Ran didn't mind, she had all night. Maybe after the girl became more used to her presence an answer would come. If Shinichi, her father, and even Conan had taught her anything, when you wanted to solve a mystery, you needed to be patient.

Ran felt a small rumble in her belly, and made the decision to get dinner started. She had Ai come with her into the kitchen. For a moment, Haibara feared being labeled something silly like "special helper" and being made to aid in simple tasks. Fortunately, Ran needed her mostly to tell her where things were. To Ran's surprise, Ai knew where just about every item was located.

"How do you know where it all is, Ai-chan?" she asked good-naturedly.

"I organized it." Ai replied.

"Wait... does Dr. Agasa make you cook?" after what she witnessed tonight, she wouldn't put it past him.

"No, it's more like I make him not cook. He knows his way around a science lab, but he's helpless in a kitchen."

Ran struggled between laughing at the remark and scolding Ai for saying something like that about an elder. When a memory of her own struck her, she settled on laughing.

"Sounds like me back home. I was learning to cook way back when I was your age because my parents didn't know anything about preparing meals. And, unfortunately for me, it wasn't for lack of trying."

Ran wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she heard a snort of laughter below her. When she looked down, Ai was making a point of looking away from her.

Looks like I'm making progress.

* * * * *

Haibara had heard about Ran's cooking skills from Kudo. But this was the first time she'd eaten a full meal the teenager had prepared. She had to admit, she was impressed. The only person she could think of who might top this meal was her sister. The times Shiho and Akemi Miyano had been able to see one another, there had always been at least one home cooked meal. The memory both cheered and saddened her.

"Are you okay, Ai-chan?" Ran asked. Haibara looked up in surprise.

"You looked kind of down all of a sudden." Ran explained, "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine." Haibara said as she ate another mouthful of food. Her face had given her away when Haibara was thinking of her sister. She'd have to avoid such thoughts for the rest of the night. Haibara was normally very calm, cool, and collected. The only times she got very emotional was when either the Black Organization, who currently sought her life, or her beloved elder sister were involved. Seeing as she wanted to remain very unemotional tonight, she tried to push away those thoughts.

However, Haibara failed to realize the ultimate flaw in that plan. The more one tried not to think about something, the more that one did think about it. Leaving Haibara more depressed than usual for the next hour or so.

Mouri noticed, and for that hour or so tried various tricks to cheer up her charge. She turned on the television to Kamen Yaiba, the other kids' favorite. Haibara ignored it and stuck her nose in a book. Ran tried striking up a conversation, asking Haibara if she liked any boys in her class. Haibara said no, then found a new book. Ran asked Ai about what she was reading. Haibara put the book back where she got it and tried pretending to fall asleep. Not falling for it for a second, Ran asked if Ai might like to learn some basic karate moves. Haibara replied she disliked violence.

The whole thing had left both girls very frustrated. Ran was beginning to wish she'd just stayed home tonight. Haibara would have been very glad if she had. Haibara decided to just put an end to this night and go to bed. Seeing her last opportunity, Ran decided to finally try the direct approach.

"Ai-chan, wait!" Ran grabbed Ai's shoulder and kneeled down to look her in the eyes. Will you please tell me what is bothering you so much, tonight?"

Haibara was silent. She really didn't have an answer.

"Do you hate me that much?"

Haibara silently shook her head.

"If it's not me, what is it?"

Haibara did not answer.

"I'm ready to listen to any problems you might have..." Ran encouraged, "If it's a secret, I won't tell anybody. Come on now, you can tell neechan all about it."

Ran was suddenly startled when she saw something flicker in the small girl's eyes. Ran, at once, understood she'd gone too far somehow. Ai was angry.

"Don't call yourself that!" Haibara suddenly demanded.

"E-excuse me?" Ran stammered, at a loss for words.

Had it happened under different circumstances, perhaps Haibara would have reacted differently. However, with Ran's last sentence, Haibara had an epiphany. Once and for all, she understood just what it was about Ran Mouri that bothered her so much. Unfortunately, the idea had come so without warning and had enraged her so deeply that her cool exterior crumbled instantly.

"Don't you dare call yourself my neechan!" she shouted, tears forming in her eyes as she pulled herself free from a startled Ran Mouri's grasp, "You're not her! You never will be!! So stop trying!!!"

"W-what..." Ran could only mutter as Ai ran away. She heard a door slam and knew the girl had retreated to her bedroom. Leaving a dumbfounded Ran Mouri to ponder just what had happened.

* * * * *

The irony wasn't lost on Ran. Just a couple of hours ago, she had thought to herself that Ai Haibara didn't act much like a child.

How does fate answer me? She throws a fit and locks herself in her room...

Once again Ran turned the knob of the door that led into the bedroom Ai and Dr. Agasa shared. It was locked. Ai wouldn't come out until she was ready. Granted, Ran could easily break the door down. But she wanted Ai to come out on her own, not because she was forced. Besides, her father would kill her, as he'd be the one to pay for the replacement door.

Ai's reluctance was just as well. Ran was still trying to puzzle everything out.

"Don't you dare call yourself my neechan! You're not her! You never will be!! So stop trying!!!"

If Ran was interpreting that correctly, it answered a lot of questions. She had thought that she was reminding Ai of somebody she hated. Instead it was exactly the opposite.

I finally have that figured out... Ran thought glumly But what in the world do I do about it?

"Ai-chan?" Ran asked, knocking on the door. No answer, not that she'd seriously expected one. With a sigh, Ran sat down in the closest chair she could find. She needed to figure out how to get Ai to either come out or let Ran in.

* * * * *

She laid on her bed and buried her face in a pillow, tears flowing uncontrollably. As her temper cooled and rational thought returned, Haibara couldn't think of anything except what a fool she was.

Idiot! she chided herself. In that moment, when Ran had said Haibara could tell "neechan" all about her problems, Haibara's mind had gone instantly to Akemi. It was exactly the sort of thing she would've said. That thought had lead to the idea she was now berating herself for even having. In that brief moment, Ai Haibara had seriously thought that Ran Mouri was trying to replace her sister!

Ridiculous!! she told herself, How could Mouri intentionally replace someone she didn't even know existed? At least, didn't know about until now! Mouri would almost certainly put two and two together and try to make some sort of reconciliation with Haibara. And almost as certainly she'd expect Haibara to tell her about Akemi.

The whole thing had finally made Haibara realize the biggest reason for her antagonisim towards Ran Mouri. Whatever else she may feel towards the young woman, she reminded Haibara of Akemi. Too much, in fact. Looking back, much of what Mouri did were things she could picture, and in some cases remember, Akemi doing. Haibara now knew that that was why she didn't want Mouri close to her. It was too painful. Mouri's every action was a reminder of the sister she'd lost. A loss she still hadn't fully come to grips with yet...

"Ai-chan?" she heard the Mouri call though the door with a knock. Haibara didn't answer. She wasn't ready yet.

She started to consider what she should do. Apologizing would likely be first. Even if she didn't feel genuinely guilty Mouri would try and make her. And, really, Ran deserved some kind of apology.

A few more minutes later, Haibara got off her bed, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and unlocked the door.

[sgamer82]

Ran was beginning to fall asleep when she was alerted to the sound of a tumbling lock. She looked up and saw the bedroom door open. Ai came out, eyes downcast. They were slightly red. Without a word, she walked up to where Ran sat.

"Mouri-san..."

"Ai-chan." Ran replied.

An awkward silence followed.

"I'm sorry." Ran said.

"Huh?" Haibara asked in surprise, "You're sorry?"

"I just wanted to get to know you better." Ran explained, as she kneeled down to look Ai right in the eyes, "But, in doing so, I hurt you by stepping on forbidden territory. I'm only guessing, but it sounded like you had an older sister."

"Yes..." Ai replied, "She died last year."

"I see... Ai-chan... I'm not out to replace her. If that's what you think."

"It isn't... I thought it for a moment... but it's ridiculous, seeing as you didn't even know about her... I'm sorry, too. I was a fool."

"No, you weren't." Ran told her, "What you felt... what you feel... is perfectly understandable. I can even say I've felt something very close."

"Mm." Ai mumbled in response.

"I don't know if you know this, but my parents split up when I was about a year older than you. And even now, after all that time, I get upset whenever I see my father... uh... how do I put it...?"

"Pick up women?" Ai ventured.

"Yeah." Ran replied. Astonished, not for the first time, by the girl's maturity and bluntness.

"In those rare instances where a relationship would become serious, I would always get upset and angry. I would think to myself, 'this woman's trying to replace my mom.' I knew, rationally, that most of them weren't trying to do that at all. But, to me, it didn't matter. The friendlier they tried to be to me, the angrier I became. Not a single one of those pretenders could ever, in my mind, measure up to the real thing.

"I think that the man reason for this was because I could never fully accept my parents' breakup. I still can't, to be honest. All these years, and still, every chance I can, I think of ways to try and get them back together. Even though I know full well it's not likely they'll ever reconcile. To know something, and to accept it, can be two very different things."

Ai tried to look away, but couldn't break her lock with Mouri's eyes. Because of this, and fresh tears appearing on the smaller girl's face, Ran knew she had essentially hit the nail on the head.

"Ai-chan, your sister is gone. You know this. But I think, deep down, even though it's been a year you can't bring yourself to fully accept it yet. That's all right. Everyone goes at their own pace. If you're not ready yet, nobody can force you. And I'm sorry for doing that to you, even accidentally. I also swear to you, I'm not going to try and replace her. I know, like you, what that feels like. If it ever feels like I'm doing that, I want you to let me know."

As Ran was speaking, she saw Ai's face become streaked with tears that ran down her face and fell to the floor. She considered giving her a hug, but decided that wouldn't be wise, considering the situation that had caused this whole mess to begin with. So she stayed where she was, on her knees in front of the girl, and let her cry run its course.

"Right now..." Ai muttered after a few moments of silence.

"Huh?" Ran asked.

"Right now... all of this... is like what Oneechan would say... if she were here."

"Oh." Ran said with a frown, then with a smile, "Then, I guess this means there really isn't any chance of getting you to call me 'neechan' is there?"

To Ran's relief, Ai laughed.

"None whatsoever, Mouri-san."

The tension between them broke with a shared laugh.

* * * * *

Dr. Agasa returned early the next morning to find Ran Mouri in his kitchen working on breakfast. A blanket and pillow were on his couch, suggesting she'd slept there during the night. He greeted her beofre peeking into his and Ai's room to see the girl sound asleep. Agasa wasn't surprised to see the stuffed toy given to her by Ayumi held in her arms. She'd made a habit of sleeping with it since they had a sleepover. Agasa knew Ai liked to sleep in whenever possible, so he let her be. What Dr. Agasa didn't realize was that was only part of why she was so soundly asleep.

The previous evening's events had left Ai Haibara feeling exhausted, more from mental and emotinal stress than any physical activity. She had gone to sleep shortly after her talk with Mouri. Haibara didn't feel so upset now. Mouri's talk had actually helped. At the very least, she came to feel less foolish about her earlier state of mind. To her relief, Mouri hadn't insisted on hearing about Akemi. She had asked, as expected, but it was more from curiosity and she allowed Haibara to get away without answering.

And just what about Mouri? Had this experience changed Haibara's feelings toward her? To an extent, it had. She still felt that odd antagonism towards the young woman, but it was less overwhelming now that she had identified the cause. The two had come to an understanding. Ran would not insist on being called "Ran-neechan" by Haibara. Though she did, at least, ask for "Ran-san" to be used more often than "Mouri-san." She did want to be Ai's friend, if nothing else, and friends weren't quite that formal. Haibara agreed that was more than fair.

What would come of all this, Haibara didn't know. The only clear effect of this ordeal was that Haibara would no longer be able to be left alone when Agasa had to go out of town. As Ai slept, Ran was making that very clear to the good doctor. Later, Agasa would promise Ai to figure out something in case she didn't want to be stuck with Ran too often.

Aside from that, though, life for Ai Haibara would likely continue as normal. She would find being around Ran Mouri easier to take now. Though direct contact would still be something she would avoid unless necessary. Now that Ran was aware of why that was so, Haibara thought (hoped, really) that Mouri would respect her feelings and let her steer clear if she so wished. She also hoped that Ran would keep tonight's events to herself. Last thing she needed was Kudo hearing about it all. She was more confident on that, though. Mouri was no blabbermouth.

And Ran? As she left for home (her father and Conan were due home soon themselves), she thought of the odd, quiet girl known to her as Ai Haibara. Ran had gotten more than she had bargained for from last night. The child was less of an enigma to her now. Ran now understood that she might never be as close to Ai as she was Conan and his other friends. She could live with that. Ai would likely stay clear of Ran as much as she could, so long as Ran reminded her, no matter how unintentionally, of her big sister. She could live with that as well.

But that didn't mean she'd care for Ai any less than Conan and his other friends. Ran could never live with herself if she did that.

Ai-chan, I'll watch out for you, just like I would anybody I call my friend.


AUTHOR'S NOTES: This idea was sparked primarily by the Ai fics "A Special Day" and "Redemption" (available at FanFiction.Net). In which Ai compares Ran to Akemi. From there sparked the idea that this story follows.

I don't really know if Ai calls Ran 'neechan' or not. But not doing so was necessary for this idea to work, so I decided I'd risk taking the liberty for the sake of drama.

I hope you enjoyed these two stories. I don't know if/when the next installment of FoS wil be made. I have at least one other project (a Naruto fanfic) I really want to finish before I concentrate on anything else.

I do, however, have two other complete Conan fanfic that, if people like these stories, I'll post later.