justonetruth | Here to fight fire with fire.

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Here to fight fire with fire.

It's night.

The flickering light of flames is cast along the walls of the corridor, the dancing light making shadows leap and jump unexpectedly. A single figure walks steadily through them, holding aloft the lighted torch that casts them. Although her pace is sedate and she is outwardly calm, she has a hand resting on the hilt of one of the two swords she carries. In the dim light, it's hard to tell that much more about her -- a straw hat, showing signs of having recently weathered a storm, hides her face, and robes she wears -- in the darkness, resembling nothing so much as the hakama and coat donned by advanced practioners of aikido, although of a colour and cloth not usually worn -- make it difficult to determine even her gender at first glance.

Coming to the end of one corridor she hesitates over which way to turn. As she is deliberating, a faint noise catches her attention and lifting the torch to see better, Ran glances back the way she has come.

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Ran is too rattled to picture a room in her head, taking a moment to steady herself before opening the door. The room is similar to the room she brought up earlier, but has been influenced by Ran-kun's expectations of a room as well: the number of tatami mats has increased, a sword stand, currently empty, stands in the alcove. Two sitting mats are placed ready at the low table, and a wardrobe with the door half open to reveal a futon folded away completes the room. Ran gives the chests and cupboards the quickest glance, sitting at the low table and taking a moment to collect her thoughts.

Ran-kun shuts the door behind him -- it's weird, seeing a Western-type swinging door instead of a shoji in a Japanese-style room -- and sits down across from her, patiently waiting for her to start.

And start Ran does.

"Winter was bitter," she said. "Shinichi was not with us, but he had promised to be back -- we expected him daily. As it neared the end of the winter months, the weather grew worse and I was concerned for his safety. He is not always sensible where safety is concerned and he does not know how bad the weather in the mountains can get. There was a sudden storm, snow so thick we could not see our way to the village. I was worried for Shinichi, and I made my way to the temple despite the weather, intending to make offerings for his safety. I found Conan there."

Ran-kun frowned thoughtfully.

"Shinichi wasn't doing anything weird before he disappeared, was he?" he hazarded. "Investigating something, maybe?"

"That depends," Ran said blandly. "Is preparing for his wedding considered weird?"

She frowned. "Samurai must have the permission of their daimyo to marry," she said. "To marry into samurai family, Shinichi had to satisfy Megure-daimyo of his fitness to serve him, and to provide for a family. Megure-daimyo was not against the match, but he was worried Shinichi was too young. Shinichi was some time in the city, and he cannot ever visit the city without being involved in some trouble or other."

"Wedding?"

Ran-kun couldn't help the yelp. Shinichi couldn't be much older than he was unless things were drastically different over there (which they were, only in a different way, and man this place gave him a headache sometimes), and he was getting married?

--wait. Edo period, or something like it. It isn't that weird to get married young back then, Ran reminded himself, dredging up the memory of school history lessons.

....But it still seemed really, really weird. Shinichi. Getting married.

Ran couldn't help a smirk at the reaction -- not so dissimilar to Shinichi's when she'd mentioned that she'd always thought May was a good month to marry in. Or her own when she realised what Shinichi had gone to do. Her smile faded as she thought how long ago the days when they could tease each other about their engagement seemed.

"He would be a better warrior if he would attend to practice, and not always be distracted by other things," she said. "And if he could learn to keep his place and not question his superiors, but for all that he will be a good samurai. And, I think, a good husband as well." Pause. "If he still lives."

"I don't think anything would stop Shinichi from questioning his superiors," Ran said dryly. "And he might be more okay than you think. What's Conan like?"

As that was patently true, Ran let the comment pass without question. It seemed that this other Ran knew Shinichi well indeed. "Conan?" She hesitated. "He is an odd child. He talks a lot, like all children do, but sometimes he says things that if a man said them would be considered wise. He came to us a stranger not remembering even his own name, but knows our ways like one reared in our house. He does not like to play with the children of the village, and Agasa says that he barely needs to tutor him."

That sounded familiar.

"Has he done anything that reminds you of Shinichi?" Ran-kun asked, though he had the feeling he already knew the answer. "How long has he been staying with you?"

Ran nodded. "His habits are like," she agreed. "And some of the things he says remind me of things Shinichi his said. And the resemblance is very strong." She frowns, quietly grave. "I fear some harm has befallen Shinichi and us and the child is the cause ... but I am not certain."

Now the question was whether to tell or not. But if there was anything Ran had learned about the Conan secret here in the mansion, it was that the one person Shinichi always seemed the most determined to keep out of it turned out to be the most useful, be it him or a version of Hattori. He sighed.

"Conan isn't the cause," he said plainly, leaning back and folding his arms. "He is Shinichi. Something happened to him to make him shrink." And quickly, before his other could protest-- "I know because it happened to my Shinichi, and a bunch of other ones here too. They got fed a poison that didn't work right and shrunk them into seven year olds."

That was a possibility that had not occurred to Ran. "He is enchanted? Not -- possessed?"

"Probably. Unless something really different happened." Ran looked thoughtful. "But he sounds just like my Conan, so I don't think that's it."

"There is more I haven't told you," Ran says slowly. "Recently my father ... he is not an old man, but he sleeps much -- more so than before. There are stories of changelings who seem human, but who betray themselves by stealing the lives of those around them. I didn't want to think it at first but--"

Sleeping more?

One of his first conversations with a Kuroba in the Mansion came to mind, and Ran didn't bother to stop an annoyed look from crossing his face.

Sleeping Kogoro. C'mon, oyaji, really.

How the heck was that Shinichi even putting his dad to sleep? Ran sincerely doubted there were voice-changing bow ties and stun gun wrist watches back in that time period.

"That's Shinichi too," he said flatly. "He doesn't do it where I'm from because I know about the secret and I just talk for him. But in one of the worlds I heard about, he puts oyaji to sleep with stun darts and uses his voice to make deductions."

"That's Shinichi? But surely that means that Conan is a changeling?" Ran asked, frowning. "Father doesn't talk. He just ... sleeps."

Ran-kun blinked.

"Does Conan do anything while he's sleeping?"

"Anything particular?" Ran thought about it but shook her head. "Nothing different from what he usually does."

That was strange.

"Weird..." Ran-kun mused, frowning.

Ran maintained a respectful silence as long as her curiousity and concern allowed.

"Need I worry?"

"I don't know," he admitted, leaning back on his hands. "My Shinichi doesn't do anything like that, so I don't know a whole lot about it. Maybe one of the other Conans could tell you something."

Just as he finished speaking, Ran grimaced, jaw tightening as he tried to hold back a yawn. It was late, even though he was trying not to show it.

Talk to the Conans about this? Ran frowned. She didn't like that idea, nor the suggestion that there were multiple Conans in the mansion. One was problem enough.

She caught her counterpart's almost yawn, and had to struggle to suppress one herself. "I am grateful for your counsel," she said. "And I hope you will not think it rude of me to suggest we continue another time? It is late."

Ran-kun grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, sure," he agreed, running a hand through his hair and climbing to his feet. "Shinichi and I are sharing room [ ] down the hall if you need us. And the dining room's on the first floor at the front of the hallway if you want breakfast in the morning."

Ran nodded, though she wasn't sure she dared presume enough to help herself to breakfast. "I shall see you again. Goodnight--" She hesitated briefly before bowing, "Mouri-sama." She was still not entirely convinced he wasn't a spirit and being careful never hurt.

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is_not_watson - 2010-05-14 21:16 (UTC) - Expand

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