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unciaa · 1 year

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Alone

The event happened shortly after Scotch’s death.

(The work is based on Detective Conan from Gosho Aoyama and is not cannon.)

P/s: English is not my first language, so please excuse any grammatical errors.

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Rei walked down the familiar street leading to the small apartment he was living in. But today everything felt so different to him. The surroundings were bleak, the sky gray and the people sad. He still remembers, this road, when he was walking with Hiro, was really lively. They used to go home together after missions, even though he said they should avoid being seen together by the organization members, Hiro always stopped by his house. Although it was Rei who said that, the truth is that he was really happy everytime Hiro came to visit. Rei always managed to learn how to cook something new from his bestfriend and the two would sit down for dinner together and exchange information they had gathered from the organization. There were also times when they would sit back and reminisce about their time at the police academy and remember Kenji and Jinpei. It wasn't an easy life, but at least he always had someone to lean on.

Then there was that night when Rei was injured after a chase, it was again Hiro who helped him through this road when he refused to go to the hospital. He wouldn’t trust anyone else touching his body, so far it has only been Elena when he was a child and Hiro when he was grown up that have ever bandaged him. Rei still remembered Hiro's grumbling voice as he poured disinfectant on the cotton wool then gently pressed it against Rei’s wound:

“Come on Zero, stop being so careless. What would you ever do if there comes a day when I wasn’t here to bandage you?"

At that time, Rei didn't give it much thought and just laughed it off:

"That day would never come, you won't get rid of me that easily!"

Those days, Rei never imagined what his life would be like without Hiro. Or rather, he couldn’t. Growing up together, there was literally nothing that Rei wouldn’t tell his bestfriend about. Hiro would always patiently listen to him, understand him and care about him. He was the closest thing to a family that Rei had left in this world. Hiro taught him how to cook, to play the guitar, even how to talk to people in a friendlier way. Even when his identity was erased to infiltrate the organization, when no one in the world knew of his existence anymore, Hiro was still there besides him, so that he would not lose himself in this vast world. But what is the meaning of life now, without Hiro in it?

Rei was pulled back to reality by something hitting his shoulder, he leaned over and took a step back to regain his balance.

“The hell was that, bastard? Are you f** blind?”

The man who had just bumped into him turned around and shouted, then suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him towards his face. Naturally, Rei wasn’t intimidated by that. However today, he didn’t feel anything at all, not anger or justice or pity, nor his normal urge of teaching the thugs a leason, there was simply nothing left inside him. He glanced up at the other man with empty, lifeless eyes, then muttered to himself:

"Sorry."

After seeing Rei’s expression, the man felt a sudden chill, which he himself didn’t fully understand either. He cursed, quickly released his griff and turned away. Rei slowly glanced around, some people stopped out of curiosity after hearing the shout, others were afraid of getting involved so they lowered their heads and quickly walked away. However it was certainly clear that no one had any intention of helping him.

'These people, Hiro has spent his life protecting them, even died for them, but why are they so heartless. They are still acting as if nothing happened. The whole world, nobody knows, and the earth continues to rotate like any other day.' He knew now that he is truly alone in this world and suddenly realized how much the true loneliness can hurt. ‘Perhaps no one would notice, if one day, or right now, I disappear from this world. And no one would care anymore...’

Suddenly, Rei felt his cell phone in his pocket vibrating softly, signaling a text message. For a moment, the thought of Gin texting him the meeting location to inquire about Scotch's death, or Vermouth texting him information about his next mission, really tired him out. But he decided to take out the phone anyway, and to his surprise, the name that appeared on the screen was “Date-san” with the content of the message containing only two words “Call me!”

Rei remembered then, that earlier, after he called Kazami to announce Hiro's death, he also sent Date a message with the same content. It had been a long time since he had contacted Date, or rather he couldn't because of the nature of his work. But this time he broke the rule and sent a text message because he thought Date has the right to know about this. And maybe Date didn't call Rei directly because he knew the reason why Rei hadn’t been contacting him for a long time and now suddenly sent him such a message.

Rei let out a sigh and realized, maybe he still had someone in this world afterall, and that he shouldn’t be thinking about something so foolish right now. He quickly strode home.

Stepping inside his apartment, a familiar but painful scene hit his eyes again. Hiro's coat that he had forgotten after his visit the day before was still hanging on the wall. The first aid kit that Hiro used to bandage him the other day was still on the table. The scarf that Hiro gifted him, the stew that Hiro cooked for him, the guitar that Hiro played with him. Everywhere he looked, in every corner of his house, he saw only the silhouette of his dear friend, whom he had lost forever. He sighed deeply, opened his phone and dialed Date. Less than two rings, the other side picked up the phone.

"Zero, is that you..?"

The warm and familiar voice coming from the other end of the line made his nose started stinging a little bit.

“Squad leader… Hiro is dead…” He managed after a few seconds.

"What happened..?"

“It was all my fault. I failed to protect him… He was right there… but I was too late. I should’ve been able to.. save… I’m…sorry…” Rei’s emotions kept raging on. He couldn’t finish his sentence, it was as if something was blocking his voice. He tried to keep talking, but no sounds were coming out.

“Zero… I know you're sad, just cry, it's okay, I'm right here.”

Hearing these words, Rei felt like all the sorrow that he was trying so hard to suppress just simultaneously exploded. Rei burst into tears. He missed Hiro. He felt his chest tightening up and his heart hurt so much. Rei slumped against the wall, clutching his cell phone to his chest. His head fell to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks. ‘Just today.’ Rei thought to himself. ‘Let me be, just for today.’

He didn't know that on the other end of the line, Date was leaning against the wall, one hand holding the phone, the other hand covering his eyes, as if he was trying to hide the tears that were running down his face, but that was impossible.

Two people, one shared pain, and countless of memories. They stayed like that, not knowing how much time has passed. Just after Rei had somewhat calmed down, Date started speaking gently:

“I don't know what exactly happened, but I know for sure that you did your best. Stop blaming yourself. Hiro definitely wouldn’t want to see you like this. Hiro died in the line of duty, right? That means he died protecting what he treasured, he certainly wouldn’t regret it."

After a moment of silence, Date continued slowly:

“Zero, from now on we have to live carrying the will of all three of them. We will continue to give our best, so that their deaths do not go in vain. That's the best way to remember them. Would you promise me?"

“Yeah…I promise. But Date.." Rei hesitated.

"What's wrong?"

“… Don’t die, okay?”

Stunned for a second, Date then replied decisively:

“Of course, I won't leave you alone! So don't you dare go ahead of me either."

“That you can rest assured. I still have things to do, I won't die so easily!"

"Haha, that's the right spirit, Zero!"

“Ah, there is also something else. When Hiro died, he shot the cell phone in his shirt pocket to make sure the information didn't get into the hands of the enemy. It doesn’t work anymore, but it's still a memento of his. Can you help me pass it on to Hiro's brother?"

"That’s not a problem. It's currently not convenient for you to do such things, right?"

“Well, I think you have already somewhat figured it out. But please keep me contacting you a secret. Also about Hiro, okay?"

“Yes, I know. There’s no need to worry about that. What you're doing seems really dangerous, do take care." Date said in a serious tone.

“I will try, you too. And sorry in advance, but I won't be able to contact you very often in the future."

"Huh, trying to disappear again. Send some messages from time to time! At least I will know if you’re still alive and kicking!”

“Haha yes, sir!” Rei smiled and hung up. He looked at Date-san's name for a while and then pressed the delete contact button. 'Sorry squad leader, I can't afford to put you in danger.'

Afterwards, Rei took out Hiro's destroyed phone. 'I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. But I will definitely avenge you. That Rye, I will kill him with my own two hands and destroy this cursed organization! Wait for me, Hiro.'

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#hirorei #furuya rei #morofushi hiromitsu #dcmk #date wataru #detective conan

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