Work Text:
During a conversation, Shiho Miyano is reminded of the day that the Karasuma Group fell.
The memory comes back to her easily. The sight of Shinichi Kudo embracing his one true love, the ever so sweet Ran Mouri after a long wait. The light in his eyes knowing that he was back for good. That everything would go back to the way it was. The way it should be.
Shiho believed for a long time that Shinichi should live a life without her. A life where she wouldn't be considered his "partner," so she wouldn't compromise his safety in case someone was still out to get her. Even though he would always try to assure her that they're in it together, she felt a need to get away from him until the very end. So, she moved into her mother's childhood home in England, and from then on has been living with her aunt Mary and her cousin Masumi Sera. It has been 10 years since she made the decision to stay in England.
It's not like she doesn't miss him almost everyday. She's unable to forget their time together, but she knows that it's for the best. To not know where he is and what he's up to. To live a peaceful life far away from Japan… and him.
"Are you positively sure you don't want to come to Japan with me? Remember, I'm paying for everything."
Shiho snapped out of her memories. "Yes, Masumi. I am absolutely, positively sure I do not want to go to Japan with you. Even if you are paying."
Sera sighed. Everytime she goes back to Japan for a small vacation and wants to invite Shiho to come along, she always says the same thing.
No.
I'm not interested.
Yes, I'm very sure I don't want to go.
She knew that Shiho didn't want to see him, but the lengths she went through to avoid him all these years was absolutely ridiculous. She had Sera lie to him that she moved out, she didn't want to go to Japan at all costs, and whenever she saw on the news that Shinichi Kudo was visiting London with his rumored girlfriend Ran Mouri, she would immediately call in sick from work just to avoid getting out of the house. But Sera figured that by now, accidentally running into him would be a good price to pay for an all expenses paid trip.
"It's been ten whole years since you've been in Japan, Shiho. I think it would be really good if you came along with me. Okay?"
Shiho didn't know what to say. She couldn't find any good reason to go to Japan, but there was no reason why she can't go. She couldn't deny that she needed a vacation right now. Overtime has been wearing her out, and if Sera was going to give her a vacation, she figured she should take the chance. It has been a while.
"I'll think about it."
"Really?" Sera was surprised. Usually, she would just argue with her until she finally stood her ground with No, but this time, she didn't outright refuse. No. She's going to think about it. And the thought of that made her smile. "Keep it in mind, alright?"
Sera
Message
Today 23:17
Hey, we're about to take off. See you guys soon. I texted Ran the flight information, so make sure you get it from her.
We? Is Mary coming along too?
Uh, no…? She's busy, unfortunately.
What?
Okay, then why did you say we?
Sera.
Sera, answer me, what do you mean by we?
(Read 23:20)
Shinichi Kudo could not believe that he had been waiting outside the terminal like an idiot for hours.
Usually, when Sera came to Japan, she would call up Ran as soon as she arrived and she and Sonoko would drag Shinichi down to Narita to see her. But this time, she contacted Shinichi before takeoff. Clearly, she wanted him to see something. Or someone. He hoped it was someone. He was waiting here with the hope that it was someone.
It was 10 years ago when she left Japan, and until now, he never forgot her.
After the fall of Karasuma, in his excitement to go back to the way things were, it somehow slipped his mind that "the way things were" wouldn't have Shiho Miyano in it. When he realized that, it was too late and she'd gone to god knows where.
He would call Sera, who he knew lived with her for a while, to ask her where Shiho was, but everytime he asked, she would say that Shiho didn't want to see him. And somewhere along the line, Shiho moved out of her house. It didn't stop him from trying to find her, visiting all the spots he thought she'd like when he visited London, but all of his attempts to reconnect with her failed.
He knew that she thought he'd be in danger with her beside him, but he was always in danger even without her. He was a detective after all. He would give up all the safety in the world just to be with her, and somewhere inside his heart, he hoped that there was a chance for them to be together.
Ran noticed it. Around the time Shinichi confessed that he was Conan, she offhandedly joked about Haibara being an adult too only to find out it was true. It became clear to her why "Ai-chan" had to move away. And at some point, she couldn't ignore the connection that Conan and Ai had and how it affected Shinichi after he came back, and they went back to simply being childhood friends. Now, in support of Shinichi's lingering feelings for Shiho, she tagged along to the airport with him.
"It's gonna be kind of weird seeing Ai-chan as an adult," Ran laughed.
Sonoko was there too, and she wasn't too happy. "More so around the same age as us. Gosh, Shinichi, why did you have to drag us here so early?"
"Calm down, Sonoko," Ran said, then teased Shinichi. "He's just a little excited to see someone, isn't he?"
Shinichi couldn't deny that he came here in a rush. When he got the text from Sera, he knew that he had to be waiting whatever surprise she had for him. If there was even a chance he could see his partner Haibara again, it would all be worth it.
He tried to deflect by acting nonchalant. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"You guess?" Ran was shocked. "You've been waiting for this for so long. I think it's okay to admit you're excited."
Shinichi thought about it before saying, "You know what. Ran, I am excited."
Then suddenly, Ran got a text notification from Sera.
Shiho thought that Sera was a little too excited for this trip. Maybe it's because she's never followed her on a trip before, but to her, she looked a bit too happy right now. Not even the excruciatingly long stopover they just endured stopped her from smiling. Earlier, she asked why she was so happy, to which Sera just replied, "I'm just so happy my cousin's finally on vacation with me!"
But she thought, No, that can't be it.
And as she watched a silly movie on the plane, she wondered for the next four hours what Sera truly had on her mind bringing her on this trip. She had a hunch that she was taking her to see a certain someone, but it couldn't be… right?
Even if they did meet, how was she going to explain everything? How she deliberately tried her hardest to avoid him all these years, how she can never forget how special she felt when she was with him, and how there's a part of her that is always going to love him. There is no way that she'll be able to explain it. No, not to him.
Shiho tried to get the thought of it out of her mind. There was no use thinking about this further because there is no way she is going to meet Shinichi again. She repeated it to herself, probably a million times while sitting in that seat.
I am not going to see him. I am not going to see him. I am not going to see him.
That repeated in her head until she fell asleep. It wasn't exactly nighttime, but being in the airport for so long was tiring. Before she knew it, they had already landed. Sera shook her awake. "Shiho, get moving."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm moving."
Shiho followed Sera's lead, gathering her belongings and heading out. She found traveling to be exhausting, but she wanted to make the best of this trip and relax as much as she could. If only she really could.
As she made her way to the baggage claim, she saw a familiar figure. Actually, three familiar figures. Looking around the area for someone. She stopped in her tracks.
Oh god, no. This cannot be happening.
"Shiho," Sera looked over at her, concerned. She worried about the reaction she'd have to suddenly seeing him. "Are you alright?" she foolishly asked. Sera mentally screamed at herself. Of course she wasn't okay. The one person she doesn't want to see is this close to her.
"Masumi Sera," Shiho cleared her throat. "If that is Shinichi Kudo and his friends over there, you are toast."
"Am I?" she joked. At that moment, Sera knew she'd be actual toast.
They kept walking.
After Ran got the memo that Sera had just arrived, Shinichi waited around in the baggage claim with Ran and Sonoko. He turned around and saw Shiho, walking towards him with Sera by her side. Like a dream he thought would never come true. She was back in Japan, and he could see her with his own two eyes.
Nothing in the world mattered, except for the fact that she was here.
"Miyano."
He practiced calling her real name constantly, in anticipation of the day they'd meet again, not as Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara, but as Shinichi Kudo and Shiho Miyano. As adults.
And as if it were yesterday, she responded with, "Kudo-kun." Shinichi could tell she was nervous and probably exhausted from travelling for the past day.
Shiho opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she couldn't figure out what to say in front of him. What she should say first. What she should or shouldn't say. All these thoughts were rushing through her head, yet she couldn't form a single coherent sentence.
Shinichi suddenly interrupted her thoughts. "Miyano, you don't have to explain anything. Just being here, in front of me, is enough."
"What," Shiho scoffed, surprised at the way he was acting right now. Like a cliche romcom love interest. "Did you miss me?"
"Missing you doesn't even begin to describe it," he said earnestly. Shiho wanted to laugh, but he seemed so serious. She's never seen him like this before. Maybe it was age. Or maybe she'd been trying to ignore the idea that Shinichi could ever miss someone like her. How could he miss her when he had everything he needed?
She wanted to entertain the thought that he didn't have everything. That he needed her. But they weren't teenagers anymore, so she tried to not think about it like that. That's not it. She thought to herself. Isn't it natural that he'd miss a friend he hasn't seen in a decade?
"Miyano, I've waited for you to come back to Japan," he confessed. "I wanted to go to you myself but you were always out of reach."
Shiho knew it very well. How could she ever forget the times she would watch Sera as she, without a hint of doubt in her voice, would call Shinichi and lie about her whereabouts? Or the times Shiho would pick up the home phone on a random day to suddenly hear Shinichi Kudo's voice asking for her? In these situations, Shiho was always tempted to tell the truth, but in the end would go along with the same old lie. Something like, "This isn't her. She moved out." But now that they're face to face, Shiho couldn't lie to him anymore.
"I know."
"What do you mean you know?"
Shinichi wasn't surprised at her answer, but he still asked as if he were confused. Of course she'd avoid him for this long. He knew her very well. The only reason why he never investigated further was because he didn't know what he would do if Shiho, with all of her heart, did not want to see him.
"I lied about everything," Shiho looked at him straight in the eye. "I lied about moving out of Aunt Mary and Masumi's house. And I lied about not wanting to see you."
His eyes lit up in a way that she's never seen before. "You wanted to see me?"
At that moment, Shiho realized it was silly to think that Shinichi didn't want some sort of future with her, even as friends who solve mysteries. As she looked into his eyes, she saw a man who didn't care that she avoided him at all costs. She may have hurt him more than she thought she did, yet here he was, waiting and wanting to see her.
She rolled her eyes. "Of course I wanted to see you. I have always wanted to see you. I have friends, sure, but you are the only person I've considered my partner."
"And you, Shiho Miyano, are mine."
Shiho almost burst out laughing. She tried to redirect the conversation. "You mean… your partner, right? This partner thing's still on? Even after ten whole years?"
"The partner thing is still on, yes… but that's not what I mean… completely."
Shiho hesitated for a split second before becoming calm from the relief she felt knowing that Shinichi Kudo wanted something with her the same way she did.
She replied with a smirk. "I know what you mean."
Shiho was back in Japan after only six months since she returned to England from that two week trip. She found herself in Beika City, in front of Shinichi Kudo's house.
She was content with living in England, and being Sera's roommate wasn't too bad, but she missed being in Japan. She especially missed Shinichi, and hanging out with him for those two weeks made her think about how well they worked together. And after the trip, she could only think about when she would see him again. Sure, they kept in touch through text and call, but somehow it wasn't enough.
It wasn't long after when she was looking for companies around Tokyo that needed lab scientists, and soon after, she was calling Professor Agasa if she could stay over at his place until she could find an apartment. Just last night, she arrived. Since then, she'd been preparing the way she would approach Shinichi once more.
She took a deep breath and rung the doorbell.
No regrets, she told herself.
To her surprise, Shinichi opened the door. He was so astonished he could only say, "Hey."
She chuckled at how shy he seemed. "Hi, does Shinichi Kudo happen to live here?"
"Depends who's asking."
"Hm… does the name Miyano ring a bell?"
"This Miyano sounds cute." A small blush crept on Shiho's cheeks hearing it from Shinichi.
"Oh, just let me in," Shiho grumbled.
So, Shinichi let her through the door. "Sure, but you have to promise me that you won't run away from me anymore."
Shiho looked into his eyes. "Of course, how can I say no to my own destiny?"