Needless to say, Shinichi was not planning on running off.
Once the big night came, though, Ran found that her fears were immediately put to rest. Shinichi was a perfect gentleman from the moment he knocked on her door, bearing a bouquet of daisies, wearing a dark blue suit and a big smile. His smile had gotten a little bit bigger when he saw her, though—she was dressed up in a pale blue dress that she knew he loved. He ushered her to his car and opened her door for her before scooting around to take his place in the driver's seat.
When they got to the restaurant, he again opened her door for her, and pulled her chair out for her at the table. He really was being a wonderfully attentive date, and Ran was confident that he wasn't going to go gallivanting off to solve a mystery tonight. Still, she couldn't help but hope that no one decided to drop dead in the building tonight.
It was wonderfully romantic—a candle was burning in a holder on the table, they had a table by the window with a perfect view of the starry night sky…so far, it was an amazing night. But Ran couldn't help thinking that Shinichi seemed a little…antsy. He was acting a little preoccupied. But she ultimately put it off to her imagination.
It was strange sometimes, though—since the fall of the Black Organization, Kudo Shinichi was a household name. He was an internationally famous detective for his admittedly-huge role in the Syndicate's destruction, and as such, he tended to run into fans wherever he went. People came up to the table and shook his hand and excitedly introduced themselves. A few asked for autographs, and one asked for a picture with him. He accepted the publicity with cheerful aplomb, but he had confessed to her on a couple of occasions that while he was proud of what he had done against the Syndicate, the fame could be a little embarrassing…and sometimes even a bit annoying.
Ran took it in stride. She knew that he was trying, and she always had a willing ear in Kazuha-chan, who was having a similar problem with Hattori-kun. He had achieved similar superstar status for his role in the Syndicate's downfall.
After they had been sitting for a while, Shinichi sheepishly confessed that he did, in fact, need to leave for a moment. Ran heckled him a little bit, and then told him that yes; he was permitted to go use the restroom. He just had to come back after he was done—and also wash his hands, since she was planning to hold them at some point. He laughed and got up to go take care of his private business.
Ran watched him walk away and sighed happily before turning her gaze to the window and the stars in the clear night sky. What a wonderful night this was turning out to be…
"Excuse us."
A female voice interrupted Ran's thoughts, and she turned to see three girls standing beside her table. They were all around her own age, pretty and dressed appropriately for a restaurant of this caliber. Something about them seemed to give off an aura of good breeding and money. But there was also something in the way they were studying her that made Ran very nervous. Still, she offered a smile and said, "Yes?"
"We were just wondering," the girl in the middle spoke—she was wearing a pale pink dress. "That guy here with you—that's Kudou Shinichi, isn't it? The famous detective?"
Ran nodded. "Yes, it is."
The three girls exchanged looks. Then the one on the left spoke—she was wearing purple. "Okay…so can you tell us…what in the world he's doing here with homely little thing like you?"
Ran felt her eyes widen at the insult. "I…what?"
The third girl—this one in green—folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on. Kudo Shinichi is the hottest thing in the world right now. He's famous—and he's hot. Why is he wasting his time taking someone like you to a nice place like this?"
"Someone like…me?" Ran couldn't quite compute what they were saying.
"Sweetie, look in the mirror," Purple scoffed.
"You're certainly not god's gift to men."
One hand unconsciously slid to her hair.
"Kudo Shinichi should be with someone a lot more beautiful and glamorous," Pink added, tossing her hair back with one hand. "He's a superstar, after all. And you…well; you certainly don't fit the bill."
Green leaned down to address Ran. "So how do you hold onto him exactly? Certainly can't be with your looks." She smirked at the stricken look on Ran's face. "I'll bet you put out, don't you? That's the only way—you just play his little whore and he keeps you around."
"How dare you—" Ran stood up, enraged, but her protest was interrupted.
Pink smirked. "I'll go you one better—I've seen pictures of you with Hattori Heiji."
Purple gasped. "The detective from Osaka? God, he's hot stuff too!"
Pink nodded. "Oh yeah. So do you fuck around with him, too? He's a nice piece."
"Wow…you really are a little whore, aren't you?"
Green shook her head.
Ran looked from one girl to the next to the next and back again. Who were these girls? And what were they talking about? She and Hattori-kun were just friends, and had been for a couple of years.
Hattori-kun had a girlfriend of his own—Kazuha-chan. And while the Osakan detective might have his faults, infidelity was definitely not one of them. Nor was it one of Ran's. "How dare you say such things!" she snapped.
Her angry reply fell on deaf ears.
Green let out a gasp, as though she had just remembered something—but it had the air of being completely phony. Actually, nothing about any of these girls seemed real; they were fake, through and through. "Didn't Kudo leave town while he was
investigating the Syndicate?"
Purple nodded. "Oh, that's right! He did—I heard that he was gone for quite a while…" She turned a very measuring eye on Ran. "So how many guys did you screw around with while he was gone, hmm? Go on, give us a number. We're just dying to know."
"None!" Ran said indignantly, hands clenching into fists at her sides. "Shinichi and I weren't even together then! We're not…who are you and what do you want? Why are you doing this?" She felt numerous eyes on her, and realized that a good number of the restaurant patrons were watching the scene. That's really what this had turned into—these girls had accosted her and started a scene. Ran felt her cheeks flush scarlet, both from anger at their horrible accusations…and shame over the fact that they were doing it in front of countless strangers.
Her eyes were starting to burn with humiliated tears that she stalwartly refused to shed in front of these girls.
"You need to learn your place," Pink snarled, pointing one perfectly manicured nail at Ran's forehead. "Stay the hell away from Kudo—he shouldn't be seen with some little slut like you. He should be with someone like us. You see, we
love him, and we—"
"Have gone way too far."
The icy male voice dropped into the middle of the conversation so suddenly that all the participants jumped. The three girls whipped around. "Who the hell are you to—oh!" Purple's voice went from irate to sugary sweet as soon as she saw that it was that had interrupted.
"Kudo-san! It's you!"
Kudou Shinichi was standing behind them; his hands were shoved casually into his pockets, and his expression was as close to murderous as Ran had ever seen him sport. And his dark glare was directed equally at all three of the girls hovering over Ran with all the subtlety and charm of a swarm of vultures preparing to rip apart a particularly disgusting piece of carrion.
Ran felt even more humiliated. Now Shinichi was here to fight her battles for her, it seemed. Or worse yet…what if he actually believed some of the horrible lies they were spouting? What if he actually believed that she had cheated on him with Hattori-kun? If he did…she wasn't sure she could bear it. She was barely holding back tears now.
Shinichi took a deep breath before he spoke in a low, angry voice. "You three are absolutely disgusting."
Their collective shock was palatable to the entire room. "But—but—we're your biggest fans!" Green protested. "We love you!"
"We're just protecting you from her," Purple
added, pointing an accusatory finger at Ran.
Pink opened her mouth to say something, but Shinichi waved a hand to silence them. "You know, a lot of girls have told me that kind of thing—yet somehow, they've all managed to love me without feeling the need to attack my date. Now go away. I do not ever want you to come near me or Ran again. And," his glare grew even darker,
"if I EVER hear of you bothering my fiancée again, I will let you deal with the police for harassment."
That got everyone's attention—including Ran's.
She stared at him. Fiancée?
The girls stammered a few attempts at protests before they took off. They nearly tripped over each other in their attempts to get away. Purple did manage to cast a murderous glare over her shoulder at Ran as she moved away. The entire restaurant was silent, shocked by the display they had just witnessed.
Once the three girls were out of sight, Shinichi's anger melted away into concern. "Ran, are you all right?"
She didn't want to cry—not here, not now, not with so many people staring at her—but she couldn't stop herself. As the first tear slipped down her cheek, she put her face in her hands.
"That was…so humiliating…" Around her, she swore she heard whispers as people starting murmuring to their dining companions. They were probably talking about her—how horrible she was, all the things those girls had said…
Shinichi's hands touched her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "Shh…don't pay them any mind."
"Kudo-san?" a man with a name tag on his lapel approached them. "I'm the manager—I'm very sorry.
We are asking those young women to leave and not come back." He turned his attention to Ran, who was still trying valiantly to stop crying.
"Miss…I am sorry. Is there anything we can do to—"
Ran waved a hand and took a shaky breath. "It
wasn't your fault."
The manager—who did seem very concerned over what had happened—apologized again and offered them free dining for the evening, anything they wanted from the menu. When asked, Ran accepted the apology and the offer, saying again that she did not hold the restaurant responsible for what had happened. A glance around proved that a lot of people were still watching the action.
But during a break in the conversation, as the manager was turning to instruct a waitress to their table, Ran decided to ask the big question that was on her mind. "Shinichi…when you told them off and told them not to bother me again…you called me your fiancée?"
"Yes, I did."
Ran felt herself blush again. "Shinichi, I'm not your fiancée."
"I know," Shinichi said. As he turned to face her, he withdrew one hand from his pocket to produce a small box—the size of a box from a jewelry store. "But I was wondering if you would like to be."
It took Ran a moment to realize what he was asking, and she gasped, clasping both her hands over her mouth. "Shinichi!" Around them, they heard surprised gasps and whispers from the unwitting spectators.
He held up a hand, and the murmurs quieted down.
"Wait—please, let me do this right. This whole night was supposed to be romantic, but that kind of got messed up. So at least let this go right."
Ran's knees felt like water, and she sank into her chair. She watched as he took a deep breath and seemed to compose himself before he lowered himself to one knee in front of her. The entire place seemed to be holding its breath as everyone looked on; even the cooks had stuck their heads out from the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about.
But when he looked up at her, there were no doubts or reservations at all in his face or his eyes. He took the ring out of the box and took her hand in his own, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of his before he spoke. "Mouri Ran, I love you. I love you more than anyone else in the world. Will you marry me?"
The tears were welling up again, and this time from joy. Her hand was still over her mouth; she realized she couldn't actually speak. So she just nodded emphatically and gave his hand a squeeze.
He stood up, still holding her hand, and slid the ring onto her finger. Then he gently tugged on her hand to pull her to her feet and into his arms. He kissed her without hesitation or care for the fact that they had an audience…and if he noticed that the rest of the restaurant patrons were applauding, he didn't indicate it. Or maybe he just didn't care.
Ran certainly didn't.
