Going Down

Disclaimers: I do not own Case Closed/ Detective Conan. Whoo boy. Never thought I would say that, did ya?

I am quite fully aware with how many people and how long you have all be waiting for a conclusion. And I am sorry to say that a lot of unfortunate incidents delayed this chapter a lot longer than I intended it too. I apologize for those still waiting on me, and those who have long since give up.

Thanks to all who sent in beautiful fanart. I greatly appreciate all of them. They are given links and credit in my profile if anyone wants to see them.

I'd also like to say, that this was my first mystery story and I really do despise the way things ended up. It's been awhile so I forgot my original intentions. So I apologize for the poor conclusion to the mystery.

Without any further ado, I give you the eleventh chapter and conclusion of Going Down.

LAST TIME ON GOING DOWN

"Do you have any idea how frustrating it is?"

Just how drunk was he?

Those eyes seemed to say, "Come on. I dare you to understand me."

"J," Meguire said with breath he didn't realize he had been suppressing. "The letter J."

"Jay... Kasei." Richard repeated.

The weapon fell forgotten on the floor.

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Epilogue:

The Same Smile

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"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning."

-Ivy Baker Priest

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"You're lucky, Richard."

"Huh," grumbled the detective, his voice echoing as he spoke into the beer can. He took another long drink before turning his weary eyes over to the inspector who was looking on with certain disapproval.

"Can't you stay sober longer than two minutes?" Meguire muttered irritably, sinking down into his office chair.

They were in the police office now, or at least had been for the past several hours. The paperwork was tedious but with a full confession from Mister Kasei, things went quite a deal quicker than they might have otherwise.

Richard licked the lip of the can before answering. "Eva asked me the same question this morning."

The inspector grunted choosing to rub his nose rather than answer. He sighed deeply while leaning against the desk, "As I was saying…" He cleared his throat and looked wearily over at his former comrade in arms. "You're lucky Kasei decided to confess. If not, you wouldn't have had enough evidence to convict him."

Richard smiled knowingly and took another swing of his beer before muttering, "Ah. But Conan solved that bit too."

Meguire raised his eyebrows with certain scrutiny. Richard decided to ignore the look.

"Don't you remember? The case propped up by the door?"

"Vaguely," Meguire muttered reaching over his desk to snatch the can out of Richard's grasp. Richard sent a glare the Inspector's way that Meguire waved off. "Continue to explain yourself, Moore."

Coughing irritably into his closed fist, Richard removed his gaze from the beer can and turned his expression to the sinking sun beyond the gates of the police station.

"It was heavy when Conan kicked it. But later, the case was empty. When it was in Mister Ritani's possession. I believe that was the blackmail money. Pachinko balls that would in turn be exchanged at a parlor nearby for prizes- and then cash. But it seemed Kasei had a change of heart," Richard said with a crooked smile. "He switched the suitcase of pachinko balls for one with nothing but a small signal device. I think he originally intended to have a bomb placed in the suitcase, but as his appointments piled up- he decided it far too risky."

Richard turned back to Meguire with a wry looking smirk on his face, "I'm not sure why Ritani took the case with it was obviously lighter then the one promised. Perhaps Kasei said he actually was able to obtain the money he originally asked for- without him having to go to a middleman for it. But evidently- sometime within their meeting the suitcases were emptied and the signal device was put inside."

"Oi, oi," Meguire grumbled nearly taking a sip out of Richard's beer before realizing what it was. Pausing, he pushed the beet out of reach- only for Richard to pick it up again. Meguire frowned disapprovingly as Richard took another long drink. "This sounds really far fetched, Moore. And none of it honestly makes sense. What was the pachinko ball doing in the suitcase if they were switched? And why wouldn't Ritani notice?"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there," Richard said placing a finger to his upper lip. "It probably was a device, probably the one Ritani was blackmailing him over. I'm thinking Kasei was probably caught experimenting with these devices- and Ritani wanted in. Unknowingly he took one that brought him to his own end."

"Kasei makes illegal devices… you mean bombs, right?" Meguire uttered dully. "Well, it would work with how he got hold of the technology. And it would make sense with why he was blackmailed... But how'd you come up with all this? Honestly… there's not a shred of evidence that even hints that this is what happened."

Richard paused staring into his beer can and sighed. "Well, it's hard doing cases alone again."

Before Meguire could question it, Richard cleared his throat and said, "Well check into it, Meguire. I'm sure you'll find the evidence we need."

And with that, Richard crunched up the remainder of the can and dunked it into the wastepaper basket.

"Hope you liked that, Kudo," Richard smiled to himself. "Next time, solve the case yourself."

Perhaps he saw something out of the corner of his eyes- but this time, he decided to ignore it.

Somewhere else, Rachel hovered over a hospital bed, cell phone pressed so tightly in her hand that it was starting to look as if it had been embedded there. Conan still lay as pale and white faced as ever, tubes pushing air and liquids into his body- making him looking like an android not yet disconnected from the machines that bore him.

She nearly leapt a foot when the phone rattled in her white knuckled grip. Falling away from Conan's still body, Rachel flipped open the phone and spoke softly into it- in pure habit. "Moshi Moshi?"

An equally soft voice responded. Rachel listened to the voice before smiling and whispering a quiet, "Yes, Kaasan. Otousan caught the guy."

Her quiet eyes wandered over to the machine tracking Conan's heartbeats. The beats were still steady as they had ever been. "I'm in the hospital. Hospital- yes, Kaasan. Yes, I'll be coming home soon. Yes, I just- Yes… yes…"

Her gaze wandered back down to the floor, hand anxiously pushing the bangs out of her eyes. She listened for a moment more before turning her head to the clock on the way. "Ano…Nine forty-five. Yes. I'll be home then. Love you. Ja ne."

The phone conversation ended with a slight beep- and Rachel was left alone with Conan again. Sighing miserably, Rachel wandered over to the chair by his bedside. She plopped down, looked the boy over with sad eyes- and then pressed her hand into his like she had every day. Stroking his fingertips, Rachel whispered her greeting, "Hallo, Conan-kun. You'll be happy to know, Otousan solved the case today. That means the bad guy who did this to you… He's caught. You're safe now."

She squeezed his hand tighter but there was no response. The doctors always said that such things were good ways to reconnect with coma victims- that it might bring him back. Conan didn't seem to know this- cause he just lay as motionless as before- the tubes breathing and living for him.

"Did you hear me Conan," Rachel whispered, moving closer so that her lips were next to his ear. "You can wake up now."

When she drew back she still had no response. Tears began to form in her eyes, but she fought them off. Closing her eyes, and rubbing her tears off with her free hand, Rachel laughed. It was a sad hopeless laugh- that didn't even remotely sound like a laugh at all.

"Who am I kidding," She said tears still in her eyes. "You probably can't even hear me, can you?"

Conan said nothing in defense.

"Of course," Rachel chuckled darkly. "You're practically dead… I'm just playing myself. Waiting… Stupid- always stupidly waiting."

Rachel smiled sadly, and stood up to go. Only, she couldn't. In shock, Rachel felt something clutching her wrist. At first she thought it must have been one of the tubes- and that she might have accidentally knocked something loose. But the grip was clammy and tight around her wrist. Almost reluctantly she looked down finding Conan's hand locked tightly around her own.

Tears welled up in her eyes at the sight. Conan's eyes weren't open- and it wasn't as if he had moved his hand in any real way. But his grip was strong and confirming.

Immediately, Rachel screamed for the doctors, finding it hard to speak through her joyful tears. And they scrambled in, numbly trying to take in what Rachel said in spurts of uncontained relief. In the end all she had to do was lift her hand and show the grip Conan had on her.

Conan was back.

It was several more days before Conan's eyes opened. It was brief. He smiled over to Rachel, who in turn quickly enveloped him in a hug so deep- that Conan could barely comprehend anything but her touch. The doctor's had urged her not to move him so fast- and to put him gently back down- but Rachel wouldn't let go nor would she stop crying. Conan felt bad when he felt his consciousness wane away in her arms.

"I can't… I won't let go again…" She kept saying. Those words haunted his fitful dreams as reminders to wake him up again.

The Detective Boys were there when Conan woke up the second time… When he actually managed to say a few words and eat solid foods. They were amass with questions that made his head hurt. And he couldn't, as hard as he tried to, get their names straight. Eventually the nurses had to lead them away because they were frustrating him.

The days dragged on, but Conan had slowly seemed to be returning. At first it seemed he was half there- sluggish in the way he spoke and how he reacted to faces around him. Names were hard for him to come by- and more than once did he seem not to recognize someone's face. Rachel was someone he always recognized though- and the person he always looked for as soon as he woke up.

"Rachel-neesan," Conan's weak voice sounded one day, just as Rachel had entered the room. It had been awhile since he called her that- and it took the young girl by surprise.

Conan grinned at her, and waved- showing that he had more control over his limbs. He had been practicing daily since he had been able to stay conscious more than a few hours.

"How are you doing, Conan-kun?" Rachel inquired; draping her school bag over the same chair she had sat in the past several days during her afternoon visits.

"I remembered that large boy's name today," Conan said happily, as if it were a grand feat. "It's George, right? Part of the Detective Boys group. Like Mitch and me."

"And Amy too," Rachel added making Conan look a bit confused for a second more.

"Amy… too?" He paused rubbing his chin and then nodded, "Ah yes. Amy too!"

Rachel looked the boy over admirably- noting that most of his injuries had recovered. He still shook slightly when he moved his arms- but most of his body control seemed to come back remarkably. The Doctors had said that Conan appeared as though he would recover nicely.

"I missed you," Conan offered as sat down on the bed beside him.

And Rachel only smiled and nodded, "We've missed you too, Conan."

Conan shuffled sheepishly and smiled. "Did you cry much… when I was out?"

He seemed to ask these kinds of questions a lot. And then never ceased to surprise her.

"Of course, Conan. Did you think we wouldn't be upset?" Rachel laughed while shaking her head, hair spilling down her neck like ribbons. "I'm just glad you came back to me…"

Rachel then blushed, shaking her head and correcting herself much to Conan's bewilderment, "…back to us! Us!"

The following week Conan was allowed out into the hospital courtyard supervised- rolled back and forth across the small square lawn on his wheel chair by the detective boys. When Conan first returned to consciousness it seemed inherent for him to act like a child. But as the days went on his demeanor seemed to change back into the Conan he was before- more adult-like as his memories returned. Rachel sometimes wished his memories would just stop coming so that he could remain childish like he was supposed to. But then, that wouldn't be Conan- after all.

"He's almost all better," Richard remarked to both his daughter and wife, while watching one of these play sessions.

"Yes, almost," replied Eri, with a cautious glance at the boy's hand- still wrapped neatly away behind bandages. "I suppose that scar won't ever fade."

There seemed to be a sickening silence after that was said forcing Richard to try and recover the previous mood. "Ah, but he'll like it in time. I mean, he's a detective brat- he could probably bark it off as a tattoo meaning "justice" or some crap like that."

He laughed obnoxiously, hoping to cover up the awkward conversation from before. But Rachel just smiled and whispered, "Or Jimmy."

"What?" Richard asked, somewhat in bewilderment.

"Ah. It's nothing," Rachel grinned waving over to the boy who waved back at her. "Nothing at all."

And Conan blinked, wondering why she was looking at him so funny. She could tell he had the same smile.

The End

Ugh. Lousy ending, I know. Sorry to have you all wait for that. But then again it was my first Conan story. I promise Vindicated has more promise to it.

Anyway, I still hoped you enjoyed it while it lasted. Sorry for it seeming like a wrap up chapter- but that was what this chapter was planned to be. I apologize for taking so long writing it. And I thank you all for bearing with me for so long.

Said before this was a short story compared to my other ones. If you want an epic read Vindicated.

Anyway- this is the last author's note from me. This is me, signing off. And thanking you all for all the wonderful reviews.

And for cliché's sake:

With a keen eye for detail, one truth prevails.