Chapter 1: Childish Dreams

The next thing Shiho knew, she found herself in the middle of the flower field, wanting to be buried underneath them. Her heart was still beating out of her chest, although it was slightly slowing down. Previously, she had been at a family picnic with her parents, siblings, and friends, when she had received some news. Akemi was going to be getting a job.

Sure, the news sounded fantastic enough, and she was rather happy for her sister. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that, to get a job, one would have to grow up first. It was almost surreal how quickly it had happened. It hadn't even happened right away.

Akemi had made her announcement an hour ago, and the more she had thought about it, the scarier it was to Shiho. She ran away from the picnic without an explanation to anyone. This most certainly wasn't normal for a kid. Kids were usually excited about growing up. But Shiho wasn't. Shiho wasn't like other kids. Shiho was different in more ways than one.

"Oi! Why'd you run off like that?"

Shiho turned to the sight of her twin brother, Shinichi, as he wore an annoyed but concerned look. "Everyone's worried about you, you know."

She looked away, back at the flower field, and uttered a single question. "Shinichi, do you think I'm weird?"

His annoyance dissipated, replaced completely with concern. "No, of course not. Why would I?"

She didn't answer. Instead, Shinichi stood next to her. "Why did you run away?"

Slowly, the girl sighed. "I'm scared. I know I shouldn't be, but..."

She trailed off. Shinichi waited patiently for her to finish. "I don't wanna grow up. It's about more that just getting a new job. I don't wanna grow up because the adult world is...is..."

Shinichi smiled slightly. "I see."

He looked up at the slightly clouded sky overhead. "You know, I'm scared too. We're both only seven, but we already know what growing up is like. That says a lot about us, don't you think?"

Shiho looked at her brother, eyes wide. "I never knew you felt that way too."

Smiling, he held out his hand. "Let's make a promise to never grow up. We'll stay kids forever."

Looking at Shinichi, her surprise faded, and she willingly shook his hand. "I promise."

"Shinichi! Wake up already! Your wife is waiting for you!"

Begrudgingly, Shinichi got out of bed. "Alright! I'm coming!"

He opened his bedroom door to find his twin sister, older than him by two minutes, standing there in her Teitan uniform, wearing an annoyed scowl. "Honestly, I shouldn't have to do this every day."

Shinichi tried to suppress a yawn. "Is everyone waiting out front?"

"Yes they are! Now get dressed!"

After quickly doing that, Shinichi and Shiho walked out the manor's front door. "Now we're going to be late because of you!"

Shinichi laughed nervously, but stopped when he spotted his group of friends. They had all known each other since childhood, and were very close with one another.

"Can we hurry up? I'm hungry!" Kojima Genta exclaimed.

"What? Didn't you already have breakfast?" Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko remarked skeptically.

"Good morning Shiho-chan! Shinichi-kun!" Yoshida Ayumi shouted.

Shinichi's eyes drifted to the most beautiful of them all. Mouri Ran had been the first friend he'd ever made. At first, it was only him and Ran, while Shiho made friends with the others. Eventually their friend groups merged into one, and they all hung out together. Now, they were in High School, studying for tests and taking on the world. "Geez Shinichi, you need to start waking up earlier."

"Um, sorry." He responded as he stood next to her.

Shiho hung around in the back, not feeling like talking to anyone at the moment. Unlike everyone else, she wasn't so extroverted, and she was perfectly content with that. "How about you, Shiho-chan?"

Said Shiho looked up at Ayumi, who had originally spoken. "Um, huh?"

"We were talking about your sister's wedding. Is there anybody you're bringing?"

Over the years, Shiho had mastered the art of hiding her blushes. "No one in particular."

Ayumi smiled. "Come on, Shiho-chan, you're sixteen and you've never dated. Don't you have someone you like?"

Shiho refrained from scoffing. Yeah, said that very person. Shiho found it sarcastically funny that she had happened to fall in love with her. She had been in love with her ever since they were little, although if she told her that, then everything would fall apart. She couldn't let that happen.

"Shiho-chan?" She wanted to answer, but she didn't know what to say.

She turned her head and saw the playground they always passed, and something shifted within her. "Hey guys! Let's go play over there!"

The entire group turned to her with surprised looks on their faces. Once Shiho consciously came to, she realized why they were staring at her. "Um, I-I mean..."

Ayumi looked at her like she was crazy or something. No, this was not how things were supposed to go! "Shiho."

She turned her attention to Shinichi, the only one there who understood her, or rather 'their', predicament. "Are you...okay?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I can keep it together."

Shinichi and Shiho weren't exactly normal. Despite having a sheltered upbringing and absolutely no traumatizing experiences to speak of, both twins suffered from the same disorder. Dissociative Identity Disorder. Split Personalities.

Both of their opposite personalities were the same. They were both childish and a tad immature. Shinichi's called himself Edogawa Conan, and Shiho's was Haibara Ai. The two of them were a special case to say the least, but most of the time, they were able to keep them in check.

Their opposite personalities rarely came out, but when they did, even if it was only a sentence or two, they usually came out at the wrong time. In extreme cases of stress, they might even come out full-fledged. But they had been keeping it a secret from the entire group. No one knew and they intended to keep it that way.