A seven-year old auburn-haired girl happily walked down the steps towards the sandy beach with a tall black-haired girl beside her. This was their last day in Japan before going to America for certain reasons. They paused for a moment and looked at the wonderful scenery in front of them. A big smile was immediately plastered on her face as her companion watched her with an eye smile.
"Well?" she asked. "How is it, Shiho-chan?"
"This place is great, Akemi-oneechan!" she said cheerfully, before running off to play in the sand or water, totally catching her sister off guard. As soon as Shiho left her side, Akemi dropped their things near a staircase and went after her.
Unbeknownst to her, a raven-haired boy was watching her run off as he shrugged, feeling bored. "Man, why did I have to go with kaa-san?" He was suddenly interrupted from his ranting when he tripped over the things that belonged to Akemi and her sister. Of course, he didn't know this. Feeling mischievous, he opened one of the two bags and something immediately caught his attention, causing him to curl his lips upward in a smirk.
Shiho didn't know what place would be perfect for her to play on. Akemi figured that this would be the perfect chance to catch her sister, only to trip and fail every single time because the auburn-haired girl will move at every second. She was starting to get worried about the bags that she left near the staircase because it had important equipment inside those. Well, one of the bags only.
Something caught the little girl's attention as her eyes suddenly widened with excitement. Another girl was playing in the sand, but instead of just throwing it all around and splashing about, she was building a castle out of it. "Sugoi!" she whispered.
Seeing her sister stop moving again, Akemi lunged and just when she thought she'd finally catch her, Shiho immediately ran out of her range, causing the older girl sweat-drop and fall face-first into the sand. When she looked up at her younger sister, steam came out of her ears, meaning that she has now reached her boiling point.
She stomped on over to where she was, wanting to punish Shiho for making her go through all those crazy stuff just to get her, but stopped abruptly in her tracks when she saw her talking with another girl.
"Ohayou!" greeted Shiho, causing the other girl to stop building her castle for a moment to look at who was speaking with her. "Are you building a sandcastle?" she asked curiously.
The girl nodded with pride as she planted her palms on her hips. She was slightly taller than Shiho, and not only their hair color and hairstyle was the most striking difference between them, they also had different attires. Shiho was wearing a kiddie-size one-piece bathing suit, while the other one wore a small pair of swimsuit. But most especially, the other girl had a small ribbon in her hair, making them distinguishable from the other.
"Do you like it?" asked the other girl with a wide grin, causing Shiho to nod continuously for a few seconds. The girl stepped closer and stuck out her hand. "Watashi wa Nomura Shino desu, yoroshiku!" she finished with a bright smile.
The auburn-haired kid couldn't help but accept her new friend's handshake with a smile as well. "Miyano Shiho desu, dozou yoroshiku!"
Akemi decided that it was now time to make her presence known. She walked over to where her sister was and cleared her throat, earning the two kid's attention. Shiho looked at her sister with a grin on her face, and the teen couldn't help but be dazzled by her younger sister even though she wanted to stay angry at her. She knelt down on one knee, reaching Shiho's height level. "So what are you doing here, Shiho-chan?" she asked, keeping a somewhat cheerful appearance even though she was pretty angry earlier.
"Akemi-oneechan! Where did you come from?" she asked, causing her sister to sweat-drop at the memory of what she has been through just to chase Shiho.
"Never mind that, Shiho-chan." She still kept trying to retain the fake smile on her face. "What are you doing here?"
The little girl clasped her hands together. "Can I go make sandcastles with my new friend?" Akemi raised an eyebrow and Shiho looked at her black-haired friend. "Come on, say hello!"
Shino's fingers dwindled with each other as she stepped forward, but was unable to look at the taller girl straight in the eye. Akemi thought that she must be shy, so she went closer to her, causing the little girl to look away. Shiho looked at her friend in confusion. She was pretty confident with herself earlier, so why was she acting like this right now?
Knowing what she should do now, Akemi closed her eyes and grinned. "Well, since you now know my lil' sister, you should know who I am as well!" She ruffled the girl's hair slightly, causing her bangs to cover her eyes in the process. "Watashi wa Miyano Akemi desu, Shiho no ane."
At first, the two sisters thought that the girl was angry because of what happened to her hair, but her face suddenly lit up when she smiled at the teen. "Yoroshiku!" she replied with a smile as she bowed slightly. "Nomura Shino desu!"
Akemi was about to reply, until she felt the continuous tugging of her shirt from behind. She turned around to see Shiho looking at her with puppy-dog eyes. "You still haven't answered my question, Oneechan," she pleaded, causing her sister to groan.
Then suddenly, the teen remembered. Are the bags that she left near the staircase still there? Who knows. She immediately stood up and turned to her sister. "Do whatever you want, Shiho-chan. Just try to not get dirty. I'll be right back."
"Oneechan, wh—" before she could even finish what she was about to say, Akemi was gone from her sight. She looked around her to see if she was still there, but to no avail. She then felt her hand being held by another. Her attention turned to her friend, who waa grinning widely at her.
"Let's go make sandcastles, Shiho!" The auburn haired girl made no attempt to refuse as she was already filling up one of the buckets that Shino had with sand.
Akemi had an annoyed look on her face as she walked back to where she left their bags. 'Shiho-chan just can't stay in one place.' Her face then dropped when he saw a young boy 'playing' with the tools and scrap in one of their things and she sighed in frustration. 'If only Moroboshi-kun was here…'
She ran quickly to where the boy was sitting and faked a smile. "Bozu, you know those things you're holding aren't good for children," she pointed to the pliers and wrench that he were in his grasp, but the boy didn't reply. He just continued on 'playing' with a bunch of scrap metal on the sand using the pliers and wrench. "You should just give it to me so you don't get injured, right Bozu?"
"Hey, neechan," he called without even looking up to look at her. "Don't you have any spare batteries in your pockets?" Akemi raised an eyebrow. What did he say? "I'm trying to create a small robot with the junk I found in one of these bags," he added, referring to the two bags beside him, which belonged to the teen. Akemi's eyes widened for a moment, before flashing her fake smile once again.
"Gomen, but I don't have any! Besides, we're in a beach, bozu. I doubt that there will be any people here who have batteries with them."
The boy sighed and stood up, dropping the two tools that he was holding. "This sucks. I guess I won't really be able to have fun today." He began to walk away with the teen eyeing him suspiciously.
'He's… strange,' the girl thought. 'How could he know about robotics at this early age? Could it be that…' Shaking her head to eliminate a certain thought in her mind, she began to pick up the mess the boy left behind. 'It's impossible for that to happen. I think he's just a prodigy who's gifted in robotics…' She picked up the two bags and scanned the surroundings for possible spots that her and Shiho can relax under. 'Where to settle down?' Her eyes finally settled on a spot near the beach snack bars where there was shade provided by umbrellas and she started to head towards there. 'Now, I need to relax and get some peace and quiet before Shiho-chan ruins it again.'
Several minutes later, with Shiho and Shino…
Shino had just finished her two-story tower, but Shiho was already converting her five-story tower into a full-blown castle. Seeing this, Shino screamed in frustration, pissed at being left behind by her newfound friend. "This is so not fair!" she complained.
Shiho leaned in a bit closer and looked at her friend in confusion. "What's the problem, Shino?"
"It's just that you have a good castle right now, and mine is so ugly!"
Shiho stroked her chin and stared at the small castle Shino made. After a few seconds, she stood and smiled warmly. "I think it looks great, Shino!"
"You really think so?" Her friend closed her eyes and nodded a few times. "That makes me feel so happy! Arigato, Shiho-chan!" She hugged her friend tightly.
"No problem, Shino!" she answered, hugging her back and pulled away after only fifteen seconds. "Now, let's continue building —" she got cut off from her statement as soon as the two of them heard another voice join them.
"Where were you two five minutes ago and what were you doing that time?" the voice asked, prompting the two girls to look at the direction where it originated. Staring at them was a young boy about their age who bore cobalt eyes and black hair. He was narrowing his eyes at the two of them, as if he was suspecting them of something. "I ask you two again," he continued. "Where were you five minutes ago and what were two doing that time?"
"What's your name?" asked Shino, causing the boy to clear his throat and fix his hair.
"Kudo Shinichi, tantei sa."
"Tantei? That's so cool!" Shino clapped her hands, and Shiho, although she was confused with how her friend was acting, began to clap as well. "Does this mean you help the police in fighting bad guys?"
Shinichi grinned. "Of course! We detectives do the same like what Sherlock Holmes does when he's after somebody!"
"Who's Sherlock Holmes?" asked Shino.
"You don't know about the one and only Sherlock Holmes, are you kidding me?" Both girls shook their heads in reponse. The boy sighed and let out a "huff" before continuing on with his story.
"Holmes is my idol! Because of him, I decided that I wanted to be a detective when I grow up! With his partner, Watson, they are unstoppable! No criminal has ever beaten them!"
"Sugoi!" said Shiho. "Who is this Watson? Is she his wife?"
"No, no, it's not like that! Watson is his partner!"
"But doesn't that mean the same?"
"Watson is a man, so it's impossible for him and Holmes to be husband and wife!" Shiho nodded and Shinichi stepped closer to her, raising his eyebrow. "Why did you thought that Holmes and Watson were husband and wife, anyway?"
The girl shrugged. "Nothing, I just thought because being partners means being together for me, I guess…" She looked away as soon as she finished, too shy to look at him in the eye.
"You're pretty cute, what's your name?" Shinichi asked curiously.
"Shiho. Shiho Miyano. Why do you ask?"
"Well, what do you say if we become partners?" he asked with a smile, causing the girl to look at him, confused.
"What?"
"Let's be partners! I'm Holmes and you're Watson!"
"So… I'm a guy?" she blurted out, nearing tears causing the boy to react quickly.
"No, no, don't think of it that way! Your gender doesn't matter here as long as we help each other! Holmes and Watson always help each other, so that's what we'll do! And who knows, maybe someday, we'll get married like what you said earlier about Holmes and Watson getting married! So what do you say?"
Shiho smiled warmly after his statements. "Okay, Shinichi!" Her answer was obvious, since she didn't think of it carefully. She then glanced at Shino, who was throwing the both of them a look of disgust. "What's wrong, Shino?" she asked her.
The girl sighed and kicked a small pebble away. "It's just that you already have someone in your life because you agreed to marry a handsome boy while I'm just left here…"
"Awww don't be like that, Shino!" Shinichi tried to cheer her up, which obviously didn't work as she was nearing tears. "Shino, there's a person who'll be with each of us when the time comes." Both girls raised an eyebrow. "Who knows? Somebody here in the beach could be your future husband!"
Shino felt the heat go to her cheeks as she blushed and looked away for a bit before looking back at Shinichi once again. "What makes you think like that, Shinichi-kun? Isn't it weird to think like that while we are still little?"
The boy threw both of his hands up in defense. "No, it's not weird, and I'm not kidding! Anybody here could be your future husband!" He noticed a young raven-haired boy with his eyes closed and his hands tucked in his pockets just passed by so he pointed to him. "Like that boy over there!" The boy looked at the 'detective' for a moment since he was pointing to him before scoffing and continuing on his way.
"He's cute!" Shiho remarked.
"Yeah, you're right, Shiho! I should have asked his name, though…"
Shinichi then saw a brown-haired woman behind the girls waving to him. "Sorry, you two, but a detective like me can't keep crime on the loose." Shinichi bowed slightly and kissed Shiho's hand, causing the latter to blush furiously. "Stay safe from any danger!," he finished, leaving the two girls frozen in their place but after a few minutes, they regained their composure.
"Come on, Shiho-chan!" the raven-haired girl piped up. "Let's continue doing our castles!" The only response the girl needed was Shiho nodding.
Before they could continue in building their castles, a familiar face returned to their sights. "Shiho-chan, let's go," said Akemi as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Let's get something to eat, you can continue playing with her more after we get back, okay?"
"Hai!" replied Shiho. She turned to her raven-haired friend. "I guess I'll see you later, Shino!" She stuck her hand out for the girl to shake. "I'm sorry tbat I have to leave but I hope we get to build our sandcastles again when we meet!"
"I hope we meet again, Shiho-chan! It was so fun playing with you!" She accepted the handshake without hesitation and flashed a smile or her own smile. After she took back her hand, Shiho turned away and held her sister's hand as they left, leaving a smiling Shino in her place as she began to pick up the all the trash they made while they were building their castles.
Ryuuichi snapped his fingers in front of Conan's face in order to wake him up from his daydream. The detective shook his head as he stared into the prodigy's eyes. "What were you thinking about?" asked Ryuuichi. "You were spaced out for a moment."
Conan threw both of his hands up in response and shook his hands. "Don't worry about anything that's bound to take place! Nothing's happening!" Ryuuichi eyed him suspiciously in confusion before he could escape their sights.
Ryuuichi sighed and shrugged. "I have no idea on what you're talking about. Just pay attention. I think the girls are about to go down soon." He then focused all his attention towards the staircase where Kazuko and Ai should be walking through any moment.
Conan began to reminisce that one day at the beach. 'I remember now! Man, I never thought thatvwe actually did a of those!' He looked at the two girls who just went out of their rooms, both looking as beautiful as ever. 'I'll keep it as a secret until our little date later on…'
What's up, guys? This is my first filler for the series and I know I didn't say anything about this one so I'm gonna explain things. I know that I made it official that 'Love at its Highest' would be the first one, but I can't let this story slip from my mind. In this filler, the four teens who were turned to kids by APTX 4869 meet for the very first time at a beach. Obviously, every event is pure imagination is you're going to ask. The ending part was when Conan was talking to Ryuuichi in Chapter 37 of IABH (Double Dates Everywhere!), meaning that he was having this flashback in his mind that time. And in case you all forgot, 'Shino Nomura' is Kazuko's real name in this universe. That was made clear in "Downfall of the Dragons, Part 1", which is Chapter 13 of IABH. Personally, my favorite part here is Shinichi acting like Casanova, proposing marriage at an early age. Well, since he doesn't give a fuck on what that is and he also doesn't care about love that time, he just plainly announced it like an idiot. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first filler fanfic of IABH and there will be more to come! If you liked this fic, don't hesitate to follow/fave either the story or me, and please leave a good review if you can! Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*
-Lance
