"Ne, ne, Shinichi, let's go," Ran said, pulling Shinichi along.
"Oi, you don't actually believe in fortune telling, do you?" Shinichi said, looking at the tent they were heading towards with doubt.
"Shinichi," Ran whined, giving him a pout. "You promised you'd do whatever I wanted to do."
"Hai, hai. In celebration of your win in the national karate championships," Shinichi said, repeating his earlier promise. "Alright, let's go," Shinichi said, following Ran onto the line in front of the tent. Did so many people really take fortune telling seriously? It was all a gimmick- body language reading combined with some guesswork. And yet, the line for the tent was enormous; there was at least fifty other students waiting in line in front of them. Shinichi just sighed, taking the time to look around. The school fair at Ekoda High School was surprisingly popular; the Beika High School fair never had so many attendees. And the range of attractions was impressive as well. In addition to the fortune telling tent, there was a magic show going on that appeared to attract a plethora of students. Magic shows weren't really his thing though. Then again, neither was fortune telling.
"I'm going in, Shinichi," Ran said, surprising him. The line had moved rather quickly and somehow, they were right in front of the tent now.
"You want me to go with you?" Shinichi asked, taking a step forward.
"N-no!" Ran exclaimed, turning red. She quickly pushed him back.
"What? Why not?" Shinichi asked.
"The fortune will only come true if it's a secret," Ran said, rushing into the tent, "Don't come in, okay?"
Is there such a rule? Shinichi thought, scratching his head. He just shrugged, Whatever. He didn't really care for fortunes anyways. He always believed that one had control over one's own destiny, that the future was up to the individual to determine.
It was a while before Ran finally came out, looking quite happy. There was an extra spring in her step.
"What did the fortune teller say?" Shinichi asked, noticing Ran's mood.
"Se-cr-et," Ran said with a smile, giving Shinichi a wink.
Shinichi just shrugged and didn't press the issue, "What do you want to check out now?"
"Eh? Don't you want to get your fortune told?" Ran asked.
"Not really," Shinichi said, or tried to, but Ran pushed him into the tent. "Oi," Shinichi said as he stumbled in. Regaining his footing, Shinichi took a look around, suddenly realizing how dark it was inside the tent. An eerie music could also be heard playing in the background. "They're really serious about this, huh?" Shinichi mumbled to himself as he walked further into the tent. A few steps ahead, he noticed a table, with, presumably, the fortune teller sitting behind it. Shinichi sighed and sat down opposite the fortune teller, determined to get the nonsense over with. "So you're the fortune teller?" Shinichi asked, raising an eyebrow.
The fortune teller was a girl with reddish brown hair and matching eyes. She looked at Shinichi carefully before finally speaking. "I am the fortune teller, Akako. It is a pleasure to meet you, high school detective, Kudo Shinichi."
Shinichi couldn't help but look a little surprised at that. But then, as if suddenly understanding, he said, "Oh, I see. Ran told you about me, huh?"
Akako shook her head. "I foresaw our meeting."
"Sure you did," Shinichi said doubtfully. "So, what else did you see with that crystal ball of yours?"
"Death," Akako said slowly, giving Shinichi a menacing look.
"Death?" Shinichi asked, growing serious. "What do you mean?" Was she telling him that someone would die? Was there going to be a murder? The detective part of Shinichi sprang to life.
"In one month's time-" Akako said, but then paused abruptly.
"One month?" Shinichi repeated when Akako didn't continue.
"In one month's time, death will carry you to your grave, Kudo Shinichi," Akako said.
"W-what?" Shinichi said, letting out a laugh. But then he noticed that Akako was completely serious. "Okay, aren't you doing the fortune telling thing wrong?" Shinichi asked, "Aren't you supposed to tell me that I'll get rich and find true happiness or something like that?"
"One month," Akako repeated.
Okay, now it's starting to get creepy. "Listen here," Shinichi started but Akako cut him off.
"The smallest of things can choke the largest. A pebble hurts no matter the size. The bird and the butterfly are both beautiful but only one can survive. And until the magic word is spoken, you shall never get what you want," Akako said.
"Ha?" Shinichi remarked, confused by the gibberish that the fortune teller was giving him. Finally deciding he had had enough, Shinichi stood up and began walking towards the exit of the tent. Just as he was about to leave though, he heard Akako say something.
"Remember, one month, Kudo Shinichi."
Shinichi just shrugged off the creepy fortune and walked back out into the daylight.
"Shinichi!" Ran called, running over to him.
Shinichi smiled. "What do you want to check out now, Ran?" he asked, the fortune already slipping to the back of his mind.