Author's note: Hello! They say that it's good to write every day, so I'm basically just taking a very hazy plot and writing about it during my free time. Constructive criticism is appreciated! Thanks!
Just in case, I don't own Detective Conan. I'm just playing around with it!
Faded red sneakers slapped the wet pavement as a girl with a violin raced out of a subway station exit. It was pouring outside, and puddles of rainwater littered the streets. Pedestrians bustled back and forth sidewalks, armed with umbrellas of every color and size.
The girl, either lacking an umbrella or just unconcerned by her increasingly damp hoodie, simply flipped her hood up and forced her way through the crowd as fast as possible, violin case in tow. Frantically murmuring apologies, she shoved and bumped her way past several annoyed strangers. Making her way past the first two buildings, the girl reached an alley and slipped into the smaller, unpopulated gap.
Cheyenne Corell was late.
She was also wet, tired, and pressured. Hang it all, of all days, why did she sleep through her alarm today?! It was ten in the morning- a Saturday as well.
Surely a tutoring lesson wouldn't be too much of a hassle…
Of course, she was obviously mistaken. Apparently, her body could not handle waking up at a time that Cheyenne had achieved easily the past few weekends. Oh, how she wished for those days back in middle school when mom still had the time and energy to wake her up. Moms were so much more reliable than alarms.
She glanced at her watch. 10:06. If she ran like hell and kept running through the alleyway shortcut, Cheyenne could probably reach her tutee- fifteen minutes late.
Hopefully.
"Crud, Cheyenne, it's only your second meeting with the kid and you screwed it up!" she whispered to herself harshly.
Skidding to a halt when the alley diverged, Cheyenne took the left path- which led deeper into the alleys but was shorter and faster then coming back onto the streets- and blazed past the buildings, metaphorical tail on fire.
Finally popping out onto the street of her destination, Cheyenne rushed onto the crosswalk. She glanced at the cars. The pedestrian crossing said to wait, but the traffic lights were already on red. Cheyenne waited one, two, three seconds, then shifted her violin and looked at her watch- 10:13.
The pedestrian crossing was still showing a neon hand, but the few cars out on the street were all at a stop, the traffic light red, and frick, she had only two more minutes but she was so iclose/i-
'Screw this,' Cheyenne decided, pushing her messy hair out of her eyes, and launched herself out on the street.
Of course, that was when the light turned green, and a speeding flash of steel zoomed towards the street, not expecting a crazy violin girl to race out on the street.
The rest of the cars managed to brake almost as soon as they hit the gas pedal. One of the cars honked wildly, and Cheyenne looked to the side and saw a giant silver bullet speeding towards her, tires screeching and brakes screaming-
Cheyenne was late. She was also wet, tired, and pressured.
But most of all, she was dead.
Kazuha Toyama was a quiet baby. When she was born, Kazuha was so still and mute that her mother worried for Kazuha's health- but only for a few minutes. Within a few seconds of naming her, Kazuha had begun to scream her lungs out, and the doctors and parents all smiled in relief.
Cheyenne didn't remember much of the whole new baby stuff at the beginning. There was a tight, squeezing sensation on her head. Then there were murmurs of… 'Kazuha'? She thinks that's what they said. Then blinding white light Honestly, Cheyenne didn't figure out her circumstances until a dark face-shaped blob swam into view- god, her eyesight was iterrible/i- and the face said a slew of gibberish.
She picked out the words 'Kaa-san' and 'Kazuha'- so the face was speaking japanese?- and suddenly, Cheyenne realized with a snap-
honking screeching burnt tires sopping wet jacket
10:13 heavy violin case running street stoplights red neon death-
istupid, STUPID mistakes/i
Cheyenne had died.
The face had said 'Kaa-san'. That meant… mom…
Kazuha… the face had addressed Cheyenne as Kazuha… almost like… a name?
She was a baby. Her surroundings were gone.
Cheyenne had no idea where she was. Panic edged through her brain.
Cheyenne was dead, no, but Cheyenne was alive, but no, Cheyenne was gone, this… iKazuha/i was alive-
Cheyenne- or was it Kazuha now?- heard a wail. She distantly recognized that the sound was originating from her lips, and gradually faded back into darkness.
"Kazuha! - - -, Kaa-san - - -!"
Cheyenne's first few months of memories were riddled with holes. Fuzzily entering and exiting consiousness, the moments passed in a blur. Half the time, Kazuha's body was asleep, and during her waking hours, nothing stimulating happened, so maybe it was a gift that Cheyenne didn't remember much of that time.
She remembered all the events from her third month on, however. Kazuha's mom had been delighted with Kazuha's shriek upon hearing Beethoven's Fourth on the radio. Cheyenne had missed the sound of a violin- heck, really any instrument- during her time as… Kazuha.
(Had anyone ever experienced reincarnation in Cheyenne's time? Wracking her memories, she couldn't think of any proven incidents.)
Slowly, her motor skills began to improve. Lifting her head. Rolling over. Speaking her first word. Things like that.
If she was an early developer for these milestones, Kazuha wouldn't know- everytime she did something new, her mother would shout in joy, regardless of the act.
Though there were times when her parents looked at each other, surprised and excited after an action of hers, so maybe she was ahead. Not that she could tell what they were saying to each other.
She really needed to learn Japanese.
She wondered how life was back in Cheyenne's life.
Her mom, her dad, her brother Jamie…
She was beginning to forget, drift away from her past.
It scared her. She had to remember her family, otherwise what memories would be left of Cheyenne's life?
Cheyenne's mom, with her brown, long hair, chocolate eyes and long neck. Not very fit, but loved to swim. Made the best cakes, but couldn't make ramen without overcooking the noodles. Worked as an art teacher before Cheyenne was born. Quit to take care of her daughter, and later decided to go back into teaching after Jamie entered middle school.
Loved Jamie and Cheyenne, and tried her best. Always.
(Kazuka's mom, with her almost teal eyes and straight, dark brown hair. Nice build, used to run, according to the marathon medals in the makeup drawer. Managed to make every dish heavenly, divine works of art [Kazuha couldn't eat, but she had smelled the food, and her mouth watered for the day she could take a lovely, soul-pleasing bite]. Had a talent for singing.
Had one daughter, Kazuha, and loved her unconditionally.)
Cheyenne's father, curly black hair and beard laced with white, a slightly darker shade of brown than her mother's eyes. Worked as an car engineer. Gone most of the day, but always managed to eat dinner at home. Not much of a cook beyond the microwave. Liked to play games on his tablet during the weekend, when he was off. Loved his family, but was sometimes too busy trying to provide money instead of love.
(Kazuka's dad, an officer in the police department, judging by his uniform and badge. Dark black hair and firm brown eyes, with a straight mustache. Seemingly strict, but also joking often with Kazuha's mom. Liked to talk to Kazuha in her crib- not that she could tell what he was saying.
He seemed strict, but his eyes always softened when he looked at Kazuha. )
And Jamie… Jamie, with his rumpled hair and eager grin… His eyes lit with excitement when he achieved something… Shamelessly singing off-key to Cheyenne's violin songs… Groaning about his homework but managing to somehow always get it done before Cheyenne could help…. Arguing with Cheyenne but making up the day after…
(Kazuha didn't have a brother, and Cheyenne was both relieved and saddened at the same time. Jamie was still her brother, but she had lost him- no, he had lost her...
There was no brother to fill in the aching gap, and was that good or bad? She didn't know.)
Kazuha was one and a half when she first encountered another baby.
"Kazuha, meet Heiji! His dad is friends with your dad!"
And Kazuha was shoved in front of a wide eyed, dark skinned baby.
Heiji stared at Kazuha.
Kazuha stared at Heiji.
Then Kazuha grinned widely.
'Oh my gosh, he's so CUTE!'
Crawling over to him, she pulled hersself up next to Heiji and chirped, "Kazu'a!"
She grimaced a little at her lips butchering the name, but took one look at Heiji and smiled again. He was so cute!
"Kazu'a!'" She insisted again, still grinning.
Heiji looked at Kazuha curiously. "Kaz'a?" he asked.
Squealing internally at his adorableness, Kazuha said, "Ya! Kazu'a!"
Heiji said happily, "Heij'!"
Ha, time to mess with Heiji now. "Kazu'a!" Kazuha said stubbornly.
"Heij'!" insisted Heiji.
"Kazu'a!"
"Heij'!"
"Kazu'a!"
"Heij'!"
Soon, under the bemused gazes of the parents, the two babies were engaged in a battle of names.
Heiji's mother laughed. "They're going to be best friends!"
"Or worst enemies," said Kazuha's dad jokingly, watching as Heiji shouted his name at an equally obstinate Kazuha.
"MOMMA!" shouted Kazuha.
Kazuha's mom turned to her daughter, smiling.
"What is it, Kazuha?"
Kazuha smirked at Heiji.
" 'M Kazu'a!" she declared, pointing at Heiji.
Kazuha's mom smiled. "Yes," she said, and looked at Heiji, eyes sparkling. "She's Kazuha."
Kazuha laughed at Heiji's pout. "Kazu'a!" she said.
'I have won this battle of wits!' she crowed in her mind.
She steadfastly ignored the fact that she was mentally a high schooler.
"MOMMA!" said Heiji, pointing at Kazuha. "Heij'!"
And the Second Battle of Words began.
Kazuha was three, and she was desperate.
"Mom?" Kazuha asked, walking up to her mother, who was working.
"Yes, Kazuha?"
Kazuha drew a book out from behind her back and latched onto her mom's leg.
"Teach me how to read!" she begged.
'I'll go mad from boredom if you don't!' added Kazuha mentally.
Her mother started and looked at Kazuha in surprise. Setting down the dish she was washing, Kazuha's mom tugged off her soapy gloves and plucked Kazuha's book from her hands.
Kazuha had picked the book out from her dad's shelf.
She didn't want to get a storybook about mermaids or fairies (if she heard another "and they lived happily ever after" from her mom's storytelling, she might just scream) and had taken out a book that had seemed, judging by the pictures, much more interesting.
Kazuha's mom stared at the book. It was thick and heavy- Kazuha had struggled to carry it from her father's study down into the kitchen.
The cover depicted a picture of a heart- not the hearts on Valentines cards, but the organ that actually pumped blood around the body.
"Kazuha… this is a book about the human body."
Kazuha nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I want to learn how to read it!"
Her mother frowned, then set the book on the countertop, our ofKazuha's reach. She smiled down at the three-year old indulgently.
"I can teach you how to read," said her mother, ruffling Kazuha's head. "But that book is very hard, even for adults. How about we begin with some fairytales?"
Kazuha cringed. "No!" she said quickly. "I don't want to! I want to read that!" She pointed at the anatomy book.
Her mother sighed. "Either way, we can start with your name." She took Kazuha into the living room and pulled out some writing materials. "I'll start reading more books to you," she said to Kazuha.
"Your name….."
Kazuha clutched a fat blue crayon in her hand. She dragged the crayon across the paper carefully. Then she looked at a paper next to her and sighed.
She looked at the paper again. In her mom's elegant, neat handwriting was her name: Kazuha.
Kazuha glanced back to her own, blue scribble. Her lines looked like spaghetti- wavy, fat and distorted.
Kazuha looked longingly at the heavy book sitting on the countertop.
She had actually wanted to read that…
'What did you expect, though?' she asked herself.
'Nobody in their right mind would have let a little kid try and read an anatomy textbook.
The only reason she was even interested in that book was because of The Incident…
She shuddered, awful handwriting forgotten.
The familiar screech of tires filled her ears. Head pounding, Kazuha squeezed the crayon, breaking it in two.
Sixteen. Cheyenne had only lived til sixteen…
…Well, Kazuha intended to surpass that.
And she wasn't going to go in blind either; not when she had experienced how badly life could screw you over.
She had a mental list of what she needed to learn. CPR, first aid, swimming lessons, poison antidotes, using an AED…
However unexpected, Kazuha couldn't let this life slip away just by chance.
Kazuha was five when Heiji declared that he would become a detective.
"I'm gonna be a detective and catch all the bad guys, like dad!" Heiji proclaimed, with a bright, eager smile.
Kazuha's chest ached. Heiji's grin was so close to Jamie's own happy laugh, that it physically hurt to look at him. He reminded her of Jamie so much…
She forced a smile on her face anyway. "When you become a detective, I'll help you!"
Another smile lit up the room, accompanied by another twinge in Kazuha's heart.
"Ya! I'll be the best detective of all time!" he yelled.
Then, Heiji looked at Kazuha expectantly.
"What do you want to be, 'Zuha?"
Kazuha's mind suddenly went blank.
What was she planning on doing? Kazuha had a whole future ahead of her. She had come up with a list of things that she needed to learn, but that was for surviving, not living.
When Cheyenne had been in high school, she had not decided on what dream she had wanted to chase after. There was a world of possibilities out there, and Cheyenne had never reached her potential, had never even gotten to college...
But while Kazuha's brain wrestled with the question, her lips parted open, and an answer slipped out of her mouth.
"I'm gonna be a doctor."
"A doctor?" asked Heiji.
Her voice grew more confident. "Yeah, a doctor, so I can save people."
And Kazuha realized, yes, she wanted to save people, prevent them from slipping away from their families and friends like she had.
She smiled at Heiji. "You can catch the bad guys, and I can save the good guys! What d'ya think?"
"We'll be amazing!" declared Heiji, and laughter bubbled up in her at his simple determination.
"We will," said Kazuha, her words more of a promise to herself rather than Heiji. "We will."