Walking down the sidewalk was a Californian boy who we will call Storm.
He enjoyed piña coladas, track meets, and getting caught in the rain, but his favorite thing in the world was anime. He liked Danganronpa and Mirai Nikki, but his favorite animu in the world, perhaps even the universe, was Detective Conan.
It was raining just a little bit.
And within that anime, he loved a fictional man more dearly than the rest. It was true, perhaps, that he pursued love in real life, because he wasn't that bad of a weeaboo; but what he felt when he saw this character was a different kind of love. There was just something about him that Storm couldn't place within his soul - a devotion beyond time and space. A fondness.
The rain was getting a little harder.
Storm indeed enjoyed getting caught in the rain, but he needed to get to his grandparents' house. (He had brought several DC movies on his phone for when he got there.) Seeking for a brief refuge before his final sprint, he ducked under the shelter of a gas station. He was a little thirsty, and went inside.
He opened the doors and the soft bell of a gas station rang. The smell of somewhat clean floors and fresh packaging and chewing gum and knickknacks and gasoline, floating through the vents, a bathroom in the back, neat aisles, teenager at the counter. As the door shut behind him, the sound of the rain suddenly became a muffled silence. He went back to the drink aisle on the far wall and grabbed a can of Sunny-D, not thinking about the consequences of an off-brand orange flavored beverage. He paid up and left the store. Under the gas station roof, he took a sip from the can. Fresh and orangey.
It was raining a little harder now. He ran in the rain.
He ran as fast as he could. The rain was pouring. Never in his sunny Californian lifetime had he seen so much rain in such an arid place. Wasn't there supposed to be a drought? The sound of billions of raindrops hammering on the flat Californian roofs. Trillions on the streets, the cycle of life and death.
He couldn't see in the rain. He slipped. He put his hands out in front of him to catch his fall. The can of Sunny-D in his left hand was gone. He braced for a tough impact on the concrete, but he felt nothing. Looking down. there was nothing to fall onto. He wasn't anywhere. The sound of rain persisted. His consciousness faded, and with one last lingering thought, he wanted to pick up that can of Sunny-D and take another final swig. But alas, how destiny also generates regret. We'll see what happens to that later, but for now...
The boy who we called Storm and will still be calling Storm put his hand to his head, but found himself unable to do so.
All great stories start in the hospital. This may or may not include babies.
A nurse walked in. "He's awake," he said.
"We know already," said the other nurse. "Just explain to him what's going on."
Storm was confused as to why he ended up in the hospital after tripping in the rain and making a successfully safe landing on the pavement. He told this to the nurses, and also asked where his can of Sunny-D was. They stared at him with bizarre expressions on their faces. Like... they had been... poorly animated.
"We found you out cold in the subway," said the first nurse. "You were almost in a comatose state. Thank goodness you've recovered."
Storm then realized that he had not just heard that in his native language or in that other language he learned in school. He had just fully understood a sentence in what some call Nihon-ese and others refer to as 'subs'.
What that nurse had just said was something along the lines of "Idaina, kimi wa kaifuku shite kimashita," but Storm heard it and casually completely comprehended it as if he had learned it at an early age when the brain was better able to form neural connections related to language development. This, of course, made perfect sense.
Storm realized that this also meant that he was communicating in glorious Yamato-go. The nurse asked him for his name. Storm told them his real life name and didn't try to make up a silly Japanese equivalent or include any of his favorite anime characters' names in said Japanese name, but we will still call him Storm, and that is what they will call him, as well.
"Where are your parents? Where do you live?" the nurses asked. Storm lived in California with his parents. So the nurses went away to look up his name. They came back with nothing. Storm didn't exist, neither in Japan or in America. He had no identity.
"Well," said the doctor, "you still have to pay for your hospital bills somehow, so-"
Before he could finish, Storm had jumped out the window and escaped the hospital as he knew Shinichi did in the manga version of the second episode of Detective Conan. He walked down the street in a hospital gown like he was Ebenezer Scrooge out on a spiritual stroll. Everyone stared at him, but Storm was too confused about what was going on to notice. He didn't exist any more. Wherever he was, he wasn't supposed to be there. It could have been an error; he could be roaming the streets without a name due to a mistake. But in this modern age, mistakes didn't make themselves. Something was seriously wrong here.
Was he even the same person? He stopped and looked at his reflection in a window. He looked the same, with dark circles under his eyes from what was apparently almost a coma but not quite. At least he hadn't been run over by a truck or randomly lost his parents or gotten caught in a freak tornado and landed in Oz. Since he wasn't in a society that was governed by witches, it wasn't all bad. It was just normal everyday Japan. He just had to find a way to live until he could get back, he reassured himself, but he felt his hands shaking under the pressure of it all.
Did his friends exist here? If he somehow got back to California, would his house be there, or would it be completely different? Was he really a Californian, or had he dreamed up his entire life? And why could he speak Japanese when he so vividly remembered knowing English and Spanish?
Before he could worry further, he heard a voice behind him. "Excuse me, sir, but would you mind putting some normal clothes on? You're creating kind of a public spectacle." He turned around and looked at the voice's owner. It was a police officer. A familiar one... "You're... Tagaki-keiji," said Storm.
"No, it's Takagi," he said.
Storm shrugged.
Takagi continued. "Why are you only wearing a hospital gown out in the middle of the city? Cosplay?"
"I ... don't know."
"Well, here." He gave Storm a set of normal looking clothes. "Don't do this again, or, uh, whatever you were doing." He walked off, scratching the back of his head in confusion. Storm looked for the nearest public bathroom and went in, then came out, now wearing what would be deemed normal in Japanese society: pants and a shirt and shoes. Very natural.
Storm walked away in his clothes feeling peculiar. He had just talked to a fictional police officer who had asked him to change clothing. It was almost embarrassing. In fact, it was extremely embarrassing, but he didn't notice because he was already dealing with the feeling of shock that he was probably in the world of Detective Conan. I mean by now don't you think that's where he'd be? You read the summary and everything, so we can't just beat around the bush for fifteen chapters.
And as Storm realized his potential for being in said world, he remembered that this meant that he was in proximity to someone. A Special Someone. A Special Someone Who Now Existed. Within His Reach.
And the first step to finding him was finding Beika Block 22.
After finding a map, Storm made his way to the Kudou mansion. As he was walking there, someone ran out from a corner and straight into his kneecaps, falling over in front of him. Storm looked down. It was Conan.
"Sorry," said Conan, and then he looked up.
Storm was gaping at him. He had run into the man turned child that he had idolized and villainized simultaneously for over a year. The boy who he sacrificed many cartons of Orange Juice to on full moon nights in order to prevent the Conepocalypse was standing right in front of him, and it was all due to some cruel twist of fate.
"Oh, it's you," said Conan.
Storm stared. What?
Conan smiled up at him mischievously. "Your sacrifice this week was inefficient."
"Did you... do this?" said Storm.
"This is your penalization for choosing to drink Sunny-D over any natural brand of orange juice. You will be my new servant for now, Storm-kun." He smiled evilly.
Storm wanted to ask 'for how long', but knew better not to ask questions. "Yes, sir." Conan motioned for him to follow, but as he went with him, he looked back longingly at the house where Subaru stayed. He wanted to meet the man in the flesh so badly that he'd almost consider running away from The Cone. But he didn't, because he was afraid of what Conan could do to him. He could do many things, unspeakable things. He wasn't going to try on unstable terms.
Storm followed Conan up the steps of the Mouri Detective Agency. Storm took several mental notes for any future fanfictions that he planned on as he looked at the interior layout.
As Conan opened the door and announced that he was home, Storm politely but awkwardly tried to say hello to Kogoro and Ran, who were chillin after a long day, but they acted like they didn't see him.
Conan turned around and smiled at Storm. "That's one of my perks," he said. "No one will notice you. No one notices me when I don't want them to, you know."
Storm thought about how Conan could hide in very obvious places. Clearly Conan knew his own potential more than the readers could imagine. And he was going to use it to sneak Storm into the agency for no reason other than Conan's own benefit. It was outrageous. One could even imagine it as hilarious. But for Storm, he couldn't help but feel a little distressed at what was to come...
Being Conan's personal slave basically meant that he had to make Conan's life slightly easier in any way possible. This meant reaching things. This meant making midnight runs for more OJ - Conan insisted that no one would see Storm stealing four gallons of it at the convenience store - and thus breaking the law.
Conan would explain as the days passed that having an outsider as his servant was much easier than someone in-universe because an actual character couldn't be around all the time without ruining the plot. Storm felt like some sort of slave guardian angel as he stood in Conan's class next to his desk and nobody gave him funny looks.
"I can tell that you think this is awkward," said Conan from his desk.
"Well... yes," said Storm hesitantly. He really didn't want to get on Conan's bad side. Legends within the cult of Cone spoke of his holy wrath.
"But imagine," said Conan. "Others before you have had it much worse... Introduced as my twin sibling, losing your parents, getting run over by a truck and waking up here, living with the cast of characters like it's some sort of ridiculous middle school sitcom, having silly complicated magical powers and being able to contact the real world on a limited basis, or having to live with a stranger like Jodie or Akai... even getting drugged and ending up in a similar situation as me... and the like. You have it a lot easier than them, to say the least."
"Really," said Storm. The self insert tales were real.
"Unless you like that kind of stuff," said Conan. "But I wouldn't imagine it."
Storm shook his head no, then stopped suddenly. "But there is one thing."
"What?"
"Akai Shuuichi."
"Oh, right, you must like him," said Conan. "You know what? You've been serviceable in these past few days. I'll warrant a visitation."
It was going to be the happiest day of Storm's life.
It was raining. Storm knocked on the Kudou mansion's door, Conan at his side, slightly wet umbrella tucked under his arm. He was greeted by his favorite person in the world.
"Hello?" said Subaru. He seemed to be looking directly at Storm, even if Storm knew that he was probably invisible.
Conan cleared his throat. Subaru looked down. "Oh, it's you, Conan-kun. And you brought a friend?"
"He can see me?" said Storm.
"Of course," said Conan. "Why would I have you come over if not for that?"
Storm shrugged. It was a good point.
"This is Storm-kun," said Conan, gesturing to his cool teenage friend. "He's my servant."
"Ah, I see," said Subaru with a flash of his glasses. He waved towards the entry hall. "Make yourselves at home."
They all went to the living room. Subaru sat across from Storm and Conan, who had his feet propped up on the table relaxedly.
"What brings you here?" said Subaru. He sipped from his teacup.
"As you know, he's a reader from the mortal world," said Conan. "He enjoys your character. He wanted to have a visit."
Storm was almost mortified. That much was true, but to say it so bluntly like that ruined the natural mechanic of getting to know Akai. Now Subaru knew that Storm was a big fan, and there was no going back.
Subaru leaned back in his seat a little. "I might not be the best choice for favorite character," he said.
"Why?" said Storm. Subaru was handsome, and brave, and cool, and hot, and smart, and handsome.
"Subaru-san is too modest," said Conan teasingly. "Why, you're the second most powerful being in this universe."
"Most powerful?" said Storm.
"You haven't explained it fully to him yet," said Subaru. "I'm surprised."
"He never asked," said Conan, shrugging. "This place is a sort of afterlife, a haven for lost souls. It takes on the form of the world that Aoyama Gosho envisioned. People die here, yes, but that's because their time has come to move on to better realms."
"Really?" said Storm.
"Surprising, isn't it?" said Conan. "Aoyama-sensei was nothing but a prophet seeing into another universe. That's how most creative ideas get by in the mortal world."
"And we're the ones who oversee the rest of the souls," said Subaru. "You might call us gods. You already know from experience, I presume, that Conan-kun can wield impossibly strong power over reality itself. I'm only his junior in said power."
"What about Ran?" said Storm. "Are all the other main characters gods too?"
"No," said Subaru. "Only a couple of them even know that there's anything different about us. They're just mortal ghosts. And yet, our Shinichi-kun here has fallen in star-crossed love with one of them."
"Ran, right?"
"No, Heiji."
"Good," said Storm. "But... this is all too much."
"Just chill out," said Subaru. "It isn't that big of a deal." He refilled Storm's tea cup. "Don't think about it too hard - just know that we're in charge."
"But," said Storm, "if you guys are in control, then why are you still Conan?"
Conan's face darkened a little. "Because that's how fate wants to play it out, and fate is something beyond even my reach."
"Well, okay then," said Storm. Oh buoy. He had really gotten himself into something.
They sipped their drinks silently for a while, just hangin' out. Conan turned on the TV and flipped through the channels.
"Go back," said Subaru.
"What?"
"The car, go back."
Conan went back like three channels. There was a showing of a beautiful black pickup truck.
"Oh, man," said Subaru. "I'd love to have one of those babies. Drive it all around the countryside..."
Storm mentally noted that Akai would love nothing more then yet another pickup truck.
"... snipe Gin from it, sleep under the stars in the truck bed..."
"Sounds like somebody misses their sweet ride," said Conan.
"You've never owned a dream car," said Subaru. "You wouldn't know the feeling."
Conan sighed. "Yeah, that's true. You're crazy about your trucks though."
Everybody laughed at this. They were having a good time, especially Storm. He was with his man crush. They continued to discuss various topics. Storm couldn't help but wonder at Akai's mass knowledge and experience of things that he didn't even expect. Storm could watch him speak about his adventures in New York for hours. It was riveting. It was exciting. He was completely enamored.
"Subaru-san," said Conan, after a long night of talking. "Believe it or not, I had a legitimate reason for coming over today."
"Really?"
"I wanted to propose that you take Storm-kun here into your custody for now. I have no use for him any more."
Storm looked at Conan in shock.
Subaru shrugged. "Seems fine to me."
Conan turned and winked at Storm. Storm almost felt like Conan was doing something good for once.
Conan stood on the front steps of the Kudou mansion. Storm and Subaru were inside.
"I'd like to say bye to Storm-kun," said Conan. "And talk with him in private."
Storm stepped out. Subaru closed the front door, leaving the two alone. There were a couple seconds of silence before Conan spoke up.
"You like him, don't you?"
Storm smiled. "...Definitely."
Conan smiled at him. "I've left you with him as per my policy of supporting relationships... for now. Good luck, Storm-kun."
He turned around and walked away. Storm was now where he belonged, and it was all thanks to the Cone. He would never regret the rituals that he had done, even the mistake he had made of buying that can of Sunny D.
"Memes," said Storm. Over a cup of coffee. "I'm all about memes."
"Tell me about them," said Subaru. Over another cup of coffee.
The coffee cups steamed a little.
"They're just internet jokes."
"Nice." Ground coffee.
"In my world," said Storm, "Conan's orange juice addiction - that's a meme, there."
"Oh, really?"
Black canned coffee in a can.
"We don't know how it got there - we just started thinking it was funny."
"That's interesting," said Subaru. "Our worlds intersect like that, do they... Revealing everything in memes?"
"Well, not quite everything is memes, per se..."
Outside the house. Two pairs of binoculars.
"They're getting along well," said Agasa.
"I'd thought he'd never get over my sister," said Haibara. "Apparently, I've misjudged him."
More coffee in the fridge. Several cans.
"A meme is - well, just an idea that spreads fast, you know. Anything could be a meme, but we only call internet jokes memes. So yeah."
"That makes sense," said Subaru.
Silence.
"You know," said Subaru, "that everybody can see you now, right?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. I can't do what Conan-kun does."
"Will I have to go to school?"
"You catch on fast." Rinsing the coffee mug. "It's either that or be a hikikomori and hide inside all day in the dark."
"But how am I going to get into school?"
"You're forgetting who you're talking to. I'm a high ranking member of the FBI. You have practically no identity. We can change that."
"Wow..." said Storm. "This is going to be fun..."
After a couple of paperwork-intensive days, Storm was finally enrolled in Teitan High School. He was in the same school as Sonoko, Sera, and Ran.
"WOW," said Storm, "Japanese high school is not what it is like in my animus." He had to cram for tests. But at least he had school in the first place. And Anime World was real.
He also was surprised that Ran's hair horn was real, because it was. He had never comprehended such a cone of hair in 4D before. It was amazing.
Storm made like 3 friends that day but they were generic classmates and honestly he could care less. When he came home, Subaru wasn't there. He waited around and then Subaru came hom and made hte spagheti. Subaru's spaghetti was absolutely amazing. It was like he really was in Anime Italy, with its real life-referenced backgrounds and attractive foreign anime people. Every bite of delicious Subaru brand spaghetti was just like that. It was heaven. Subaru smiled with his apron on.
"Subaru-san, you are the most amazing person ever," said Storm between bites, his mind flashing the colors of the Italian flag like some sort of pasta seizure. "And your food, ...is out of this world."
"I'm not that good," said Subaru. "It's just a family recipe." He pushed up his glasses nonchalantly.
Subaru being modest was extremely adorable.
"Storm-kun watch the house for me," said Subaru. "I have to go do important FBI business things."
"Can I come?" said Storm.
"No, it's too dangerous."
"Awwwww maaaaaan." He sunk down on the couch. "But the FBI are so cool, and you're so cool." And hot, he whispered to himself. Temperature fluctuations.
"Storm-kun, you are a liability now. I have to make sure that you are safe."
"I guess that makes sense," said Storm. "But promise me that you'll take me next time. Have Agasa-hakase watch the house or something, you know?"
"Fair enough," said Subaru. "It's a promise."
Storm was so very very excited.
As Subaru left, he failed to take notice of a black Porsche rounding the corner behind him. Haibara was busy at a rave with the Detective Boys and did not feel the intense aura of someone very evil nearby. Storm did not have FBI-level training or psychic abilities, and noticed nothing.
The driver of the car pulled up to right in front of the Kudou mansion, laid back, a hand relaxed on the steering wheel. The other hand was occupied, holding a Minute Maid apple juice box, from which the driver was sipping absentmindedly.
Now, Storm saw this out the window, and he was not happy about it. This was an insult. An affront to the Cone cult, an attack on their ideological philosophy. He knew whose black-gloved hand held the weak papery juice box close enough to drink out of its bendy straw. He knew who sat beside the driver, idly chewing gum and looking at nothing in the way that people with sunglasses on always did. But he wasn't afraid. He knew for certain that Conan wouldn't let the bad guys do something as ridiculous as storm into the house and drug Storm up with apotoxin.
So why exactly were Gin and Vodka hanging out on this street? In the neighborhood for a stroll? Checking if Kudou Shinichi was still really actually dead?
He didn't have time to question this further, because Gin's plan was simple. He stuck his hand out of the car window and gave the Kudou mansion the middle finger, than drove off as fast as he could.
What a ludicrous gesture. He wasn't angry, he said as he shakily tried to dial Subaru's number on his cell phone. Nobody disrespects the Cone like that without getting caught...
"Hello?"
"Subaru, I have some bad news for you..."
Subaru was not surprised about what Gin had done.
"We've been having incidents like this for a while now," he would say, shrugging. "It's just intimidation tactics, or trying to get us mad, that kind of thing."
"I can't believe that we're being trolled by Gin and Vodka," said Storm.
"It's not like we haven't done the same to them."
Storm stared. "What have you guys done?"
"Conan has, as a matter of fact, shipped two trucks full of orange juice to their headquarters. They were so mad. He got it on tape."
"Wow."
As time passed before the next FBI meeting, Storm could not wait for what would happen. He wrote the date down in his calendar. He counted down the days. He fantasized about chilling with Jodie and the gang. He drew little comics at school about what would happen. It was going to be great. It would be memetastic, almost. Not quite... but almost.
The day finally came. Storm got into Subaru's weird car and they drove to a restaurant across the bridge.
"Where are we going?" said Storm. "Is this the FBI headquarters?"
"No," said Subaru. "That's too obvious. We're going to meet them at a restaurant." He pulled into Donny's Family Restaurant.
Storm couldn't believe his eyes. He was going to fake Denny's. Did this universe's version of this restaurant do outdated memes too? From how it smelled in the restaurant, at least they didn't have bad food. He shrugged off his slight fear of food poisoning and followed Subaru to the table where Jodie and Camel were at.
"Hi there," said Storm.
"This is my skilled subordinate that I've told you about," said Subaru.
"Oh, so you're Storm, right?" said Jodie. "Nice to meet you," she said in English. Storm cringed at her pronunciation but struggled to hide it. It was so wrong. He wondered if actual Americans in Anime World all talked like that.
"So, any news?" said Camel.
"Gin and Vodka say hi," said Subaru. "We saw them driving down a street earlier, but couldn't follow them." Storm realized that Subaru had to lie about this because he had to keep the plot steady.
"Well, I mean, they have to go places," said Jodie. "I think Gin is so self centered that he wouldn't go undercover for anything."
"Anyway, have we got a deal for you," said Camel. "We've located one of their bases. We're going to hold an operation and try to get some information from them."
"Really?" said Subaru. "I'm surprised. How did you find it?"
Jodie shrugged. "Cool Kid did it. We owe a lot to him for this one, which is why he'll be joining us on this mission."
"Fair enough. So, what are the details?"
Subaru was casually stirring a pot of stew in the Kudou mansion's kitchen.
"Tell me some more about memes," he said.
"Well, uh," said Storm, "they're kind of hard to explain unless you see one..."
"Get one for me."
"Okay." Storm went on Subaru's laptop and pulled up an image, then brought the laptop over to him.
"This... this thing is a meme?"
"Yeah, this one is called 'doge'," said Storm. "It's where the shiba inu keeps saying the wrong phrases."
Subaru put his hand to his head. "What has modern society come to?"
"Want to see another?" said Storm.
"Oh my gosh, yes," said Subaru. Storm pulled up Memebase.
"Here it is. Thousands of memes, all at you're finger tips..."
Storm and Subaru had another FBI meeting discussing the upcoming mission.
"Let's go over this again. So this is our setup," said Camel. "Jodie infiltrates the building, Akai stands by with rifle on the nearby rooftop, I sneak in the back door, and Storm records everything.
"Record?" said Storm.
"Yeah, if you take footage of what happens, we might get some clues that won't be revealed in the heat of action. We have high-tech cameras set up. You just need to monitor them."
"All right," said Storm.
"Make sure you're ready in a couple of days. We won't be going back on any last-minute hesitations."
"Yes, sir."
Storm and Subaru were hanging out on the couch. The days before the start of the new mission were drawn out and all the waiting was making Storm itch. Subaru had a laptop with him. Storm was reading a book. Suddenly, Subaru broke the silence because he started laughing out of nowhere.
"What is it?" said Storm.
Subaru continued laughing, pointing at his computer screen. Storm leaned over to look at it. There, on the screen, was a video of two poorly drawn dinosaurs.
"Oh my gosh, it's Yee," said Storm. "I love that meme."
"It's – a meme?" said Subaru, trying to recover the ability to speak.
"Sure is," said Storm.
"I love... I love memes," said Subaru, gasping for breath after almost dying from laughing. "Gosh, I love them so much. I finally understand you, Storm." He held Storm's hand gently. "I love you, and I love memes."
If any moment could last forever, Storm would pick this one.
It wasn't supposed to happen this way. The mission had gone awry.
Storm ran to the rooftop, Conan trailing behind him. What he saw there was horrifying. Subaru's chest was covered in blood, and his mask was half torn off. His glasses were lopsided and had broken where the mask had split. Storm ran over to his side and pulled off the rest of the mask. He tried to stop the bleeding, but it was all too much.
The body whispered. "Storm-kun..." Storm looked into Akai's mascara-laden eyes, now clouded over with pain. "..Yee..." he said. A final smile. A memetic smile. Then Akai's head rolled to the side, blood trickling out of his mouth. His body felt like a weight in Storm's hands. Conan stood by him, took out a can of orange juice, and poured one out for his homie. Storm slowly lowered the corpse, or should he call it that yet, and looked up into the gray sky.
It was raining again, and he couldn't see. But he screamed, not for the listeners, but for himself, and for Akai Shuuichi, the extinguished light of his life. His tears mixed with the pouring rain and soaked his hair, interacted with the blood running down his hands. Drained into the bullet holes in Akai's body. He knew that the Organization's members would see him now, but he didn't care. He was overwhelmed. But as Storm looked down at his hands in shock, he could see nothing beyond them, and again, that feeling of dislocation, of discomfort, of distance...
He woke up in a phone booth, asleep on the floor, uncomfortable, the phone receiver off its hook and wedged under his leg. He shifted around until he was untangled from the cords and stood up. He looked at his hands, the blood was gone. He fished in his pocket and found his wallet bearing his name, his California State ID, his drivers' permit, the change from the Sunny-D that he had purchased earlier. Where was the blood? Who had shed their mortal husk for his own sake?
He pulled out his smartphone. It was November 25th, two days after his journey had begun. There were several missed calls from his friends and family. He opened the door to the phone booth and began his journey home. He felt beside himself doing these actions; his jog through the Californian town a sort of remembrance, even if he was there at the moment. Like he was looking through a window.
When he opened the door to his house, he was met with gasps of surprise and relief. His family embraced him, but when they asked where he had been for the past two days, Storm was unable to tell the truth. He simply said that he didn't know. The police questioned him. They couldn't lead an investigation without Storm actually knowing what happened to him. But Storm knew that telling them that he had been whisked away to Anime World where he fell in love with an FBI agent was out of the question. They would call him insane. And maybe he was...
It was Thanksgiving break, but Storm was not thankful for being home. Yes, he could be back under the iron boot of Edogawa Conan, but he would be close to Akai. Akai didn't exist in the real world. And so Storm had to take the time to get over the idea that maybe he could go back. He had to painfully prepare for the possibility that he would never be able to visit Akai's gravestone or join the FBI like he had suggested.
Storm was enclosed in his room. His parents were unsure about his condition, and he was grounded, grounded, grounded for what had presumably been running away. As he had nothing to do, he drew pictures of Akai. He wistfully imagined what he could have done to avoid Akai's death. He rewrote lyrics to popular songs to be about his FBI boyfriend. He stared at pictures of black pickup trucks. When his parents saw these drawings, Storm finally decided to tell his story.
Of course, they didn't take him seriously. They wondered what kind of thing Storm was trying to cover up in order to invent such an outlandish story. The police read over his tale again and again, but found no further clues for the situation. Storm didn't back down. After all, it was the truth. It was just improbable.
Thanksgiving Day. Storm pokes at his cranberry salad. He's already downed his orange juice but doesn't have the heart to try anything else.
"Gosh, Storm," says his sister. "You need to get over your anime crush or whoever. He doesn't exist."
Storm doesn't say anything.
A knock at the door.
"Now who could that be?" says Storm's mom. She goes to open it, expecting some extended family member with a fresh turkey or duck. But it isn't anyone that she recognizes immediately... but when she looks at his face... he kind of resembles someone familiar. The bizarre eyes, the black beanie, the sharp face. Then it all pieces together in her head.
She stares at him. "You... you're the man that kidnapped him!" She steps back uneasily. The man continues to stand there with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a can of black coffee. She watches him closely, eyes wide with terror. He pulls his hand out of his pocket and moves it to his front coat pocket. He fishes out a wallet and holds it open for her to see the ID card inside. "Shuuichi Akai, FBI," he says firmly. "I have some business with your son."
Now Storm heard that voice all the way from the kitchen. He immediately perked up and ran out to the front room. It had to be him. This was a dream. He wasn't dreaming, though. Was he? He stood there, face to face with his beautiful FBI husbando. They hugged.
"But you're... you're the one that took him, aren't you?" said Storm's mom.
"You've come to the wrong conclusion," said Akai. "Storm's displacement was not my fault. If there's anyone to blame, it's Conan, and he was only taking what Storm owed him. I only befriended Storm through his situation."
"But how did you get out of Anime World? And why are you alive?" said Storm.
"Don't you believe in the magic of true love?" And Akai led Storm off to his brand new black pickup truck. Storm sat at Akai's side, and Akai put the pedal to the metal. They flew off into the sky.
Storm and Akai were never physically seen again. Physically...
Catstorm logged on to DCTP. "Oh buoy, the new file is out!" She clicked the link to Baidu and skimmed the Chinese scanlations.
There he was. Storm, in the manga flesh, fighting alongside the FBI in their battle with the Black Organization, never forgetting to have a can of orange juice on hand and the newest memes on his mind. He smiled and winked towards the fourth wall smugly.
Catstorm closed the laptop in frustration, accidentally knocking over several empty cans of Sunny-D. They clattered onto the floor. "Why won't it work?" she sighed. "Do I really have to be running in the rain on my birthday and buy a can of Sunny-D? Can't I just drink enough of this stuff to piss off Cone? Why won't you tell me, Storm? Why can't I go to Anime World?"
The door creaked open behind her, illuminating the dark room with an eerie light. A silhouette stood there, a silhouette with too many cowlicks.
"Oh, you'll pay your dues, all right..."
THE END