Notes: OC-centric. This story features OC versions of the two anonymous characters that appeared in DC's ending video for Koi ni Koishite, sung by Mai Kuraki. While I'm quite fond of the song, the video really won me over for its uniqueness compared to the rest. I didn't leave much of a description for their appearances, so you might want to refer to the video for that. I suggest, particularly for those who haven't seen it yet and/or don't follow the anime, to watch the video first before reading to better appreciate the perspective that motivated this story's creation.
As far as the plot goes, it undoubtedly veered from the original concept I had in mind. I intended to make a songfic of sorts, but when I finally got underway, I decided to go the distance and write a full-length story about the two characters (primarily the older girl), using the ending clip, the lyrics and my initial concepts as building blocks. Had to get some factual bits from certain episodes and specials to get the smaller details, though I probably still missed a bunch.
This piece is experimental. Writing this was a real challenge for me since it marks the first time I'm not using any character I'm accustomed with, and for that matter, preset characters as protagonist(s), but I enjoyed the experience of leaving my comfort zone nonetheless. I just hope it came out decently.
"Tadaima," announced Hanae Ishihara, a second year student at Teitan High, somewhat mechanically as she stepped within the threshold of their rustic, but congenial home – a two-story, Japanese-style wooden house, built just like its neighbors in a small residential block in west Beika, but not as shabby thanks to their beautiful backyard garden. For a moment, the shrill creaking of wood when she slid the door shut gave her an unsettling feeling, like it will suddenly fall apart and crush her and they'd be forced to move. She dreaded not the probable injuries she'd receive if and when that happens, but the idea of having to leave this place, where she spent all seventeen years of her life. A refuge that held too much memories and secrets, both fond and inimical, that she couldn't see herself living anywhere else permanently. Much to her relief, nothing happened.
Undoing her school shoes, Hanae eyed the cabinet to see if her younger sister Haruna's favorite amber-colored dress shoes were present. She made it a point to look for her sister first before settling in, even though she has no history of going missing or running late from school so far. The shoes were her indicator, since Haruna wore them almost everywhere she goes lately, saying that it matches perfectly with her natural hair color. It was a present from their mom when she got her first perfect score in an exam, similar in sentimental value to the dated pair of white doll shoes displayed on the other side of the shelf – formerly Hanae's. She let out a bittersweet sigh once she found the amber-colored pair lined up neatly on the spot where it usually rested.
Haruna never seems to go anywhere else after school or stays there longer except Wednesday, her designated cleaning day. On the upside, she gets more time to study – she's considered to be one of the brightest in their class, and seems to be developing a good sense of responsibility and punctuality. On the downside, it didn't seem like she has any friends to keep her outside, or has developed any interest in anything other than studying or reading at home. Somehow, the downside made the upside seem destitute.
Hanae always worries about her sister being too timid, unable to cope with her classmates and make friends with them naturally. Sure, she talks to people and is really polite, but when people try to get to know her more, she suddenly shrinks into a corner. Hanae first noticed it a year before Haruna began schooling, when she had to pick her up from the day care center in their mother's behalf. Kids who seem to have played with her through the day said their goodbyes to her, and she responded only with a reluctant wave which somehow discouraged them. It would be bad once she reaches middle school, Hanae thought, when children begin to shed away their cocoons of innocence en route to adolescence, and certain traits and habits become a lot harder to outgrow. By then, even good grades would make little difference to how others see and treat her. This, Hanae knows from experience; she probably set a really bad example to her little sister during those early years.
As per her daily routine, Hanae went straight for the kitchen to examine the contents of their fridge. Their mom, a thirty-four year-old Ikebana instructor who married right after high school and divorced before Haruna turned four, has evening classes to teach to go with her managerial post at the flower shop she's been part of for a couple of years now, leaving her in charge of making supper and buying ingredients at the shopping district in case they forgot to get it during their regular grocery day or if ever she wants to experiment with dishes. It wasn't really a full-time duty for Hanae until she entered high school, when their mother finally received some much-deserved recognition after making strides with her craft in a short period of time while having to take care of two children all by herself, thus having more students to teach and more obligations to attend to like wedding ceremonies, special classes in big universities and even gigs at private gardens. Part of her success came from being easy on the eyes and her sob story though, but she never exploited either on purpose.
"Maybe I should ask Haruna what she likes," she tells her non-existent double in askance, unsure of what to do with the salmon, the only meat stocked in their freezer.
Venturing upstairs where she expected to find her sister, Hanae was stunned to see a crumpled piece of paper rolling across the hall, originating from Haruna's doorstep. Rather strange for a normally orderly child. Drawn closer by this phenomenon, Hanae tiptoed toward the open door of her sister's room, and as she crouched down to pick up the trash lying in her way, she heard Haruna groan impatiently while crumpling another up, dropping it to her side. Hanae's first instinct was to scold her, but the way the child was acting was so unusual, she figured that lenience would be the better approach. When she finally reached the room, she found Haruna seated in front of her desk, her pigtails hanging on the side of her head like elegant tassels on a festival lantern, channeling all her concentration towards a piece of paper laid before her while mumbling incoherent phrases, unmindful of both the clutter she had spawned and the presence of another.
A lot of people say Haruna's like a carbon copy of Hanae. The same chestnut eyes, fair complexion, facial features that showcase a lovely mix of Caucasian and Oriental, the latter being the more prominent of the two; almost everything except the younger sibling's natural brown hair, which she inherited from their estranged German father as opposed to older's faded black, reminiscent of their mother. If asked though, Hanae would always say that Haruna's ten times cuter than she ever was, and will be twenty times cuter a decade from now. Unbeknownst to her, this was exactly how her mother described her when she was as young as her younger sister.
Haruna clutched her pen once more, like she had finally come up with something good to write, but fretted before the pen's tip could even reach the surface of the paper, apparently second guessing herself now that it was her sixth try, the number Hanae deduced after counting all the trash scattered across the tatami plus the one in her hands. She continued observe what Haruna would do, but after a couple of minutes of frustrating idleness on the child's part, she decided it was time for the timelessly effective big sister meddling.
"Mom will get mad if she finds all this trash lying around later, you know," Hanae spoke, leaning on the door's edge while playfully tossing the paper ball up and down her palms.
Caught by surprise, Haruna hurriedly leaned over the piece of paper in front of her, covering it with her body while burying her face down her little arms. "I-I'll clean it up before dinner!" she exclaimed, peeking over her shoulder carefully to see if that would be enough to make her older sister leave.
"Oh, okay. What's this anyway? Homework?"
The younger sibling nodded curtly, eyes sunk down at the desk. "S-sort of."
"You must be having a hard time over there." Hanae was no Deduction Queen, but she's got a pretty good idea what this is all about. The paper's texture was a dead giveaway; it wasn't the average sheet of colored paper, but the kind of stuff sold at stationary sections in bookstores. Fragrant, thick, full of fancy details, just ten sheets of this could very well burn Haruna's lunch money for a day, even though they hardly spend their daily allowance on food since they bring homemade bentos to school everyday, usually prepared by their mom before going to work. For a family still living in an old house, they were pretty well-off, in part because none of them have any lavish tastes, and they have manageable expenses. They weren't that wealthy though, and their mother always reminds them to remember their rough roots and not be wasteful, which is why Hanae finds it quite peculiar that her sister would just throw away expensive stationary notes like this.
"Alright, I'll help you out. I'm in a good mood." Bearing a mischievous grin, Hanae began unfolding the sheet, slowly as though waiting for her sister to react.
Alarmed, Haruna jumps off her seat and rushes towards her sister. "Give that back!" she cried, almost jerking tears of embarrassment to go with her gushing face.
Now even more curious, Hanae exploited her height advantage and lifted the note as high as she could. "Now let's see... Dear Edogawa-kun," she began to read teasingly under the autumn sunset beaming through the open window. "You're as cool as a chilly October breeze. You-"
"Fine! I'll tell you! So please don't read it anymore!" Haruna conceded, her expression completely shut by shyness. "A-and please don't laugh at me, okay?"
"Okay, okay." Hanae lowers the note, tousling her sister's hair reassuringly. Somehow, she felt a little sad now that her fun is over but was nonetheless relieved to see that childish spirit again; she always thought that Haruna looked so adorable when she's mad. It's been a long time since she last saw her act that way, probably when they were still fighting over candy and their family was still complete. She had since developed this impregnable timid shell that isolated her from her peers, perhaps influenced by the rough patch they had endured, as well as the way the older sister dealt with that period. Now if only she could break that shell down so everyone could see that Haruna's no wind-up doll...
Haruna's room reflected her utterly reserved nature, a basic six-tatami room with only three pieces of furniture: an oak desk with two drawers and a shelf space, an old, upholstered chair, and a big yet half-filled bookshelf lined with picture books and fairy tales, all situated along the window across the entrance. The fusuma closet where her futon and clothes are stashed occupied a quarter of the room on the right. Haruna's walls were still very much immaculate as if she had only just moved in a couple of hours ago, free of posters or doodles. No toys could be found anywhere save for pink teddy bear sitting on a vacant space in the shelf like the last remaining stock at a store during a grand sale, a present from Hanae on her first birthday without a father. Finding the spot cozy enough, Hanae flopped down by the bookshelf, letting the wooden structure's shadow swallow her and spare her from the sweltering heat. Haruna followed shortly, her face cast down in embarrassment.
"So? Care to tell me what this letter's about?" Hanae started.
"Y-you... Y-you see," Haruna mumbled, "t-there's this... There's this boy, Edogawa-kun from Class B..."
"Class B? But you're from Class A, right?"
"I often see him at the library reading big books... A-and before or after classes. A-a-and everyone in school knows him and looks up to him."
"Like a campus idol, eh... So what's he like? This Edogawa-kun?"
"...Well, he... He's very smart, a lot smarter than everyone in his class and my class. H-he has big glasses on but it doesn't make him look goofy at all. He's also good in P.E. and everyone in school loves him, including our teachers. He's horrible in music though." At the last bit Haruna chuckled fondly, recalling the time she had a chance to listen in on Class B's recital practice. This eased her up greatly. "Last week, I lost my pencil topper, the one you won at the shopping arcade raffle and gave to me. I looked everywhere but I couldn't find it, so I asked the detective group Edogawa-kun's part of to help me out. I was amazed that Edogawa-kun was able to find it at the library after asking only a couple of questions, and I really wanted to thank him properly for his effort, but..."
"But?" Amused with the direction this admission's going, Hanae shifted to face her little sister, who was curled up and looking over her knees. "You're one of the top students in your class, aren't you? If he's also smart, you shouldn't have any problems talking to him."
"W-well... I-its just that he... H-he's always," the brown-haired child's tone became very skittish again, alerting her raven-headed sister that this upcoming revelation may very well be the root of all this. "Edogawa-kun's always with two girls!"
"Ohh... A player at an early age... Interesting."
"No! He's not like that! I-its just that they're... They're too close to him all the time."
"Too close?" Hanae gave a perplexed look. "What kind of girls are they anyway?"
Haruna tried to recall the moments where she happened to see said girls with young Edogawa-kun, for those were the only times she ever paid attention to either of them. "F-first, t-there's this girl who sits beside him and talks to him most of the time. She's really cool and smart like him, and she's very pretty too. I heard she's also a half like us. A lot of my schoolmates are scared to talk to her though."
"Hmm," Hanae tries to draw a mental sketch, "she's the stuck-up, mysterious type, isn't she."
Haruna nods.
"It figures. Those types are really appealing to both guys and girls nowadays."
"B-but it's the other one who really annoys me!" Haruna snapped at her, suddenly becoming violent.
"Oookay... Easy there." Hanae waved her palms slowly, imploring her sister to adjust her breathing according to rhythm. Once she was calmer, they continued. "Now tell me. How does she annoy you?"
The little girl curled up again and clenched her fists frantically. "S-she... She keeps clinging to him and dragging him everywhere and making him eat the bento she says she made even if she obviously didn't! She even hugs his arm! A-and when I tried to talk to Edogawa-kun at the library, she was looking at me with angry eyes!"
"Now that's a very daring girl," Hanae thought. Interactions between male and female friends were much simpler in her day, meaning not a lot of body contact, invading personal space and the like. "So that's why you want to write him a letter instead, right? Because you're afraid of getting into trouble with that girl?"
"N-no! Why should I be afraid of her?! I'm taller than her!"
"Hmm... If that's not the case, could it be that you're just too shy to talk to this Edogawa-kun personally?"
Haruna nodded again, this time reluctant and sparingly, exhausted from the outburst of emotion just now.
"Hmm... Then I guess writing a letter is the way to go."
Minutes of silence ensued, with the younger Ishihara trying to recuperate from venting more emotion than she was accustomed to, and the older hoping that her sister wouldn't be too overwhelmed by this new experience unlike her apparent rival. "Kids these days," Hanae thought in disbelief, already taking this sort of thing seriously even though they still have milk teeth. Girls were a teeny bit more conservative when she was Haruna's age, and it wasn't until she reached junior high that she cared about such thing.
Haruna sure is lucky to have a big sister to turn to, and from the looks of it, she intends to make the best out of this blessing.
"...Neechan?" Haruna chips the ice beginning to build around them.
"Hm?"
"Have you...," the child takes a breath, then looks at her intently. "Have you ever fallen in love?"
"...Come again?"
"I said, have you ever fallen in love?" Haruna repeated, trying not to raise her voice just yet.
The elder sibling heard her the first time alright, but could not answer right away. "I knew it would come down to this," was what ran through Hanae's mind as she combed her hair with her fingers. She had anticipated from the moment Haruna decided to confide to her that she would drop this bombshell sooner than later. She even had answers at the ready like most adults do, but now that it was asked for real, they suddenly did not feel right. Answers like "yes, but it eventually passed just like all first loves and crushes do", or a flat out "no"... Stuff that only betrays the expectations of a child yearning for guidance, and could invoke their rebellious curiosity. Now that the little one has brought it upon herself to overcome her shyness and go forward with it, who was she to chicken out in the face of the truth?
"...Of course I did. I can't imagine anyone who didn't at least once," Hanae finally said.
"R-really?"
"Yup. Though I was already in middle school at the time, and things were very different..." The older sibling's voice trailed off a bit, treading the subject lightly.
"Sooo what's he like? The boy you liked?"
"Hmm... He was the ace of our varsity soccer team then. Good-looking, comes from a really good family... And he's very intelligent too, and has this certain style whenever he's talking that would surely get you listening good. Like your Edogawa-kun, he's also crazy about detectives and police work. Ironic, isn't it? But despite that, he's the perfect guy, at least in my book and probably some other girls' too.
"Though at first, I thought he was really annoying."
"Annoying? How come?" Haruna blinks curiously at her big sister, unable to find a connection between "a perfect guy" and "annoying".
"It's a long story," she tried to discourage her still, but Haruna looked all the more stirred like someone who couldn't wait for a TV show to unravel after a precarious event. "I don't have a choice, now do I..."
Haruna shook her head, her eager expression firm from the base up.
"Fine. I'm not much of a storyteller, but this is all true. Here goes..." Hanae sighed. She knew it would come to this anyway, so might as well tell the tale from a lifetime ago. "It all began during my second year in middle school, somewhere around the first weeks of the second semester... I was probably in my darkest hour when I got to know him," the dark-haired Ishihara started. Understanding that some of the details might be too sensitive for Haruna to hear about now, she made it a point to mince her words properly...
During Hanae's transition from elementary to middle school, their parents' relationship had soured, and rumors about their squabbles circulated around the neighborhood, and eventually across Beika's residential districts, passing from nosy parents to their children, their children's teachers and so on. Facts were inevitably twisted, turned, stretched, exaggerated in many ways that even then-innocent Hanae, who had witnessed majority of those arguments and even consoled her mother several times, felt so confused trying to understand why her parents were fighting in the first place when she should be enjoying the euphoria of adolescence.
Over the course of those trying years, she had to endure walking to school knowing that people were talking behind her back, and arriving in class knowing that her peers were doing the same. And just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, it did when her mom finally filed for divorce at the family court, which was finally granted during the summer of her second year in middle school. With her mom having to join the work force, she had to step up and handle some of the homemaker load. She didn't have any problems with the arrangement, even developing a passion for cooking as a result, but what she couldn't handle was the gravity of starting from zero while having to deal with criticisms coming from left to right.
Hanae felt like a total gaijin then. The mixed ancestry that was her hook in elementary had become nothing more than an excess chunk of metal she would've let adrift Teimuzu River had it been tangible. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with a child of a gaijin who married, or more bluntly impregnated a Japanese woman twice just for the citizenship, or the daughter of someone who flirted with a foreigner and thought she'd hit the jackpot, or any of the various exaggerations spreading about that were just as painful to hear as the truth itself. On the other hand, she wanted no part of other people's business, believing that hers was already too much to bear. That none of her happy-go-lucky classmates would understand what it feels like to be in her shoes, and that everyone who would try to get close were just out to dredge those painful details out to spite her. So she pushed everyone away and hid behind her own stone fortress, believing that as long as she stayed within her boundaries, everyone could say whatever they want about her situation. By doing so, she was able to go day after day focusing only on what she has to do both at home and at school. It wasn't such a bad thing, but in retrospect, it sure was depressing.
Then came the time when Hanae almost hit her classmate Mouri who, after hearing about her parents' divorce, started nagging her by insisting on joining her for lunch, taking over her cleaning duties so she could go home early or walking home with her even though their houses were in different directions. There were a few who took pity on her and offered similar gestures then, but for her, Mouri was the worst; that her concern is a sham, as with the rest of her gentle personality. Her being the most pushy of all worsened the impression. She just wouldn't give up despite the indifference Hanae consistently put her up with.
"Shut up! Just leave me alone!" Hanae told her off when she finally had enough one fateful lunch break, slamming her palm on her desk's surface and causing her own bento to flop down, sullying her space with food that was hardly touched.
"B-But Ishihara-san-" Mouri still tried to placate her though in spite of her vehement refusal, but succeeded only in provoking her further.
Incredibly pissed off, Hanae attempted to swing her palm across the meddlesome girl's face, but stopped halfway. No, she wasn't afraid of taking on a Karate prodigy, but the possible suspension she'd get in doing so worried her at the last second. Mouri didn't look like she was going to retaliate either and just braced herself nervously like a little girl who's about to get scolded or hit by her elders for breaking an expensive vase.
In some way, Mouri made her feel like she was about to slap Haruna.
Agitated over her adversary's reaction and the awkward attention subsequently drawn towards her, Hanae stormed out of the classroom, overhearing Suzuki tell her friend "give it up, Ran. She's so not worth it" as soon as her back was turned. On the way out, she bumped into Kudou, a member of the varsity soccer team and one of the more popular boys in campus, holding a piece of melon bread sold at the school grounds during lunch. She simply glared at him, obligating him to step aside and give way, unaware of the impact he'd bring to her life that would shake its foundations soon after.
Hanae decided to skip the next period and sulked by the school's soccer field, staring glumly at whatever came to view. The hot, musty air made her feel sweaty and grimy, but it was better than being in class after her altercation with Mouri that nearly got physical. At the time, members of the varsity team were excused from their respective classes so they could prepare for their upcoming match against Beika High. Almost everyone was so busy working on their formation to notice her zoning out on her lonesome. Almost everyone, except one of the midfielders who subbed out early.
"Here," he called Hanae out, handing her a piece of melon bread. "Bought one extra for later, but you can have it."
"Go away, Kudou." She recognized his voice instantly even without looking back. It's easy to remember the voices of classmates who often get called up to recite. "If you're just gonna pity me like everyone else, don't. Save it for someone who actually needs it," she bitterly declined.
Kudou grunted, already expecting the sour response. "Well, I just thought you might pass out due to hunger after what happened to the bento you made. Our practice would definitely be postponed if that happens."
"W-wait! How did you-?!" She turned to him curtly, surprised that he guessed it right even though she never told anybody that she prepares her lunch every day.
"It is my business to know what other people don't know."
"And who gave you that right?!" Hanae snapped.
"Ah, no. I was just quoting the great Sherlock Holmes. He said that in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," Shinichi clarified facetiously, scratching the top of his head.
"Oh, right. I forgot that you're a detective geek... So? How did you find out?" she asked albeit the unenthusiastic tone. She took the melon bread though; if he was right about another thing, it was that she's awfully hungry, missing out on both breakfast and lunch.
"I noticed that you have small cuts on the tips of your left thumb, index and middle fingers, but not on the other two. Taking into consideration the fact that you're right-handed as well as the angle and shape of your wounds, you must have cut it while you were slicing something small, most likely a regular-sized potato, which was unmistakably on your meal for today." He made specific gestures with his hands, reenacting how she incurred the injury with his trademark confidence.
Flustered, Hanae clutched her left hand defensively. She did cut them last night when preparing ingredients for the bento, but figured they were too small to bother patching up so she just left it to bleed until it stopped in the morning. Only Kudou would notice a detail like that. "I-I could've gotten this from touching something sharp, like mirror edges or something...," she tried to argue, flustered.
"I considered that too. That is, until I saw the vertical mark on your right thumb that extends toward a hairline crack in your nail, which can only come from adding extra pressure on the back of a blade as thin as a standard kitchen slicer. And if my guess is correct," he takes her sweaty right hand and traces certain lines on it that even Hanae, to her surprise, failed to notice beforehand, "your palm should have developed marks from gripping knife handles tightly by now."
A lot of girls in their batch rave about Kudou's detection skills, but she never really cared about it and took him for just another show-off, being the spoiled son of a prolific mystery writer and all. Now that she finally had a chance to listen to his deductions firsthand, even becoming the subject of it, she had to admit being floored. He definitely lives up to his hype, to say the least.
"...Fine. You win. I'll listen to what you have to say." Still a bit bitter with her defeat, she retracted her hand from him rashly.
"Well first of all, you really should eat up. Don't worry, I'll explain the situation to the captain and the manager, see if they'd agree to let you help out at the club room so you can be excused from class too."
She tried to gobble up the melon bread as fast as she could, not of hunger as much as trying not to get caught eating in case a vacant teacher snooped around the grounds. While she ate, Kudou fetched her a fresh bottle of mineral water from their club room and had sorted things out with the manager regarding Hanae. The team was on break then. "Before anything else, I just want to ask," she chugs down half the bottle's contents as soon as she receives it, "why didn't you just say I cook my own lunch because my mother has to go to work early?"
"Oh... I only heard about your family from Sonoko after you left." Kudou sits beside her as he spoke. "You see, I not interested with rumors unless it has something to do with motives for crime. Besides, even if I used that bit of info, it would only be circumstantial."
"Hmm... That makes sense."
"Now, can I ask you a question?"
"As long as it's not too personal or vulgar, fine."
"Nope. Just something that's been bugging me ever since Sonoko informed me of your situation..."
"And what is that?"
"Didn't you know that Ran's parents have been mutually separated since second grade?"
That question came as a big surprise for her. How could she have known about it? She was never close to Mouri, nor with anybody for that matter, and they didn't share the same class until fourth grade. "...No..." She had nothing else to say about the revelation other than the acknowledgment of her own ignorance.
"That explains it perfectly," Kudou exclaimed with enthusiasm, having discovered the hidden connection between evidences, or in this case, the lack of connection between the two girls. "Look, I'm not gonna ask you to apologize to her, but I just want you to know that Ran wasn't picking on you by trying to be nice. Moreover, she understands your situation better than anyone else in our class, including me."
"...Honestly, this is the first time I heard about this. I mean, she always seems so energetic and carefree... Like she has no problems at all..."
"You wouldn't believe how many times she tried to set her parents up so they'd reconcile, and how many times she cried because they still refused to call a truce despite her efforts." Kudou couldn't help snickering, recalling some of the stupid tricks Ran pulled just to get her folks back together which he had been an eventually-willing accomplice. But once he had sent his message, his earnest detective face came on. "I get how tough things must be for you right now, and I'm not really in the position to tell you what to do, but as far as friendly suggestions go, if you keep distancing yourself because of this misfortune, it will only define you even more."
Hearing Kudou's words only doubled the guilt she felt when she heard about Mouri's parents. Hanae finally understood why Mouri was more than willing to endure everything she had dished out on her all this time, and why she could keep that happy face up even though her family's also broken. "I... I pushed her away without knowing anything at all... What have I done?" Hanae sinks her face deep in her palms in shame. She nearly wanted to burst into tears. "...She probably hates me too now."
"Don't worry, Ran's not that type of person." Kudou pats her adjacent shoulder encouragingly. "Knowing her, she's most likely blaming herself for what happened right about now, and would probably try to make it up to you as soon as things become calmer." Thanks to that, her guilt-worn face was suddenly glamoured up by a pink tint.
She overheard one of Kudou's teammates telling him that they're about to continue their drills, but Kudou said he'd rest for a while longer, choosing to stay with her until she recovered. "...Thanks, Kudou," she told him meekly, embarrassed that she had kept him longer than expected.
"No sweat. Anyway, you should go report to the manager now if we're going to make this charade work."
The next day, Hanae got to class in a chart-topping mood. On top of being well-rested and enlightened, her outlook was so much brighter than it had been for the last couple of years that people actually took a gander at her without the reproachful eyes and snide comments they used to have. Nobody seemed to mind her surprisingly pleasant vibe except for Suzuki who eyed her inauspiciously, the memory of her confrontation with her best friend still fresh in her head. Come lunch time, the spotlight was again shined upon her when someone approached her, the prospect of another dramatic scene engrossing the whole class with tension. To their disappointment, nothing happened. This time, it was Kudou who confidently took the initiative.
"Oi, Ishihara. Feeling better?"
"Yes. I actually feel like a lot of weight was taken off my shoulders. Thanks again for yesterday, Kudou-kun." She was feeling so great that day, she didn't forget to include the honorific.
"Don't mention it." He smiles courteously at her.
"Sooo... What's up? I don't suppose you went out of your way just to say hi."
As it turned out, he was testing the waters for someone. "Actually, there's another person who wants to talk to you." He steps aside and reveals his childhood friend, Mouri, who had been standing behind him all along, carefully holding a box wrapped in a pink cloth adorned with flowers. She hesitated at first, but after a rather impatient nudge from the self-proclaimed detective, she finally pushes through with what she had meant to say since yesterday.
"Um, Ishihara-san... I just want to say sorry for what happened yesterday, and for bothering you these past few days. I really didn't mean to offend you in any way, but I still went out of line," Mouri apologizes, trying her best to keep her face straight even though she felt too ashamed to look Hanae straight in the eye.
She seemed far too compassionate to be the tough-as-nails Karate girl a lot of people take her for, thought Hanae, unable to deny that she envied Mouri for being able to cope with her parents' situation the way she does. She wanted to apologize too for not knowing about Mouri's case sooner, but thought better of it, realizing that she would only be doing the same thing she didn't want other people to do to her. Contemplating, she searched Kudou for hints, but he just nodded at her, confident that she'd do what's best, before leaving the two girls to sort the rest out on their own.
Deciding to stick with what sat well with her gut, Hanae stands up to face Mouri. "Let's just forget it ever happened and start fresh. That okay?"
Mouri nodded gratefully and smiled, her mood brightening up as well. "Anyway, please accept this." She insists on giving her the bento. "It was my fault you weren't able to enjoy your meal yesterday, so I tried to make the exact same dish. I'm not sure how you make potato salad, so I used my own recipe. I added some fried chicken in teriyaki sauce too. I hope you like it just the same."
"If there's chicken in it, I'm sure I'd like it, Mouri-san," Hanae said as she accepted the bento, half-joking, half-serious. At the time, any kind of meat was a luxury for her and her family.
"Please, you can call me Ran," she smiled heartily as she was relieved of the parcel loaded with tenderness.
"Oookay, Ran-san," she replied, somewhat reluctant. "Y-you can call me Hanae then."
"And if its not too much, I really hope you can finally join us for lunch this time. Everyone's been looking forward to taking to you for some time now."
Hanae wanted to say no out of sheer embarrassment, but realized soon enough that by accepting the bento, she had already said yes.
"Hurry up, you two! I'm starving already!" Kudou exclaims grumpily towards them, or more specifically at Mouri. It is a well-known fact in campus that Kudou, as cool as he carries himself during his inferences, acts more casually when with his childhood friend.
"Give us a minute more, Shinichi!" Ran yelled back. Apparently, he and some of the boys had already clustered eleven desks up to form one big table, and some of the girls have already taken their spots including Suzuki, who seems to have become more amicable when she accepted Ran's apology. They were just waiting for Hanae to bring hers over to complete the puzzle. "So, Hanae-chan?"
"Like I have any other choice," she smiled back wryly.
It was the best lunch Hanae's ever had in two years. Scratch that, it was her best lunch yet. For the first time, she really felt like she actually belongs inside a circle comprised of people who care, the joys of school life as they idiomatically say. She shouldn't have generalized her classmates all along, for the ones who surrounded her took her situation far more maturely than she expected. Everyone was genuinely interested in how she and her sister were coping that nobody asked why her parents divorced in the first place. And when she answered truthfully, those who also took care of little siblings shared some of their fond stories to lighten the mood.
Eventually, the topic shifted to Ran and Shinichi when the detective stole some meat off his long-time friend's lunch while she was engrossed with everyone's tales.
"Why did you do that?!" Ran asks, pouting mad.
"I thought you weren't going to eat it."
"But I was saving it for later! Fine!" Ran grabbed a fresh meat bun Shinichi had set aside for later and helped herself with it.
"Oi! I was saving that for later!"
"Serves you right!"
"And so the husband and the wife argues yet again," Suzuki commented from the side, snickering. This sparked a barrage of cheers and jeers directed towards Ran and Shinichi. Soon enough, everyone was having a good time.
Although her classmates seem to accept this as a common scene, Hanae zeroed in on Shinichi. For her, this all wouldn't have been possible had he ignored her yesterday and just focused on their drills, and this would likely be a debt she won't be able to pay ever. As she observed the way he acts naturally when he's with his friends, she found herself getting drawn deeply to him. She first caught a glimpse of this side of him yesterday in the soccer field when he was directing plays, but she was too preoccupied with the chores the manager had tasked her with in the club room to get a closer look, but now that he's dining with her, Hanae was mesmerized with the way he sparkled while he and Mouri were brushing their friends' remarks off, like she had finally seen the real gem lying underneath the rubble she's been ignoring all this time. "I never realize he's this cute," Hanae thought, her cheeks secretly gushing.
It was definitely a big adjustment for Hanae, living life outside her barriers after years of being comfortable and confident behind it. While she never got any closer to Ran after that, she established a bond with some of the girls who joined her for lunch then, particularly the ones who have brothers and sisters to look after while their parents are at work. A bond that remains strong to this day. It didn't start smoothly though; she had a really tough time talking to them at first, at least without having to bring up their siblings, which was practically the only thing she had in common with them. Too distracted with her problems for years, she was way behind the trends and didn't know much about celebrities or have any pastimes other than reading some romance paperbacks that she gets in bundles at a secondhand store on the way home, but when she finally admitted it to her friends, they were more than generous to walk her through a crash course about glam bands, actors, fashion trends and everything else in between. In no time, she was as hooked as most people her age were.
The situation at home have improved as well. Her mother found a job at a flower shop just days after the incident with Ran and, after impressing her boss with her innate gift of artistically arranging flowers (which had become dormant when she got married), was referred to an Ikebana seminar a couple of weeks later, which would later lead to her finding that instructor job among other successes. This would pave the way for their family years later, though when her mom told them about getting hired, they were so happy already they celebrated like they won a vacation trip from a lottery.
But if there is one thing that made all this fortune that much sweeter, it's that her ties with Shinichi didn't end with that lunch. They never hung out after class nor had a more private lunch, but they often talked casually in between classes and whenever the soccer team's manager asks her to help out in the club room. Thanks to that affiliation, she even got invited to watch from the bench during some games, where she found herself all the more attracted to Shinichi after seeing his brilliance in the sport, as well as his calmness in the face of adversity, psyching his teammates out in huddles and timeout which often leads to strong comebacks. She was also curious about his exploits as a detective, often times asking her classmates if they've seen his deduction shows before. "You have a crush on him, don't you" her friend once asked flatly, to which she replied "why would I be interested in him? I'm just curious since everyone talks about it". Her friend believed every word of her excuse, but nonetheless warned her of the grueling competition she's about to face if she does go for a guy as perfect as he is, as well as the rumor spreading about him liking Asami Tachibana, the soccer team's previous manager who had already graduated from middle school.
Her line of thinking influenced by that conversation, she began seeing Shinichi in a different light. They still talked, but she could no longer keep a straight face or jump start a conversation like she used to. It came to a point where her mind becomes blank whenever she hears his voice, leaving him rather perplexed with the way she's acting though he'd later assume that she's tired from the chores at home and the club even though she wasn't a full-time member and tell her to rest. Oh, how she regretted looking like a fool in front of him and wasting those precious opportunities that other girls would kill for.
As days go by, Hanae's desire to once again see the detective's genuine side grew deeper, and each time she remembers the look on his face that fateful noon, her heart just wants to explode. It was the first time she felt something like this, and she didn't know what to make of it. An exaggerated feeling of gratitude, perhaps? Sure, but somehow it didn't feel sufficient. Infatuation? Maybe, since she does experience some of the symptoms listed in a magazine article she had come across when she was taking some old issues out for disposal. But having those symptoms doesn't necessarily prove that. It was a painful thought to ponder, especially when she has nobody to confide to about it. She felt too embarrassed to tell her friends about it, and she definitely had no intention of telling her mother. It was a puzzle she had to solve on her own.
Finally, in November, she finally admitted to herself that she did like him after all. And the only way she could relieve her heart of this feeling was to come clean with it. But what would happen to their friendship if she tried to take that next step? Would it go out the window? If he rejects her, would she go back to that pitiful state he had saved her from? What if he does accept her feelings? Is she just being too hasty with things? There were so many questions running around her head like a riot at a time sale, doubts that can only be answered by taking the chance. However, she lacked the courage and the resolve to confront him right away. So she made a deal with herself; that if she still felt the same way towards him come February the next year, more specifically Valentine's season, she'd confess. No excuses. If she couldn't do it then, she'll just keep it to herself and wouldn't do a thing about it no matter how much she regrets it later on.
Christmas season was a struggle for her, with all sorts of couples sprouting here and there and giving her all sorts of suggestions both good and bad, possible and impossible. So many ideas arguing against each other that she nearly went insane, especially during vacation period. The New Year was a lot more reassuring to her cause, particularly when she went to the temple to pray and draw omikuji. "You will find the love you want when you finally see the truth, so don't be afraid to face it" was her middle blessing's advice regarding the matter. By the time February arrived, Hanae, upon reaffirming that her feelings didn't change at all, was ready for the final confrontation - mentally, emotionally, even spiritually thanks to the strip of paper she had since kept inside her wallet for luck. At least she wanted to believe she was; she has to be if she was ever going to take the chance. All that's left was to create an opportunity to say it.
Setting the appointment was easier if done indirectly; she probably would have died of heart attack if she tried to do it in person. In a simple stationary (the most expensive one she could afford), she wrote Shinichi a letter asking to meet up at the soccer field after school, stressing that there was something important she must tell him, alone. It took her about ten tries before she finally came up with words that spoke her purpose straight up, realizing that she made most of those mistakes in an attempt to tell him what she feels on paper, in a flowery way no less. She couldn't find the strength to sign the letter though, leaving it to his sharp intuition to guess who the sender was.
Deciding when she'd give it to him was a lot trickier. Knowing just how many girls would target that day, she ruled out the fourteenth, narrowing her options down to the days that precede it. With thirteen days to choose from, she needed one where he's sure to be available, so instead of gambling on a specific date, she tucked the note inside her schoolbag so she could give it to him as soon as she finds her best chance.
The perfect opportunity finally arrived on the seventh, Friday, when Ran turned down Shinichi's invitation to drop by some bookstore after school due to an earlier appointment of some sort, right before class even started. It was debatable whether Hanae just overheard it coincidentally or if she purposely eavesdropped on their conversations in bated breath.
Sneaking out during lunch, Hanae puts the note inside his shoe locker, laying it on top of his shoes to make sure he would notice it. She then spent the afternoon classes mentally rehearsing her lines so that she wouldn't space out again. Fortunately she wasn't called to recite that day, otherwise she would have blurted it out accidentally, committing social suicide there and then. When the bell finally rung, the once-dispirited girl rushed zealously out of the classroom and into the restroom to retouch. She wasn't very confident with her chances, but she wanted to look the part, at least. A bunch of her classmates and neighbors have complimented her looks before, particularly when she took off that squeamish veil and allowed herself to bloom, but that gave her little assurance if any. After twenty minutes of freshening up in the tap, Hanae returned to the classroom and found out from the cleaners that Ran had already left with her best friend, just after she did. As for Shinichi, she was told by a classmate who took out the garbage that he's still within the grounds.
Walking along the school's soccer field under the orange afternoon sky, she wondered what she'd do if Shinichi didn't show up in time. How long should she wait? Ten minutes? Twenty? An hour? Should she even wait at all? Or would it a lot easier to accept defeat if she just left right away? But more importantly, is he even coming? She didn't want get her hopes up too high either, or worse, jinx it by expecting things to turn out ideally. But then she remembered what her charm said, to not be afraid of the truth if she wanted to find the love she wanted. Taking a deep breath, she committed this thought to heart, telling herself that it is now or never, otherwise she wouldn't be able to move on from it. And so she kept walking towards her fate, running her fingers across the mesh gate to keep her senses alive in the moment.
As she was nearing the goal however, Hanae stopped, hearing the sound of a soccer ball getting kicked. A sound she had become acquainted with. She couldn't believe what her eyes just saw.
There he was, Shinichi Kudou, clad in his workout soccer jersey, surrounded only by a bunch of soccer balls waiting to be kicked. Judging from the sweat he has worked up and the dirt that covered him and his nervous expression, he must have been here for a while now, distracting himself by working on his penalty kick. The way he moved seemed too aggressive for a normal practice, as if implying that he's pondering about something too difficult even for a detective as smart as he is. For instance, a matter of the heart. "Was he waiting for me all this time? Does this mean he's going to reciprocate my feelings?" Hanae asked herself as she watched him gleefully while clutching on the netting with both hands, trying to hold on to something solid to convince herself that what she's seeing is true.
But just when she thought a hat trick was within grasp, a white towel was thrown over Shinichi's head as he tried to catch his breath, decisively warding off her attempt like a seasoned goalkeeper.
"Ran," Shinichi starts with astonishment.
"You've got dirt on your face." She points on her own face the specific area.
"Oh..." He hurriedly wipes his face with the towel. "Thanks."
Ran responds with a cheerful grunt.
"So... What happened to Sonoko?"
"She said something came up and cancelled."
"Ha! I bet she just heard one of our good-looking senpais is available after school." He kicks another ball towards the goal, this time with more strength and precision; a competitive type of kick.
"Say... Are you still going to that bookstore you mentioned this morning?"
"Yeah. I was just about to leave when you came by. Hmm..." Shinichi cups his chin as if analyzing Ran's words and actions. "Something tells me you want to come with me now."
"...If it's alright with you..."
"Fine, fine. You can still tag along, but only because you look like you were about to cry after Sonoko ditched you."
"Says you! You look like a mess without me looking after you!"
Completely crushed by the magnitude of her competition, Hanae turned away and slanted her back against the mesh wall, making so feeble a sound, it didn't even distract the two from each other even for a stolen moment. Things finally start to make sense to her, dawning to her like the blazing sun in a July noon, why Shinichi went out of his way to smooth things out between her and Ran, to the reason he seemed so down just now. Most of all, she now realized why she only saw that glimmering look on his face that day over lunch, and why she never sees it when he's with his teammates, friends or with other girls, including her.
"...Maybe this isn't for me...," Hanae muttered sullenly, her efforts these past months put in vain in mere seconds. She wanted to cry so badly, but somehow, she couldn't. She didn't feel devastated enough. Even she was amazed at how well she was holding up. Perhaps she already saw her impending failure from the start and just didn't want to give up without trying.
No, it wasn't that. It seems Hanae was only confused with her own feelings all along, worsened by all those articles she resorted to. Sighing heavily, she looked at them again to confirm her hunch. At the time, they were collecting the soccer balls for safe keeping. Even in such a trivial task, they seem happy as though they were in a park, talking, joking, laughing like they were the only two people that existed in this world. This time, her eyes were directed towards the girl and not the guy she hoped to confess to, another sign that she had gotten over the idea of infatuation. Ran always came across to her as an overly optimistic person, but right now she seems so happy, her heartwarming aura could be sensed meters away. The way she looked, you can never tell her parents are separated unless you heard of it beforehand. It occurred to her that the real reason she hated Ran more than any other person who tried to get close was because Ran represented everything that she wanted to be but couldn't, and that the heavens must have willed Shinichi to bring them to an understanding, make her realize that it was she who failed to understand everyone and not the other way around. And yet, she took his kindness the wrong way.
Hanae still envied Ran though. Not for the prize she had won, but for the kind of love she feels and receives. She wanted to feel that kind of love too, one that could drown away all the sorrow no matter how dire it is. But what else could she do about it? Feel sorry for her misfortune, or just be happy for Ran? The choice was a no-brainer. Bidding them a parting smile wishing them well, Hanae left the soccer field and headed for the shoe lockers to take her note back.
She wasn't surprised to see her letter's seal still intact when she found it in Shinichi's locker, stacked with other fancy envelopes that probably contain the same sort of words as hers, most likely placed after she did. She should've considered the possibility that he'd ignore her letter like everyone else's in the first place; any guy who gets dozens of fanmails every single day would stop sifting through all of them eventually. Accepting her blunder, and defeat altogether, she slid the note back in her bag and headed home, confident that it wasn't her last chance and holding on to a promise that the next time Heaven gives her another shot at finding love, the kind of love she truly wants hopefully, she'd try even harder and be more prepared.
"Sooo you two didn't live happily ever after?" Haruna asked, so bluntly innocent it almost came across as a rhetorical question.
Hanae grins sheepishly for disappointing her sister with a tragic ending. "Nope. We didn't."
The little girl frowns in response. "Does that mean paper fortunes don't work?"
"It depends on whether you'd believe it or not. But if you ask me, mine worked just fine."
"Huh? But you said you didn't live happily ever after even though you saw him."
"The omikuji said I'd find the kind of love that I want. Not the person I love. Paper fortunes tend to be more specific about that sort of thing."
"The kind of love? ...I don't get it."
Hanae tilts her head, trying to compose a child-friendly answer. "There are different types of love. Take you and me for example. You love me because I'm your sister and we live together, but if I wasn't your sister, you probably wouldn't love me as much." Sensing that Haruna still couldn't quite grasp it, she elaborated more. "A lot of people love for various reasons. Some do because they feel too grateful for the kindness that special person showed them, like I did, or because they get along well due to their similarities and differences. There are also people who fall in love for lighter reasons like good looks or certain qualities.
"What I want is love that needs no reason to feel so. In other words, unconditional love. It's usually the kind that doesn't break easily no matter how many problems, critics or distractions you and your special someone face. At least that's what I want to believe in..."
Finally starting to understand what her older sister was trying to say, Haruna asked, "...Did Mom have a reason for loving Dad too?"
"...Maybe..." Again they fell silent, but for a prolonged period. Neither of them wanted to delve into the matter about their parents. Its not very relevant to the topic at hand anyway.
"Nee-chan?" Haruna asked again.
"Yes?"
"Do you still love him?" the child asked with youthful frankness.
This time, however, it was a lot easier for Hanae to answer truthfully. "Hmm... I suppose I still do. I learned a lot from him after all. But if anything, its just a huge crush now, which I don't really feel like telling anyone, except you of course. Its likely gonna fade as soon as I find a boyfriend, if I'll ever find one."
"Crush? Isn't that the same as love?"
"Not exactly. It means you like someone for a reason or two. It's a kind of love too, but its not a serious kind. We usually feel that towards people we don't really know personally, like people we see on TV or magazines. And honestly, I don't know him that well."
Haruna nodded as soon as she was sure she understood everything. However, she was vexed by a problem that rose as soon as the dust settled down. "Now I don't know what to say to Edogawa-kun."
Hanae sighed, well aware that Haruna's starting to overthink her feelings thanks to her. Now it's her responsibility to make sure her sister doesn't end up like her. "Then answer me honestly." She moved in front of the brown-haired girl, meeting her eye to eye. "What do you want to tell him?"
"I..." A subtle blush was evident in Haruna cheeks as she tried not to waver from her sister's gaze. "I really want to thank him for finding my pencil topper."
"Would you regret telling him that?"
Haruna shook her head.
"Do you think you're gonna get in trouble with that other girl by saying that?"
She shook her head again.
"Then you should write him a nice 'thank you'. Don't beat around the bush and just say what you want to say."
"Really? Will that work?" She blinked curiously.
Hanae smirks. "Guys are generally dense. I know. I showed the smartest guy in the world all the signs that meant I liked him, and he still didn't have a clue." Hearing her own words, the raven-haired one wondered if things would've been a lot different had someone asked her the same set of questions during her troubled times, how much of a relief it would've been had she come to terms with what she really felt before she braved the confession. Then again, she probably wouldn't be here trying to guide her sister had she evaded the painful experience.
"Okay. I'll write that in my letter now," Haruna said after pondering about it for a few seconds, her eyes finally resolved.
"No problem." On instinct, Hanae referred to her phone for the time. It was evening already, about an hour and a half had already passed since she confronted her sister about the trash. She then remembered the chore she left hanging. "Now then, time to make dinner. Speaking of which, I'm cooking salmon today. What do you want me to do with it?"
"Hmmm... Teriyaki-style!"
"Teriyaki-style it is." Hanae stretched her cramped legs and shoulders out, gets up and turns the light on. "Remember to clean this up when you're finished, okay?" She gets an emphatic nod for an answer. Just as she was about to leave however, Haruna stops her in her tracks, hugging her slender waist dearly.
"Even if you weren't my sister, I'll still love you just the same," she said, her voice a little shaky, as though wanting to sob.
"Now that's what you call unconditional love." Hanae pats Haruna's head, deeply touched by her innocent words
"T-that guy you like, he's not very bright if he never noticed you!"
"Now, now... We shouldn't blame people if they like some things over others. For instance, maybe he just likes orchids more than any other flower. You know... To each to his own?"
Haruna pouts, tightening the grip on her sister. "He missed out on a lot! A whole lot!"
"Errr... That's spreading it too thick." Hanae scratched her cheek with her index finger diffidently. "Anyway, will you please let me go now? You'll starve to death if you don't. Can't say the same for me though."
"Hana-chan... Hana-chan... Class is over..."
Hanae was roused by a sudden thud: her forehead crashing down her desk. "Oww...," she groaned hoarsely, trying to shake off the grogginess from the impact and from sleeping. She couldn't remember how long she had slept in class, nor the exact moment she did. "...What gives...?"
"Class is over ten minutes ago and we're already finished cleaning," informed Miho, a friend since middle school, who noticed that she hadn't budged from her sleeping pose, cheeks sunk on both palms, for the last three periods. Fortunately for the half-German, those three turned out to be self-study periods for the most part.
"...Is that so..." Hanae fixes herself up, wiping the sweat and other traces of hibernation off her face with a handkerchief, then combing her hair with her fingers.
"Stayed up late?"
"...Sort of..."
The suspense kept her up last night, worrying about what would happen to her sister's first love letter, perhaps even more than the sender herself. Even when she got to school, she couldn't keep her curiosity still, too anxious to hear from Haruna that she couldn't really concentrate in class. She even mailed her during lunch, pushing for in-depth updates, but the little one promised she'd wait for her sister after her classes to give her the full story. As soon as her senses were back in gear, Hanae hustles to get her stuff, reminded of an urgent appointment she's already late for. "Look, I gotta go. Lets talk later, okay?"
"Sure, but you better get some sleep first," advised her friend as she bolts out of the room.
Rushing out of the campus building, Hanae was torn between being excited about the outcome and being worried about her sister visiting her school - the latter driven by instinct. Anybody who has a younger sister would sympathize with her overreaction, especially if they have a sister like hers who couldn't even look straight at people's faces without trying so hard. She did tell Haruna not to wait for her and just head straight home, but it's not unlikely that she would still go if things turned out well. Heck, she'd probably end up doing the same if she were in Haruna's amber shoes.
She was so relieved to hear Haruna's joyous "Neechan" almost immediately, finding the little one outside the gate, waving at her. Beside her was a boy about as old as she is, wearing thick-rimmed specs, a strange combination of a blue suit coat and red bow tie over a white polo, gray shorts and a pair of sneakers, looking over her direction. It was the first time Hanae saw her with someone her age ever since their mom stopped sending her to the daycare, and a boy no less. Still, she refused to give it any color and proceeded normally, expecting positive news. Haruna rushes to meet her sister halfway, leaving the boy behind. "So, did it go well?" Hanae instantly asks.
Haruna nodded firmly.
"And what of your rival?"
"Totally defeated!" The brown-haired girl imitated her schoolmate's pouting face when the term "love letter" was spread amongst the recipient's group as a form of mockery. She was the only one who looked distressed that time, Haruna bragged; the fat one and the freckled one joshed at the then-fazed Edogawa while the snobbish girl observed their mixed reactions with amusement.
Hanae felt relieved and happy at the same time, not because her sister managed to overcome her greatest trial of courage yet, but because of Haruna's blitheness as she told her tale. It wasn't so big an achievement, but still an achievement that would only benefit her sister's outlook moving forward. About the time Haruna completed her short narrative, the boy finally caught up with her, his eyes trained curiously at Hanae.
"Neechan, this is Conan Edogawa-kun, the boy who helped me find my pencil topper," Haruna introduced. "We ran into each other when I came here."
"Hello," Conan greeted civilly, like a storybook good boy. At the back of his mind, he was saying "its been a while, Ishihara".
Hanae leans down and gratefully returns the gesture. "Nice to meet you too, Edogawa-kun. Let me thank you again for keeping my sister company today and for finding that pencil topper. She can be a ditz sometimes." At the corner of her eye, she could see Haruna pouting for real upon the mention of the ditz part.
"I-it was really nothing," Conan replied modestly.
Just then, a female voice called the boy's attention, a voice awfully familiar to Hanae. Conan spoiled her suspense right away though, responding dearly to his "Ran-neechan" as she joins them. She found it quite ironic though, that this boy's closely related to Ran of all people. "Did I keep you waiting, Conan-kun?"
"Nope, I just got here, actually," the boy answered, his polite tone taken up a notch.
Ran then probed at the rest of the party, recognizing Hanae's multiracial features instantly from the thousands of portraits and names shuffled liberally in her memory. "Ishihara-san! Its been a long time since we last talked," Ran exclaimed. The last time they really mingled with each other was in their junior year in middle school. They've been sections apart ever since, leading diverging lives up until this point.
"It is. You look well, Mouri-san." Hanae already forgot about Ran granting her the first name permission. What she didn't forget though was the question she had been dying to ask the Karate club member out of sheer curiosity. "By the way, how's Kudou-kun? I haven't heard any news about him since he suddenly showed up during your play after being absent for so long. Did he transfer schools or something?"
In retrospect, maybe it was to Hanae's benefit that her bond with Shinichi didn't develop. She could imagine how tough it must be for Ran right now, and yet, just as she was years ago, it doesn't show one bit. Her respect and admiration for Ran grew that instant.
"Errr... You could say that," Ran answered reluctantly.
"Technically, I did transfer... To Teitan Elementary," Conan told himself, smiling ruefully on the side.
Refusing to poke Hanae's curiosity further, Ran drew the conversation towards the little girl who is now taking cover behind Hanae's skirt. "Is she your sister?"
Bothered that her sister's beginning to regress soon after taking such a huge step, Hanae boosts her up front. "Yes, she is." Haruna wanted to protest, but Hanae widened her eyes sternly at her while whispering "just say hi". While Haruna's shyness towards her elders adds a lot to her cuteness, its still very unnerving, not to mention rude for some.
"H-hello... I'm... I'm Haruna... N-nice to meet you," she stammered, eyes drooped down Ran's shoes.
"Nice to meet you too, Haruna-chan. My name's Ran. You may call me neechan if you like," she cheerfully replied, crouching down to meet the child on level ground.
Seeing this reminded Hanae of the time Ran started pestering her, resorting to such unnecessary lengths just to make someone feel better. "Still silly as ever," Hanae commented wryly to herself. It didn't come to her as a big surprise that Haruna easily warmed up to Ran's approach. "What about him? Is he your brother?" she returned the question, feeling somewhat compelled to do so.
"No, but we're taking care of him," Ran said briefly, standing up and turning her attention back at Hanae.
As the two high school girls tried to rekindle their ties that never really had a chance to develop before, Sonoko emerged from behind Ran, quickly setting her sights on the little girl like a journalist who just found a prospective scoop for tomorrow's headline. "Oi, Ran. Who's that? The four-eyed brat's new girlfriend?"
"Why, you," the spectacledboy thought with annoyance. Ran promptly clarified the issue, much to the heiress's dismay.
"Anyway," Hanae cuts in, alarmed at the prospect of becoming the topic of Sonoko's scrutiny. "We should get going now. We still need to drop by the marketplace." This is actually not an excuse.
"I see. We should probably catch up soon. Say, over karaoke? Better yet, why don't you drop by the agency sometime, bring Haruna-chan over so she can play with Conan-kun and his friends," the famous detective's daughter offered.
"Karaoke sounds good, but I'd rather pass on the home visit. I'm not really liking the rumors about your dad being cursed or something." Ran and Conan laughed dryly at the remark.
While her sister gave her regards to Conan, Hanae gratefully accepted Ran's offer to trade numbers so they could at least mail each other and maybe plan the karaoke tget-together. She kind of regretted not giving Ran the chance to get close to her before due to her short-mindedness, but she hoped it wasn't too late to rectify that now. In some way, this was her own social hurdle for the day, and she wasn't about to lose to her sister.
Finally, after a parting wave from Haruna to her schoolmate and the young lady he's with, the Ishiharas took their leave, conferring about what to have for dinner as they walked and eventually disappeared from the three's range.
"She sure has changed a lot, hasn't she," commented Sonoko as an afterthought, certain that Ran was reminded of what happened years ago by the chance encounter.
"Huh?" Ran ponders about her friend's remark, but ultimately gave her the confounded look. "I don't think she's any different from how I remember her."
"Seriously, Ran... You're always waaaay behind the loop. She's like the culinary club's hidden gem now. I know at least three guys who have a serious crush on her IN OUR CLASS ALONE! None of them have confessed so far though. They're scared she might reject them because she's too busy taking care of things at home to have a boyfriend."
"Really? I haven't heard anything about that until now."
"That's because you're always chasing murderers around. Just look at her! She's pretty, though not up to our league yet, she's got this quiet-but-kind charm now which is A LOT more attractive than the piece of work she used to be, and she gets decent grades too. But most of all, she's got awesome cooking skills! You should have tried the bite-sized baked potato their club sold at the cultural festival! I swear, she cooks way better than some caterers I've tried!"
"Umm... I was on a crash diet that time, remember? So I'd fit in the dress for the production?"
"Hmmm... Speaking of which, former captain Tonooka had a crush on Ishihara too, that's why he kept asking the manager to invite her to our practices and games so he could impress her," Conan fondly recalled. "Too bad, he got so nervous each time shewas there to watch and things went the other way around."
"Anyway, I'm surprised you still know a lot about her, to think you hated her so much back then," comments Ran, rather amused.
"Well, I have to admit, she's a lot nicer now, plus the club lets me try the stuff they cook sometimes." Sonoko proudly stated the latter part as though she were a respected critic when it comes to food. She does have the gourmet experience to back it up to a certain extent after all. "But when she confronted and tried to slap you, I really wanted to give her a piece of my mind if only you weren't going to stop me!"
"You had a quarrel before?" Feeling the urgency to stay in character, Conan inserted himself in the discussion, looking innocently at Ran.
"Yes, but it was kinda my fault," she answered, making a sheepish guilt face, but added reassuringly, "and we made up the next day".
"Come to think of it," Sonoko reclaimed her best friend's attention, "you two resolved your issue a lot quicker than we all expected. Did some miracle happen and changed her the day after?"
"Actually, there was just a slight misunderstanding. Shinichi helped clear it up when he spotted her during their soccer practice that day."
"Oh, really? That mystery nerd talked her into apologizing to you? And here I thought he didn't wanna get involved!"
"Can you blame me?" the little sleuth thought in response. He could still remember how worried Ran was about Ishihara when she heard about the divorce, and how downcast her face was that day when he saw her cleaning Ishihara's desk. He'd be kidding himself if he said he didn't talk to Ishihara afterwards for Ran's sake, even worse if he said his heart didn't beat so fast when he heard Ran's thankful voice as he told her the good news in the evening, and how excited she was in replacing Ishihara's bento and having a group lunch the following day. "But no, it was Ishihara herself who made that miracle happen. If anything, I just gave her the nudge she needed."
"That reminds me, we're supposed to do our own shopping today," Ran informed almost apologetically, halting the flashback for now. "You wanna come, Sonoko?"
"I'll pass. I have a video chat with Makoto-san at six and I still have to freshen up, so... Later then." Sonoko absconded for her own appointment, about as fast as the sisters did a minute ago, leaving Ran and Conan to themselves, as usual.
"So... Let's go?" Ran offered to take the little detective's hand. Even though holding hands has become a common thing for them these days, he still blushes whenever she delightedly takes the initiative.
"Okay," Conan replied giddily, taking hold of Ran's tender palms as soon as he was able to fend off his hormones. Exiting Teitan High's premises, he looked over his shoulder towards the direction the sisters went for one last time. "You've come a long way, Ishihara," he said to himself in parting.
"Ishihara? Are you talking about Haruna-chan?"
"Ah, yeah... Sort of... Heh heh..."
The End.
written by akaisherry47