A/N:Well, I suppose I have more ideas for this ficlet of mine.


Chapter 4 Izaya's surprise

Izaya Orihara stared at the brown-haired boy in front of him for a few moments before his lips curved into a smirk. "I should've known there was something fascinating about you, Kudo Shinichi-kun. I mean, from the moment we met, you were already being interesting, weren't you?"

"...You sure you want to do that?" Came the calm and controlled voice of one Kudo Shinichi, high school extraordinaire, and now that Izaya thought over it, he realized that in fact he did know the name of one Kudo Shinichi. In fact, a few years ago, he'd heard of him regularly, but then all had fallen silent when the detective had mysteriously vanished. In all of Japan and in Ikebukuro, all of the criminals breathed a sigh of relief, Izaya included; he was concerned that Kudo would have snooped around in his business.

So what if he toyed with a few people in his life? That was his purpose, after all; to love and entertain all of humanity, and that included Kudo Shinichi, the detective, but never did he imagine that he would find the detective here, of all places. It just figured that the detective would be so eccentric as to turn him down.

Most people were charmed by Izaya's nature, but not this one. Definitely not. The look he was giving him now was not one of hatred, but one of a detective towards a criminal.

"Izaya Orihara...I've heard quite a lot about you," He said, fixing a calm piercing stare on him, "And to be honest, I don't like what I've heard. I'm afraid that you and I cannot be friends, not as long as you're a criminal and I'm a detective."

"Whoa, you're being cool!" Masaomi cried.

Mikado, on the other hand, frowned. The guy was nice and everything, but...if he called Izaya a criminal, would that mean he would call him a criminal, too, because he was the leader of the Dollars? 'I hope not,' He thought.

"Aren't you a naive boy? You haven't even learned that there's no such thing as good and evil."

"I'm well aware of that," The detective said calmly, "I've been through some...well, unusual things."

"Oh, do tell," Izaya purred, coming closer to the detective with his knife whipped out, but still, Kudo Shinichi did not blink. He did not react. Instead, he just stared him down.

"Is this really what you want to do with your life? Do you really just want to go around toying with others and hurt them? Why do it?"

"Because I'm bored...and I love knowing knowledge. But, aren't you the same as I am? You enjoy thirsting after knowledge."

"True," Shinichi said, "However...sorry, but I do not associate with criminals."

"Hmm...and how about that phantom thief? I heard the reason you came here was because you're looking for him."

At this, Kudo Shinichi did something odd that Kida had never seen him do before: he actually looked a little angry. He said nothing and pulled out a gun and looked at it for a few moments before tucking it away.

"Ah, so you do walk around armed. I'm impressed, detective."

"Baarou, of course I would be. I mean, after being chased...by certain people, I think I would have to be aware, and even in Ikebukuro, there are numerous dangers-"

"Such as the Yellow Scarves, the Dollars, and the Blue Squares? Did you know that there are people among you who can tell you about the Yellow Scarves and the Dollars?"

Shinichi noticed that the blond boy had stopped smiling and instead he looked like he was about to attack Izaya. The black-haired boy was quiet as well, but more analytical, just observing Shinichi, wondering what his reaction would be.

"Well, I don't know anything about the people who made those organizations. I don't like gangs, and I don't like violence. Violence does nothing but create more hatred, but...I understand that people are driven to do those things out of desperation...or because they need a little excitement," He said before his eyes flitted over to Mikado, who flinched.

"I understand...what it's like to seek something so desperately that you'll do anything to get it back," He whispered.

"Do tell, Kudo Shinichi-kun. You're probably the most interesting thing to set foot in Ikebukuro since the Black Rider and since Shizu-chan showed up."

"You think so?" Shinichi said coldly. "Well, I have nothing more to say to a criminal like you, so if you could please leave, that would be most appreciated, and I take it that from the way Masaomi-san is reacting that you and he have already met before, and that...you two do not get along, so you should probably go."

"Your mind is most interesting indeed. It doesn't miss much. I'm proud of that. There aren't many around here who use their brains like you. Ta-ta, Kudo Shinichi-kun, this is only Round 1. Next we meet, it'll be interesting..." He said as he wandered off, with a furious Shizuo in pursuit of him, but not before Shizuo gave Shinichi a thumbs up and ran off.

"You two all right?" Shinichi asked, turning to look at Masaomi and Mikado. He then paused upon seeing that Masaomi still looked angry.

"I'm just fine," He lied, morphing back into the same plastic smile he'd worn before. "How do you know so much about me?"

"I'm a detective. Obviously if you two know a guy like him, then you obviously aren't ordinary kids."

"Neither are you," Mikado spoke up suddenly.

"True enough. But I've seen my fair share of darkness. I get the feeling that everyone in this city is dealing with some sort of darkness. But him, especially...he reminds me too much of a man I knew who treated others like dirt...he thought of life as a game..."

Both of them were curious as to what he was referring to.

"One of my friends," He began softly, "was in a gang. A very deadly one that killed her parents."

At this, both were listening, Mikado wondering what kind of sick organization would do that.

"Her sister...tried to get her out of there, but she was gunned down and killed, and since then my friend has been trying to run away from that group, the group that causes her so much heartache and pain. She regrets it deeply..."

"Not all gangs are like that!" Mikado spoke up.

"Mikado!" Masaomi said sharply.

"Sorry about that...but you seem pretty experienced in this sort of thing, and so do you, Masaomi-san. I mean, if you didn't know a thing or two about gangs, you'd probably be pretty scared. But instead, you're acting like it's natural, which tells me you've had something to do with them in the past."

Masaomi froze.

"But don't worry," He said, chuckling, "I mean, we're friends, aren't we?"

Masaomi looked at Shinichi in surprise. "Wait a second...if you said you knew somehow that I was involved with gangs or criminals, then why aren't you roping me in with Izaya?"

The detective's blue eyes twinkled. "Because...from what I've seen...you haven't hurt anyone, have you?"

Mikado blinked in shock. It was the exact thing he'd said to him earlier today, too.

"As long as you haven't hurt anyone or if you have you've decided to make life better for everyone else...that tells me that you're truly a good person."

"Wow, man...I really like you! You're awesome!" Masaomi said before slapping Shinichi hard on the back in joy.

"Ah...that hurt," He moaned.

"So you want to go out and go get some cute ladies?" Masaomi joked.

"I can't...I have a girlfriend..." He mumbled.

"By any chance, it wouldn't be a disembodied head, would it?" Mikado whimpered.

"No...who on earth would...?"

Shinichi happened to notice a man with brown hair walking across the street with a girl with brown hair and blue eyes. They both looked very happy together. Somehow, the sight of them cuddling together and looking so at peace with each other made a pang of envy strike Shinichi's heart.

"...Ran," He whispered softly. The girl acted a lot like her.

"What's up?" Masaomi said.

"Nothing...anyway, it looks like they're very happy over there," Shinichi spoke.

"Ah, it's more of a twisted love story than anything." Mikado said.

"How so? They seem to like each other a lot."

"It's only because of her head."

"You serious?" Kida cried.

"Yes, Kida-kun...I mean, if you look closely, you can clearly see that he's just looking at her neck all the time and talking to it."

"That's really creepy," Shinichi said, "Really, really creepy."

"You're not the only one who thinks that. But anyway, I'm really surprised."

"Surprised at what?" Shinichi said in confusion. "Surprised that I don't think ill of you?"

"Well," Masaomi said, "Let's go to Russia Sushi."

'I don't understand...' Mikado thought as the three of them entered Russia Sushi, 'Why isn't he persecuting us? Why is he being so friendly to us...?'

"Oh!" Simon's face lit up as he saw Kida. "Oh, look who it is! Why, why, it's Kida-kun and Kudo-san, would you like to come have some authentic Russia sushi? I make it just for you!"

Shinichi blinked and looked at him for a few moments before sweat-dropping. "Eh...maybe not right now at this very second..."

"Oh, come on, Kudo, why do you not like my authentic Russia sushi?" Simon moaned before starting to cry (or pretending to).

"I think you'd better give in," Kida hissed.

"B-But, he's nuts," Shinichi said.

"That's the point, Kudo! You've gotta roll with it! Come on, Shinichi-chan, or Shin-chan, show me you can do it-"

"Don't call me Shin-chan, only my mother can call me that!" Shinichi said. "Oh, sure..."

"Very good, very good, Kudo, we can have beautiful Russia sushi and then everyone over in Russia can be very happy..."

"Um, but they're not over here," Shinichi said in bewilderment.

"I was making a joke, Kudo. Now let's go..."

"Okay..." Shinichi said.

"Hey, Dota-chin, doesn't that guy look sort of familiar?" Erika Karisawa asked Kadota.

"Now that you mention it, I think I've seen him somewhere before."

"Uwaah, Dota-chin, look! It's Kida-kun and Ryuugamine-kun? Do you think they're involved in a threesome with the new guy?"

"Just pretend you don't hear her," Kadota mouthed to Walker, who looked equally annoyed.

"I'm gonna pretend I never heard her to begin with," Togusa said.

"Uwahh, Kida-kun, nice to see you!" Erika said, bounding over towards Kida. "Who's this?" She said, pointing a finger at Shinichi.

"Um...I'm Kudo Shinichi...nice to see you," He said before smiling.

"So are you here for a threesome with these two?" Erika cried.

"EH?" Shinichi cried as his face turned bright red. "Ha...what do you mean by that?"

"You know...like you three are actually secret lovers..." Erika said excitedly.

"Eh...no, I don't swing that way," Shinichi said.

"Just ignore her-"

"Oh, come on, Dota-chin, don't you see the chemistry between these three?"

"Pretend that she's deaf," Kadota said, "I'm Kadota. Your name seems vaguely familiar..."

"Um...I'm a detective, if that bothers anybody."

"The Kudo Shinichi? I've heard so much about you! I've heard that you have a love affair with Kaitou Kid!"

"Um...definitely not."

"Well, is he or isn't he?"

"No...definitely not," Shinichi said, averting his eyes. "He's just an annoying rival who I won't miss. He just does stupid things to piss me off."

"Wahh, Dota-chin, doesn't he sound just like Izaya with his lover, Shizuo?"

"Those two? It seemed more like they were trying to kill each other." Shinichi pointed out.

"Nah, it's not that way in love!"

"Uh...whatever," Shinichi said.

"Anyway, so glad to have met you," She said as she pumped his hand vigorously.

"Uh...y-y-yeah, uh...I get it," He said.

"Kudo-kun, come get sushi! Plus you need more meat on your bones!"

"Ah...I'm just fine," Shinichi said.

"You need more sushi!"

"Okay..." Shinichi mumbled, very embarrassed. "What is with everyone here? Are they all nuts?"

"I'm afraid so," Mikado said.

"What?" Shinichi said.

"Whoa, look at you go!" Kida said, "I didn't know you could eat so much food!"

"Wahh, Dota-chin, look-"

"I told you not to call me that-"

"But Izaya calls you that!"

"Doesn't mean you can," Kadota said, pouting.

"You like manga?" Walker said.

"Yeah, sure," Shinichi deadpanned.

"Oh, you asked for it," Kida said.

"Erika, Walker...don't start tormenting people with your manga obsession," Kadota warned.

"How dare you, it's not torment! Manga is the best thing in the world!" Erika cried.

"Indeed, who is out there who doesn't like it?" Walker said.

"I've read mostly...detective manga," Shinichi mumbled.

"Oh, I thought you were into horror manga-"

"You mean like the one where the kids try to kill each other?" Shinichi voiced.

"Higurashi? I love Higurashi...it's so awesome..."

"Or maybe...you're referring to the one where the abominations try to make the Magical Girls into monsters and stop the atrophy of the universe from coming to pass!" Walker exclaimed.

"Madoka? When did Madoka get in this?" She asked.

"Maybe he likes stuff like Sword Art Online or Attack on Titan?" Walker guessed.

"No, Walker-kun, I think maybe he's interested in stuff like Kindaichi or...boring stuff like that," Erika huffed.

"Detective stuff...is...boring?" Shinichi stammered, looking at her with shocked eyes.

"Well, the only way murder mysteries could ever be interesting is if there was a little kid solving the murders. That'd be cool!" She chirped, oblivious to how Shinichi's face had turned stony.

"...A little kid solving murders, huh?" He said, his face chalk-white.

"Eh, what's wrong?" Erika said.

"...Nothing."

"So where do you live? Wanna come see all our manga?"

"...No," He muttered.

"But why not?" Erika said, now completely baffled.

"I just don't feel like it...sorry," He said as he walked off.

"Hey, Shinichi, wait up!" Masaomi cried. Masaomi and Mikado both followed after the boy, quite curious.

"I wonder what has him so cracked up," Mikado said aloud.

Masaomi's face hardened. "Doesn't he act too much like an adult?"

"Well, he is an adult...he's like nineteen," Mikado joked.


"Don't you think...that Kudo Shinichi is dealing with some inner pain that's too hard for anyone but himself to comprehend? You've seen how he talks to us. Isn't that how everyone in Ikebukuro is? I mean, with her..."

"Kida-kun, what's wrong?" Mikado asked.

"No, it's nothing," Masaomi said, "Don't you think the guy's a little too serious?"

"Hey," Shinichi said lightly...

"We're worried about you, man," Masaomi said. "I...was wondering about you. You seem like you're always very complex."

"Complex?" Shinichi said before laughing hollowly, "I suppose you could say the way she so casually talked about stuff...it just annoys me, is all..."

"You sure are an interesting kid-" Masaomi said, but then noticed how he stiffened at the term.

"I would like it if you didn't call me that," He whispered.

"Sorry," Masaomi said, baffled by the boy's sudden attitude change.

"What about you? You've both got your own dark secrets..."

"Mikado?" Masaomi said.

"I'm just fine, Masaomi," Mikado said reassuringly, "You wait here. I'm gonna go have a little talk with him."

Mikado's eyes turned calm. "What do you really want?"

"What do you mean?" The detective said, still playing hard to get.

"Look," Mikado said, "I know you're aware of who I really am-"

"So you are the leader of a gang?" Shinichi said.

"Whatever you do, don't tell him. Kida. I don't want him getting mixed up in it."

"What if he already is mixed up in it?"

"What do you mean?" Mikado said.

"Can't you tell already that he's very interested in that sort of thing?"

"Well, just don't tell him. It's not his place to worry about me." Mikado said.

"I see...you really do care about him, don't you?" Shinichi said softly, "Well, goodbye..."

Mikado said, "Wait, where do you live? If you want to talk to us on chat, you can. My name's TarouTanaka there!"

"Sure," Shinichi said, smiling, "Another time, then."

'What is he hiding?' Mikado thought.

"Don't be ridiculous..." Shinichi whispered. "There's no way I could ever get close to them...let them know how I feel...besides, after Ran's reaction...I don't want anyone else to get too close," He said softly, sitting on his couch and holding his head in his hands, allowing a silent tear to trail down his cheek. "...Ran," He whispered.


"How could you lie to me, Shinichi? You were by my side all this time and you watched me suffer and never bothered to say anything! Why?"

"I just wanted to protect you," Shinichi whispered.

"Well, you did a pretty damned good job of protecting me...by wrecking me up mentally. Now, get out!" Ran cried, tears streaking down her face. Shinichi was shocked at her reaction.

"Ran, I...I already told you that I'm sorry."

"I said, get out! I don't want to ever see you again, you dumb detective!"

Horrified, he looked at her in utter heartbreak. "But why, Ran? I told you everything! I explained everything to you! I did it all because I love you!"

"I don't give a damn. Just go away! I don't want to see you again, you tantei otaku!"

Usually, those words would've made him a little annoyed, but this time the utter venom in them cut right through Shinichi's heart. "Wait, Ran, I already told you-"

"I already told you, I don't want to hear any more about it! Get out of my life!"

"Ran, I'm sorry!"

"You're not sorry. All those days you watched me sob hysterically...why wouldn't you do something to help?"

"I had no choice, Ran. I love you more than anything in this world. I just wanted to protect you."

"No, you don't. You're only interested in yourself. Deep down, you're just a big coward who'd rather run away than face the one he loves."

"I did what I thought was right," Shinichi said.

"Clearly, it wasn't the right thing to do," She spat.

"But, Ran, I-" He said, unable to believe the woman he loved was treating him like this.

"Just leave!" She cried.

At that point, tears were streaking down Shinichi's face. He didn't even bother to hide them as he ran out into the rain, cursing himself and his foolishness. "What is it with women...?"

"Shinichi-kun, what happened?" Agasa asked.

"...She hates me, that's what happened." Shinichi said darkly.

"I figured this would happen, Kudo-kun," Haibara said sadly. "I know no one understands how we feel."

"Haibara, can't you do something?" Shinichi said desperately.

"I'm sorry...Kudo-kun...there's nothing you can do but let her make up her mind."

Days passed and whenever Shinichi tried to talk to Ran at school, she would brush him off and hung out with Sonoko more. Hattori tried to calm Shinichi down, but it didn't help that Kazuha, too, was angry with Shinichi for breaking Ran-chan's heart. He found himself more and more frustrated with everyone.

Then he received a message from Kaitou Kid, asking him to come to Ikebukuro for his own sake.

"...What am I thinking?" Shinichi said softly. "I know they can never accept me...no one can..."

'I wonder if the new friend I invited will come on here, Setton-san.'


'Really? What's his name?' Celty asked.

'Ooh, Tarou-Tanaka san has a lovebird!'Izaya chirped.

'Hello, minna. My name is TanteiHolmes.' Shinichi wrote.

'Pleasure to meet you, Tantei-san. I'm Setton.' Celty wrote.

'Nice to meet you, Setton-chan.' Shinichi wrote.

'How did you know I'm a female?' Celty typed. '

'I guessed,' Shinichi typed back in amusement.

'Hello there~ I'm Kanra-chan~ I'm one of the nicest girls in the world.' Izaya typed.

'Hello there, Kanra-kun...nah, hello there, Orihara Izaya-san. How are you today?' Shinichi typed.

'I'm not a man~ I'm as female as you can get,"Izaya typed.

'Please, your pretending to be a female is pathetic. Anyone can see through it. Next time you intend to sneak up on people online, think up better tactics, Orihara-san.'

"DAMMIT!" Izaya cried, throwing a chess piece across the room in frustration. "How the hell did he know?"

"What is it now?" Namie said.

"I got bested by a teenage detective..." Izaya growled.

Namie laughed loudly. "I've got to meet this kid!"