It didn't take long for the girls to go in, help Shiho to dump her things in the room, and show her around the place. The Suzuki household was big, as she had expected it to be, but she had not expected it to feel so homely, so... Well, lived in, really.
One would often visit castles or old buildings that looked so tidy, so neutral, so void of activity. Their rooms might have had personality, an air of ready to be used, but that was the point. They did not feel as if they were currently being used as anything more than a display case, even in those buildings that were actually still lived in or used on a regular basis for other purposes than tourism. The Suzuki home, on the other hand, showed much evidence of being a family home. There a discarded newspaper, here a bunch of flowers, over in the corner some letters and birthday cards, whereas over there one could spot a small toy car hidden and obviously forgotten under a chair. Traces of the parents, the children, the maids and other visitors, though invisible at first, would, as she took in her surroundings, catch her eye before she let it pass.
Obviously she had spent a year too long in Kudo's close company.
As for the company, Shiho glanced quietly at Ran and Sonoko as they seemed to squabble about some dish or other. It was interesting to watch just the two of them, without the context of either high-school or the presence of the young detective boys. It is true what is said, that the eye of the observer changes the thing observed. She had had a very opportune occasion to observe as such when she, as Haibara Ai, had taken Edogawa Conan's place for a day. Staying over at the Mouri agency under the guise of their then young charge had given her more insight on not only Kudo's situation, but also on Ran and her father's personalities. They behaved differently with Conan on his own than with Conan and his friends, feigned cold notwithstanding. And it was the same here, outwith the context of High School both girls seemed to relax and allow themselves more juvenile taunts than they would in class.
It was quite surprising to see how different Sonoko was, actually. At school she always seemed so eager to please, her energy obvious in all she did, except maybe when tedious lessons were involved. Shiho recalled how Sonoko had first appeared to her when she had been Haibara: a girl desperate for attention, seemingly easy going but with a tendency to shy away from big changes. She hadn't exactly been the most child-friendly of teenagers either. She had reflected at the time at how strange it seemed that the two, Ran and Sonoko, would be such good friends, and now, even though Kudo had mentioned to her some anecdotes that had explained the fact a bit better, she couldn't help but smile at how comfortable the two seemed together, standing there in the Suzuki dining room, chatting away. Sonoko had lost her edge of attention driven eagerness, to be left with a warmth and energy to compliment Ran's tenderness and patience. It was a pleasant reminder of the companionship she had felt with young Ayumi, had witnessed between Mitsuhiko and Genta, the feeling that had held their whole group together.
"Where do I put this?" she asked, indicating the tray she had carried through.
"Just there, Miyano-san, that'd be great, thanks." Replied their hostess, still grinning from something Ran had said.
"I'll just go and bring that last dish through." And with that, the detective's daughter had left the two alone in the room.
"Say, Miyano?" Sonoko asked her companion, as she picked up a bottle of juice to pour into their glasses. "How do you know Kudo Shinichi?"
Shiho looked at the sceptical expression with which the teenager had asked this of her, and held back the cynical retort she had instinctively prepared. It wasn't a stupid question. Not coming from this girl at this time. She could understand where the scepticism in the young Suzuki's expression came from, and the need to hear her own version of her meeting with Shinichi. Shiho only hesitated a second before giving the answer she felt most appropriate.
"I met him during one of his cases, I thought he would have told you that."
All right, to be honest she didn't just think he had, she knew he had. She had discreetly witnessed a few of the moments where Ran and Sonoko had questioned the detective about their relationship, and had been informed in detail by him of the occasion when he had told Ran the whole truth.
"Can you tell me more about this case? Not that I'm really interested, but I'm curious as to how it brought you two together."
Quite an interesting way to put it, Shiho thought, as she and Sonoko sat down, waiting for Ran. It was quite obvious what slant Sonoko was going after, and why she seemed to have this point of suspicion in her attitude whenever alone with her.
"I was a suspect. I helped him solve the case. That's all there is to it." Shiho replied smartly. One of the main reasons she had come to the evening instead of calling in sick was to avoid talking about the case, she wasn't going to let the young hostess deprive her of that choice.
Obviously, this answer didn't seem to please Sonoko Suzuki. But the girl was denied any chance of a comeback or new approach with the arrival of their rice.
"Here you go," said Ran, happily, as she floated back into the room. "Shall we start?"