And now we introduce Satou Hinata and Satou Haruka to the world! I hope you enjoy!
I do not own the Detective Conan series, still awaiting for the next chapter.
"Talking"
Thinking
"Talking in English only"
Chapter Three - A New Beginning
"Come on, settle down, class," an elementary homeroom teacher clapped her hands as the children rushed to their seats.
"Stand. Salute. Sit."
"Today, we have a new English teacher joining us," the young woman turned towards the door. "Please come in."
"As some of you may be aware, 2-B has a new student as of today."
The door opened to reveal a young woman with short, light brown hair a few inches above her shoulders. She had beautiful green eyes as well. All in all, a very pretty teacher.
The door slid open, letting a young girl into the classroom where she turned to face her classmates. Her light auburn hair was certainly an eye-catcher, as were the two calculating turquoise eyes.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, minna-san," she smiled kindly at her new pupils. "Watashi no namae wa Satou Hinata desu."
"Hajimemashite, my name is Satou Haruka and I've just transferred from America," the girl wrote her name on the board.
"Yoroshiku oneigaishimasu," both bowed at the same time. "I hope to have a nice year with all of you."
oOOo
During break, my desk was swarmed by a mob of curious classmates. I knew that new students usually garnered a lot of attention for the first few days, but isn't this a bit too much? I know that there aren't many transfers from overseas and I am three years younger than all of them… Maybe that's why.
"Satou-san, why are you so small?" asked one of the boys. Looks like I'm right this time around.
"What do you mean?" I replied innocently. "Last time I checked, my height is normal for people like me."
"Are all Japanese who live in America this tiny then?" another asked.
Well, Shiho-san will be even smaller…
"Of course not!" I told him. "When I said my height is normal for people like me, I meant it is normal for thirteen-years-olds."
My new classmates nodded as it made perfect sense. It wasn't afterwards that they realized what it meant.
"NANI?!"
I sighed and pulled out a piece of paper on which I quickly wrote a couple of words. Once it was done, I stuck the paper on a person's face. Of course, the person in question was chosen at random. Not.
Kaito-senpai took off the paper, annoyed, but he still read it out loud: "Name: Satou Haruka. Age: 13. Particularities: Genius with an IQ of 200. The rest does not concern you at the current time."
"Oh, and if you don't mind, I would like to have some space to breathe," I said absently as I went through some textbooks.
"Oi, oi, was it really necessary to stick this on my face?" Kaito-senpai asked, waving the sheet of paper.
"I needed someone to be my messenger, senpai," I adjusted my big, round glasses. "Since you are the one sitting in front of me, you are the best candidate. That's all there is to it."
"Just call me Kaito."
"Very well then, Kaito-senpai."
"No, just Kaito."
"Kaito-senpai," I said calmly. Being Satou Haruka for real is quite entertaining. "You are older than me and have been in high school longer than I as well. It is only fitting to add the –senpai suffix. Do you understand?"
"But I'm asking you to forgo the formalities here!" Kaito-senpai protested.
"And I will not follow your request."
"Haruka-chan!" he whined.
"No is no."
"Demo ~"
"Kuroba Kaito," my voice held a dangerous edge to it. "If you do not cease to annoy me this instant, you will regret it. Very, very much."
"K-K-K… Kowaii…"
"Kaito-senpai."
"Hai! Wakarimashita!"
oOOo
To be honest, I had a lot of fun scaring Kaito-senpai. His face wasn't as bad as when he is met with fish, but what can I say? I am no mermaid.
It would have been a perfect first day at Ekoda High if not for the murder that occurred nearby once school let out. Of course, as a new important character of the series, I just had to be nearby when a man dropped dead in the middle of the street. And, as the daughter of an officer and being a mystery otaku, there was no way that I would go to the body to determine the cause of death. After calling the police of course.
"Oi, oi," Kaito-senpai whispered to me as the crowd began to gather. "Weren't you supposed to not attract the public's attention?"
"That's Hinata-nee-san's role," I absently returned my cellphone in my pocket. "However, I find that, being someone they do not have on their death list, attracting attention isn't too bad. It's not like I'm going to solve the case or anything."
Famous last words.
By the look of Kaito-senpai's arched eyebrow, he certainly agrees.
I felt eyes on me during the whole investigation. Two pairs of eyes to be exact. The same eyes that were watching me during class and studying my every action. However, the owners of these eyes had not approached me. But they might, soon.
"…and that is the final evidence against you Takamura-san," I declared while crossing my arms. "Any other questions?"
"K-Kisama…!" the man was barely able to hold back his anger. "If it weren't for you, I would have gotten away! That man had it coming to him! It wasn't just me who hated him, we all did. That conniving, evil bastard had no right to order us around like that!"
"You can share your story with the police later," I told him as he sank to the ground. "But please note that even if I didn't happen to come by, there is another who would have revealed you as the culprit. Revenge isn't always the answer, but murder is never the answer."
"That was quite the speech, Haruka-chan," Kaito-senpai complimented once it was over.
"Kaito-senpai..."
As the crowd began to clear, I could clearly see Hakuba Saguru in his school uniform, leaning against a nearby building. As for the other person, she left as the crowd dispersed.
"Excuse me, Miss, could you give me your number?" an officer asked as the criminal got into the car.
"Oh, of course," I scribbled some numbers on his notepad. "Here."
"Thank you. We will be contacting you shortly about this case."
"I understand," I bowed as he left.
oOOo
That certainly wasn't the last case I got myself involved in. In fact, in the first week of school, I had a total of four cases. Four cases during which Hakuba Saguru watched me very carefully. Four cases that just had to be murder cases of all things. Did death have to follow intelligent teenagers – I know that I'm only a pre-teen, but still – everywhere? At this rate, Ekoda-cho's death rate may soon be as high as Beika-cho's. And I still haven't talked about what happened last week, my second week at Ekoda High.
"Oi, Haruka-chan!"
With a sigh (and a small smile), I turned around to see Kaito-senpai and Nakamori-senpai running towards me.
"Kaito-senpai, Nakamori-senpai, ohayou gozaimasu," I nodded.
"Mou, how many times do I have to tell you to only call me Kaito?"
"For the rest of your life," I shrugged. "Probably."
"Haruka-chan is so mean!"
"And Kaito-senpai is so very childish."
"Um… Ano…"
I smiled at the other girl. "What is it, Nakamori-senpai?"
"I think we should get going if we don't want to be late," she suggested. "And please, call me Aoko."
"Aoko-senpai it is," I agreed. "Please call me Haruka."
oOOo
"Ne, Haruka-chan, how is life in America?" Aoko-senpai asked as we headed towards school.
"I lived in a small place, not like those big cities you always see in movies like New York or Las Vegas," I told her. "But it has a very nice scenery. School is different from here though, because instead of the teachers changing classrooms, the students are. Though there are some rare cases where classes of the same subjects are held in different classrooms. Also, public schools are usually the ones without uniforms unlike here. We also usually have only one door to each classroom and instead of leaving our books in our desks, we leave them in lockers since we're always changing classrooms."
"Wow, it really is different from here," Aoko-senpai exclaimed. "It's probably hard to get used to."
I shrugged. "I've always been able to adapt easily."
"And what about your friends?" Kaito-senpai asked from behind us. "You miss them, don't you?"
"That's true, but I'm sure they understand." I thought back to the day everything had changed. "We've been friends since we were in elementary after all. But Lea and Helena are two years older than me, so they are probably handling it better than I."
Speaking of which, I wasn't even certain if they landed in this world. If they did, I can only pray that Helena can make up a good background story. It shouldn't be too hard, and since she also read the series, she should know where to go for help… However, if Lea is alone here, then I just may fear for her life. After all, she only knows the main lines of the plot, not even what the characters look like for the most part. Well, at least they're probably not shrunk… Hopefully…
"Don't you have any friends your age?" Aoko-senpai inquired.
I shook my head. "Acquaintances yes, but friends, no. Well, I am somewhat at fault for that."
"Haruka-chan is very mature for her age," she commented.
Well, sometimes, it's hard not to be, I thought wryly.
"What about you two? You're childhood friends, aren't you?"
"E-Eh? How did you know?"
"Keiko-senpai told me," I replied. "Something about husband and wife…"
"Chigau! Chigau!" Aoko-senpai protested. "It's nothing like that!"
"I see… So the both of you are still in denial, huh?"
"Baka! Why would I like that Ahouko?!"
"Baka wa Bakaito da! Aoko would never end up with you!"
I nodded sagely. "Yup, still in denial."
"Haruka-chan!"
oOOo
As usual, classes passed by like a breeze. For the first time since she left me, I was thankful to my mother. If it weren't for the Japanese lessons she forced Carl and I to go through, I would definitely be behind my current classmates. I may have a good memory, but this kind of thing takes practice. I am still a bit behind in Literature though, but Hinata-nee-san has been helping me with that and the teacher simply expects me to catch up soon, so it isn't that bad.
However, unlike the past two weeks, I had company during lunchtime. First was Aoko-senpai who dragged Kaito-senpai along with her. Then, Koizumi Akako insisted on joining (I think she just wants to see how I distort the world around me). Finally, Hakuba Saguru sat with us as well.
"Haruka-chan, let me introduce you," Aoko-senpai gestured towards the other two. "This is Koizumi Akako-chan and Hakuba Saguru-kun. He also came from overseas."
"Hajimemashite, you should already know, but I am Satou Haruka."
"A very special name," the Scarlet Witch commented. "A very fitting name indeed."
Though this is the second time she's told me that, I still can't get used to it.
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Koizumi-senpai."
"Hey, Haruka-chan," Kaito-senpai spoke as we began eating. "What do you think about Kaitou Kid?"
I leaned back in my chair with a smirk. "The ever elusive phantom thief who happens to be a magician, that Kid?" I teased, pretending not to notice people eavesdropping. "He broke the law several times and even if he does return what he steals, he is at least charged with breaking in and entering. In front of the law, he is a criminal, there is no doubt about that. However, as a person… I think he is an idiot. A nice idiot, but still an idiot."
"And why would you think that, Satou-san?" asked the half-British detective in his accented Japanese.
"Well, Hakuba-senpai, Kaitou Kid seems to have a "no one gets hurt" policy that he has yet to go against. That should be enough to show that he is a kind person." I finished my onigiri. "However, the simple fact that he continues to steal the way he does, risking his life all the time, should be more than enough to prove his idiocy. Despite all of Kid's faults, he is a good person. At least, that is my personal opinion."
"Well… When you put it that way…" Aoko-senpai said thoughtfully.
"So, are you one of his supporters?" Hakuba-senpai asked me.
"Saa?" I shrugged. "If I am, that makes me a supporter who wishes for him to disappear as soon as possible."
oOOo
Once school had let out, I packed my bag and headed towards the gym, or more specifically, the trees on the south-west side of the gym. Most of the students were gathered in front of the school, leaving the premises unlike me.
The place was deserted by the time I got there. Though the soccer and archery clubs were in session, as well as the basketball and volleyball teams, they were either inside or on the other side of the gym. Also, except for fans and club members, no one sticks around for long which made the place a perfect meeting spot for people like us.
"Hakuba-senpai?" I walked towards him. "Why did you want to see me?"
He showed me a couple of articles from the newspaper. Or, if one wants to be specific, the crime section of the newspaper. The same section that I have been reading in order to settle myself in the timeline since Detective Conan rarely showed specific dates.
"You've made quite a few appearances ever since you transferred here. It seems you either have a talent of coming upon crime scenes or that you are an aspiring detective."
"A bit of both," I admitted. Dead bodies didn't turn up every time I left the apartment complex, but I did stumble across crime scenes more than I would have liked. It was as though I have already contracted the Heisei Holmes disease, and I still haven't met Conan/Shinichi yet. Well, at least the mystery novels I read weren't for naught.
"I am curious; why would an aspiring detective want to see Kid disappear instead of behind bars?"
"I am afraid I cannot tell you, nor is it my place to tell you." I leaned against the wall. "However, if I meet Kid, I'll try to convince him to trust you a bit more. It's really up to him whether to involve you or not. But once you're in, you can't get out. Not easily, in any case."
"I suppose it's safe to say that you are an ally of his, then?" He seemed calm, but he certainly wasn't. I wonder if it was because he is angry at Kaito-senpai for jumping in dangerous situations or at me for not doing anything about it.
"I have not contacted Kid for a long time, Hakuba-senpai." Not ever since I enrolled in Ekoda High, really, but now that we have "become" friends, I should pay the Kuroba residence a visit soon. "Heists are his field of expertise and I don't interfere with them as long as he escapes the police and returns home safely."
"I see," the detective replied thoughtfully. "Very well then, I have a proposal for you, Satou-san."
"I suppose it is connected to the reason why you've been observing me during those cases?" I crossed my arms. "Just what are you planning, Meitantei Hakuba Saguru?"
oOOo
"Eh?! Hakuba's assistant?!" Kaito-senpai exclaimed once I finished my tale. "Majika yo?"
"Well, he did have a set of conditions such as notifying him whenever I end up with a case and accompanying him during some investigations," I replied. "He also told me to make sure that, if you return from your night job, you are in one piece."
"No, no, no! That's not what I meant!" the Nidaime Kaitou Kid protested. "Why the hell did Hakuba suggest that in the first place?"
"Apparently, I am a rising star in the detective world?" He did say that I showed potential and that I was one of his links to Kid… "He knows that I won't interfere with Kid heists… much. After all, when it comes down to it, I won't have you arrested by the police. But that doesn't mean that I mind seeing you struggle trying to get away from him, nor does it mean he can't have me running around the city solving cases for him…"
"Why did you accept?"
I thought about it. When I accepted, it was more of a spur of the moment thing, but it wasn't without reasons either.
"The more cases I solve, the more likely I am to stumble across a case that involves them." Just like what Conan is doing by staying with Mouri Kogorou. "This way… Maybe, just maybe, I can actually do something this time around."
Yes, I thought back to my powerlessness during our most recent operation and all of those other times, like when my family broke apart. If I can do something here, maybe it will help all of us in the end. Somehow, some way. Just maybe. Just maybe.
Okay, so maybe Hakuba wouldn't ask a classmate with good deductive abilities to become his assistant/partner. It's not like he had one in canon, so it cannot be determined.
Also, some of you may have noticed the small Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles references here and there. It isn't too important now, but in the future... maybe.
As for Helena and Lea, for those of you who went through the list of my published stories, yes, they are the ones who ended up in Harry Potter verse. I'm going to be rewriting that fic, eventually, or simply abandon it. They don't have much influence on this story though, except in Haruka's flashbacks.
I do not believe that there are any other points to address, but please review if you have anything you would like to say.
Next Chapter: The Red Tear: Confrontation!