Now we're getting into Sakura's week as an adult. I've got more notes at the end, but just know that being a girl means that Sakura acts like a girl. Confused? Then read on.


Chapter Nine

Since the high school only had three days of classes that week due to a celebration, Sakura decided it wasn't worth enrolling for just three days before disappearing again. She did attend the celebrations, though. Just like the Festival a few months earlier, the celebrations of the school's anniversary took place in the schoolyard and the surrounding buildings.

"How can you stand to have more than one big festival in a semester?" Sera asked as she and the other three walked through the booths to set up.

"We just have to study extra hard to make up for it!" Sonoko exclaimed, clapping Sera on the back.

'Like you ever do any studying,' Sakura thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Ran-onessan!" a voice called out. Sakura looked around and a look of horror passed across her face. The Detective Boys, with Haibara disguised as Minami, were approaching.

"You invited the pipsqueaks?" Sonoko asked rudely.

"Isn't that all right?" Ran asked. "They'll like the stuff too, you know."

"I'm going to set up," said Sonoko, slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking off.

"Who's that?" Ayumi asked, pointing at Sakura.

"Oh, this is Kudo Sakura, Shinichi's cousin."

"Oh, your boyfriend's cousin?" Genta teased.

"It's not like that!" Ran burst out, her face lighting up.

"Conan-kun must have lied, then," said Mitsuhiko.

"What did he lie about?" Ran asked, bending over.

"About what happened in London!" Ayumi finished.

"What did happen, anyways?" Sera asked Ran. "I've never gotten a straight answer out of you."

Ran shook her head and muttered "Love is 0" under her breath before walking away humming.

"What happened?" Ayumi asked.

"Her face was red," Mitsuhiko deduced. "She must have sunstroke."

"Oh, a sunfish?" Genta asked. "Those are good in cream sauce!"

"If she had sunstroke, she'd be passed out," Haibara interjected.

"Is that so," said Mitsuhiko.

"You sounded just like Ai-chan!" Ayumi shouted.

"This is getting us nowhere," Sakura whispered to Sera as the kids continued to chat.

"What do you mean? You come to a celebration like this to be entertained and that's what the kids are providing."

"You're weird," said Sakura, wandering away.

"I get that a lot!" Sera waved back.

XXX

Sakura eventually ended up next to Kogoro, who was smoking near the entrance. He wasn't leering at the students, which was odd for him, but Sakura knew that even Kogoro Mouri wouldn't try for someone underage.

"Go away," said Kogoro at once when Sakura stopped near him. "The fangirls might think you're my girlfriend or something."

"You don't have to be rude about it," Sakura flounced in a very girly way. She pulled out her ponytail and set about redoing it. "Why are you here, anyways? The celebratory carnival doesn't open for another half hour."

"Ran asked me to come," said Kogoro, stamping out his spent cigarette. "She said something about me being in front of a crowd. Who can pass that up? After all, a great detective such as myself has an image to maintain! Bwa ha ha ha!"

Sakura was too used to Kogoro's obnoxious laughing to pay it any attention. "Dad!" Ran called out, breaking the spell.

"Are you finally ready for me to set up?" Kogoro asked, turning.

"Of course! Come on Dad!" Ran tugged Kogoro away towards the gym and Sakura, sighing, walked around, bored.

When the carnival opened thirty minutes later, Sakura's mood changed. People from all over Beika had shown up, many of whom she had known as both Shinichi and Conan. She relished her anonymity, but was at the same time put out that none of them recognized her. She took refuge at the soccer fields, where the soccer team had set up a 'kick-off' or sorts. The event was simple; all you had to do was dribble a ball around a bunch of obstacles, including orange cones, members of the soccer team, and removable terrain before scoring a goal.

Sakura patiently waited in line for her turn. She was pleased to see her old classmate Nakamichi was manning the sign-in sheet. "Just write your name, age, and sign it," he told Sakura. "Are you aware that you will likely sustain physical injury while playing?"

"It's soccer; that's kind of to be expected," said Sakura, putting the pen down.

"Then go to lane 3," said Nakamichi, pointing at the specified area of the field.

Sakura took her position and took in all aspects of the course, including the human players. She had a distinct advantage over most of the other visitors since she had worked with her opponents during training before. Therefore she knew their strengths, weaknesses, and their preferred tactics. When the whistle blew, she immediately started dribbling the ball towards the first cones. A player made a move to intercept the ball, but she moved it out of his way at the last second, making him trip and fall to the ground. She sensed an immediate change in attitude amongst the four other players.

'They're testing me,' she realized. 'They go easy at first and only amp up their playing if the visitor is sufficiently skilled enough to handle it. Well, let's see how they fare against me!' She began dribbling the ball again, playing offensively. She smoothly kicked the ball around and over some cones, bounced the ball off her knees for show, and eventually bounced it off her head for a full minute before dropping it to the ground and kicking it towards the goal. There was no goalie, but the ball hit the rim of a fake hill and rolled backwards. The five players formed a wall between her and the goal to prevent her from trying again.

"You're good," one remarked.

"And you're playing unfairly. I don't have a team, so I can't pass the ball. You guys are blocking me. Are you guys afraid of getting your butts handed to you by a girl or something?" They didn't answer, so Sakura just shrugged. Then she casually kicked the ball with the side of her foot. It arced up and over the outstretched hands of the players before coming down in the net. The five guys looked at the ball, then looked at her with a look of wonder. "What? I just completed the course."

"That was…" one started.

"Kudo's style," another finished.

"Well of course it is! He taught me, after all!"

The reaction was immediate. "Oh, so you're Kudo's girlfriend?" they asked, surrounding her.

"His cousin," she corrected. "Now, is there a prize or something?"

"If nobody else does better than you, then you'll get recognized during the awards ceremony later. You'll get a trophy and…"

"Oi, don't tell her!" Nakamichi said, striding up. "You guys are blocking other customers! Now put everything back together!"

'These guys will never change,' said Sakura, smirking to herself.

XXX

Sakura didn't think that anything could top the soccer tournament, but she was wrong. Ducking into the gym for some relief, she saw a very interesting sight. Instead of a play, the stage now featured a dunk tank. The platform was occupied by Kogoro Mouri, shouting as much encouragement as possible to the people on the floor. The two people were wrestling sumo style inside a ring of spectators. Wondering what was going on, Sakura looked at the signage. It read: 'Win the sumo match and dunk a celebrity!' A warning message about personal injury was also included.

Sakura joined the crowd at the edge of the rope and surveyed what was going on. A member of the school sumo team was pushing paying visitors out of the sumo ring was alarming frequency. Most customers went out immediately while a select few took a few seconds longer. Sakura would've dismissed participating, but then she remembered that she was in a metal bodysuit with increased strength and resilience. Smirking, she joined the line.

"You're going to try, Sakura-chan?" Ran asked when Sakura reached the front of the line.

"It couldn't hurt," said Sakura, taking the sign-in from Ran and filling out the information. "Besides, a womanizer like your dad needs a good dunking to keep him in line. How'd you get him to cooperate anyways?"

"I implied that Okino Yoko-san might be stopping by. He practically volunteered to be the highest person in the room."

"What'll you do if he gets dunked?"

"I've got a couple of stand-ins ready," said Ran evilly. "Now, good luck in there!" She patted Sakura on the shoulder and let her in.

Compared to her overweight opponent, Sakura looked tiny. She took off her jacket and gave it to Ran so she wouldn't soil it with sweat should the event arise, or at least that's what the audience thought; she didn't really need to. She took her position in the middle of the ring; both she and her opponent locked eyes.

"GO!" Sonoko said loudly, blowing a whistle. Sakura quickly sidestepped as the guy lunged for her. When he staggered, she took full advantage of her mechanical strength by grabbing the fat guy around the waist and shoving him out. Halfway across, he broke her grip and the two slowly sidestepped around each other, looking for an opening.

"Don't let her get you!" Kogoro yelled in encouragement. Sakura seized the distraction to attack, but was too slow. She frantically tried to free herself as she was slowly shoved across the ring. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged, making him wheeze and let go. Sakura strafed him and with a humungous shove, pushed him right out of the ring.

There was stunned silence. Then cheering broke out. The wrestler shook himself and stared at her before walking away. Ran gave Sakura five bean bags and directed her towards the stage.

"Please, have mercy," Kogoro pleaded, gripping the plank so hard his knuckles turned white. Sakura grinned, before putting four of the bean bags down and beginning to dribble the last one like a hacky sack. Then she kicked it at the target with all the force she could muster, grinning like mad. No one heard the bean bag explode from the force over Kogoro's yelling and the immense splash that followed.

That was when an immense sheet of Plexiglas fell from the ceiling, covering the tank and preventing Kogoro's escape.


I think we've all wanted to trap Kogoro in a tank at some point. XD

OK, so explanations for those who are interested. The 'adult suit' as I call it is made of a metal frame, so Sakura has immense strength, comparable to a robot or something. Maybe I'll give her a rematch later on where she gets her axx handed to her after she turns normal for real. :D Or maybe not. It'll make people suspicious, though. The end of this story will, too. No spoilers, but I know EXACTLY what's going to happen. Here's a hint: what'll happen to the robot suit if I leave it alone? After all, Conan's version of Tokyo is full of murders, thefts, and greedy people.

I'll let you think on that for now. ;)