Agasa's Beetle screeched to a halt in the crowded parking lot. Immediately, Ai heard the chatter of people around them, getting out of their cars and joining the festival below. Sighing, she opened the door and got out of her seat, then kept the door open for Ayumi, who was looking around with starlit eyes and a bright smile. Oh, how exciting this must be for an actual child like her.

Genta came from the front and Mitsuhiko from the other side, and the three actual children in the Detective Boys crowded together excitedly, chattering to each other. Ai smiled wryly looking at them, then turned her gaze to see Conan come out of the car as well, whispering to Agasa. Is it about the organization again? Ai raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. If Conan wanted to keep secrets from her, then so be it.

"Let's head to the festival!" Agasa announced, and the Detective Boys cheered. Ai followed at a slower pace, and Conan joined her.

"Not excited?" He questioned.

Ai shook her head. "I don't see the point. This is for actual children, is it not?"

Conan looked around at the many adults enjoying the festival stalls, and nodded. "Yeah, sure." His voice was laced with sarcasm.

Ai sighed. "Why does it matter to you? You're not the type to enjoy these sorts of events either, right? After all, you're Kudo Shinichi, the Reiwa Holmes, the Great Detective of the East."

Conan rolled his eyes. "Shut up." Looking around more, he said, "Yeah, I may be a high school student, but… It's still possible to have fun here." As the Detective Boys dashed past them, yelling loudly with bright smiles, Conan added on, "Maybe not as much fun as those guys will have, but still enough to enjoy myself. Make myself happy." Looking at Ai, he asked, "What are you planning to do?"

"Watch Hakase eat to make sure he doesn't have too much," Ai said flatly. To tell the truth, she didn't quite want to, but she also didn't feel like wandering around the festival. It seemed almost boring for her. She had gotten dressed in a kimono already, so she already had gotten into the festival mood. "Well, Kudo-kun, if you're so excited to participate in the festival, then why don't you do it with the kids?"

Conan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Must you be so difficult?" Looking straight into his eyes, he said, "I'm trying to invite you to hang out with me, but I see you aren't that interested."

Ai raised an eyebrow. Huh. Edogawa Conan - Kudo Shinichi - actually inviting her to something? He loved to keep her out of the loop, most of the time. "Does this have anything to do with what you and Hakase were whispering about earlier? Is the organization after me? Is that why you want to keep watch?"

Conan groaned. "No, not this time." Finally looking away, he muttered, "it's something else."

Ai raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't press the matter any further. If Conan was going to be a pain, then so be it.

"Fine," she finally said. "I'll hang out with you… Under one condition." She whipped around to glare at Agasa, who had been following them closely the whole time. "You go and hang out with the children. They will tell me if you eat too much, so!" Her eyes narrowed. "You know the consequences."

Agasa laughed nervously. "Alright then, Ai-kun. I'll see you guys later." He hurried off after the children.

Crossing her arms, Ai turned to Conan. "What do you want to do?"

Conan put a finger to his chin as he thought. "Hmm… How about…"

Bang!

Ai narrowed her eyes as once again, Conan hit the target in the bullseye. Drawing back his gun, he gave Ai a satisfied grin. The stall manager stared at Conan in shock.

"W-well then," the shop manager spoke up. "Would you like a prize?"

Conan scanned the available prizes, then turned to Ai. "Would you like anything?"

Ai shook her head, feeling a bit of confusion at Conan's offer. "I can win my own prizes, thanks."

Conan shrugged, then turned back to the shopkeeper. "No thank you! But my friend would like to play next!"

The shopkeeper turned to Ai, a bit of relief on his face. Clearly, he thought that Ai, a girl, wouldn't be able to match the skill levels of her male counterparts. She had seen how he had treated earlier customers while she and Conan had waited in line. Well, she'd just have to prove him wrong. As he handed her a gun, she pointed it towards the target and, narrowing her eyes, fired.

Like Conan, all her shots landed in the bullseye, except for Ai, it took less time for her to aim.

The shopkeeper gaped at her. Ai just gave a polite smile as she looked at him. "I'll have the flower clip, please."

The shopkeeper quickly got over his earlier shock, and nodded. "O-one flower clip, coming right up!" He rushed towards the prizes and then rushed back, handing one to Ai. "W-would you like to play again?" His expression clearly showed that he didn't want either of them to come back to his stall.

Conan shook his head. "No thank you! We'll find another stall." Ai put the flower clip into her hair, and Conan smiled at her. Once she was finished, Conan pulled her hand and began to lead her to more stalls.

Ai reached into the tub again with the poi, finally scooping up a goldfish again and dropping it into the bag. Giving a satisfied sigh, she turned to Conan. "I think we're done with this game."

Conan laughed a little, dramatically checking his watch. "Yup, we've definitely spent long enough here."

Ai rolled her eyes. "At least I caught a goldfish. You didn't."

Conan looked at her. "You're right. How could I ever match your skills, Haibara-sama?"

Ai smiled, but as they left the stall, she paused. Looking directly at Conan, she asked, "Why?"

Conan turned towards her, confused. "What do you mean, why?"

Ai swallowed. "Why did you do this for me?"

Conan paused as well, eyes narrowing as he tried to think of an explanation. As he tried to think, Ai waited, albeit a bit impatiently. If this was part of his plan to butter her up so she would give him another temporary antidote…

"You… haven't been in a good mood lately," he said slowly. "I think. So I wanted you to, well…" He drummed his fingers lightly on his leg. "I wanted you to enjoy yourself some. When Hakase announced we were going to this festival, I took my chance. I invited you to enjoy these games with me, and, well, it worked, didn't it?" Ai looked closer at his face, and she noticed a faint blush.

"...Yeah," Ai admitted. "I suppose I'll admit that it worked."

Conan gave her a look. "You suppose?"

Ai gave a laugh. "Alright, I'll admit to you that yes, your plan worked." Now she was the one blushing. Looking away slightly, she said, "I enjoyed myself today. For a moment, I… forgot. About my past. I let myself believe I was an actual kid… Or, well, at least a normal teenager enjoying a normal trip to the festival with her…" She swallowed. She knew what she wanted to say. Boyfriend. But Conan might not be happy if she said that, so instead, she said, "Best friend."

Conan smiled. "Best friend, huh," he muttered. "Well, I'm glad," he continued louder. "That you enjoyed yourself." Looking around, he asked, "Is there anything else you want to do?"

"I think we should check in on Hakase and the kids," Ai stated. "Let's find out if Hakase ate more than he should have."

Conan laughed. "Alright." Leaning in a bit closer to her, he muttered, "I bet he did."

Ai smiled at him, and they slowly walked towards the food stalls.

Today was a fun day, and Ai had to admit she enjoyed herself. Looking at Conan, she hoped that they could have more moments like these in the future.

From the look on his face, it seemed he was hoping for the same.

If you enjoyed reading, please leave a comment!

Concurrent Works

-Heart

Date: 8/5/2022

Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito

Series: Nico's Writer's Month 2022

Pairings: Saguru/Kaito

Summary: Kaito and Saguru both wake up in bodies that are not their own.

Upcoming Works

-Popular

Date: 8/6/2022

Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito

Series: Nico's Writer's Month 2022

Pairings: Shinichi/Shiho

Summary: Shiho doesn't enjoy the fame that comes with being married to Shinichi.

-A Phantom Thief's Heat

Date: 8/12/2022

Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito

Series: Friday Funtimes

Pairings: Shinichi/Kaito

Summary: Kaito goes into heat during a heist, where he is then discovered by Shinichi. The detective decides to keep him company until his heat is over.

-Wrapped in Flames Chapters 1-3

Date: 8/15/2022

Fandoms: Detective Conan, Magic Kaito

Series: Nico's DCMK Events

Pairings: Shinichi/Kaito

Summary: When Kaito was little, his parents told him a prophecy, warning him to stay away from fire. Meanwhile, Shinichi is having nightmares of reaching helplessly towards a boy perishing in flames. When a witch pleads him to save Kaito from his curse, Shinichi forms a plan. He will not let Kaito die, even when they have to face an inevitable Reichenbach Fall. KaiShin BigBang 2022.

Upcoming Events

-HakuKai Week 2022

An event that I am hosting, celebrating the pairing of Hakuba Saguru and Kuroba Kaito. Prompts are now on my friend's tumblr (Radibe5), as well as on my AO3 collection, and reblogged on my own tumblr!