The next morning I woke to the usual early morning haze. Bleary eyed, I identified the bodies sprawled around mine in Agasa's living room floor. To my left was Shinichi, and his hair looked like a tornado hit in his sleep, yet somehow magically put him back in the same spot overnight. Not right. I ruffled his hair here and there, fixing it back into place while he soundly slept.
What was that yesterday? I was so ready to compromise what I came here for and tell Shinichi everything. Well... he is a detective. Maybe he could help. But, I would be breaking a promise. I sighed. Our friendship might be the reason we have to part, I thought.
So lost in thought, I failed to notice that Shinichi had awoken, and was staring straight at me.
"Ah—!" Shinichi intercepted my scream by hastily scrambling out of the covers to cup my mouth. I could feel a tear forming as he stared at me with anxious wide eyes.
"Don't get so surprised," he whispered. When he released me I took a deep, deep breath.
"I didn't cover your nose," he laughed.
"My brain forgot to tell me that..."
He sat back and smiled. "There you go again, hugging a pillow."
"Huh?" I didn't even notice I'd grabbed it. After setting it down, a blush crept onto my face. He laughed again. So, I felt the need to defend myself. "It helps me organize my thoughts, like you and your soccer tricks."
He thought of the similarities, then waved a dismissive hand. "Nah."
"Yeah," I corrected. "The texture. Focusing on how it simply feels helps me achieve clarity."
"Does this go for everything you hug?" He asked with a small smirk.
"Never took other things into consideration."
"What about when you hug me?" he asked, seemingly nonchalant, the pink glow in his cheeks said otherwise.
"Um," I faltered and drew invisible patterns in the pillow to occupy my hands. "Hugging you is different." I drifted off into a daze of my own thoughts. "You're always so warm and inviting it's like I could forget to stand. But, with your arms around me, I really don't have to worry about it." I looked up and was hit with the full impact of how embarrassing those words were. Lucky for me, he went speechless. Still, I nearly ran when he outstretched his arms and pulled me in. I wiggled in his grip while my cheeks overheated. "what—?"
"Sorry, impulse." Shinichi chuckled. I pulled away and turned around to cool my cheeks.
Then I noticed two empty spots in the bed. Ran and Sonoko were awake, holding each other in front of me, tugging at a handkerchief with their teeth the way they do when they watch their soap operas.
"Please," Ran begged, "go on."
I almost combusted into flames of humiliation. I whirled back to Shinichi, hoping for some sympathy since he was a victim as well. But he paid me no mind and flicked a thumbs up to Ran and Sonoko. I couldn't believe it. He set me up.
Agasa walked in, rubbing his eyes, half-awake. "Whoever spilled the soda is going to have to clean it up."
"Shinichi... blame Shinichi," I signaled him out. He scowled at me. "You don't have my sympathy, a little pity, but no sympathy."
He grumbled and left.
"What was that?! What was that?!" Ran squealed, her hair swishing back and forth as she squirmed in excitement.
"You're so deep." Sonoko dreamily stared into my eyes. I crawled away.
"Back off!" I waved the pillow as a barrier between us.
Regardless of my efforts, they took a pillow beating to come in on either side of me for a two person jail hug.
"Aw, Keiko's embarrassed!" Ran cuddled me.
"Never mind about that." Sonoko pulled me to my feet. "Now's the perfect chance! Tell him how you feel." She shoved me into the direction of Shinichi.
I quickly fell back, clung to Ran, and whimpered, "I can't, I have no backbone."
"No wonder." Ran tossed a Jelly Belly in my mouth. "Your breath reeks."
I blinked. "That's a medical condition?"
"Condition schmission, get out there!" Sonoko practically threw me into the next room. "And don't worry about locking the door."
"We won't peek," Ran finished with a giggle.
From where I stood in the doorway Shinichi had his back to me. Finishing up with the sticky mess on the floor. I bit my thumbnail, leaned against the wall, and searched for courage. Yet something tells me, from the way he vigorously scrubbed, that he was contemplating revenge.
I sunk into my thoughts, Every good romance describes love as a jewel or the elusive butterfly. But it's not something that's simply beautiful or delicate. For me it seems like everyone's in a spotlight, and the people that decide to enter your personal light want to see if your act is one to follow. If they have no problem keeping up with your pace, and you with theirs, then maybe that's where you're both supposed to be. Side by side, having fun on stage. I sighed as I remembered Ran and Sonoko, constantly interfering. Then there's the spectators...
An explosion from the basement sent everyone rushing downstairs to the lab.
"Did you see that!?" Agasa, covered in black soot and burnt clothing, shouted in disbelief. "There was a contradiction in the chemicals which caused a violent reaction. Nearly blew the place sky high if it weren't for a spare neutralizing base compound!" Agasa exclaimed.
"Really?!" Sonoko drew in a sharp breath.
"What is it exactly that you were trying to accomplish?" Shinichi picked up a melted piece of junk metal.
Agasa composed himself, reached for a clipboard, and scribbled down his answer as he spoke, "this was a failed attempt to speed the process in which toast, toasts."
Shinichi dropped the toaster in disgust when he noticed the charred bits came off and blackened his hands. I watched him casually approach me through my peripherals, and knew he was planning to clean his hands on me somehow.
"AHH!" I suddenly yelled and pointed at Shinichi's face.
"What?!" he jumped. I kept my finger focused on one point of his face, eyebrows knitted together as I tried to convey my false concern over what wasn't there. Eventually my plan worked as he touched his forehead where I began rubbing mine. Everyone laughed when they saw he had put dark fingerprints against his own skin.
With a broad smile I dashed off when he saw past my evil scheme.
"Wha- wait!" Shinichi shouted as he chased after me. I made it all the way outside, in front of Shinichi's house next door, when he caught me. But by then I was giggling too much to care.
"Hah!" Shinichi held both my wrists in one hand to make my face his new reluctant canvas.
"A black eye, then a swirl here," he said as he created them with a grin.
I laughed despite my defeat. "Are you done yet?"
"Yeah," he chuckled.
"Hmm." I inspected Shinichi's dirtied face. "You're a mess."
"Say's the doodle pad." He smiled as if I called the kettle black.
Shinichi released me when he saw some letters poking out of his mailbox. He grinned at the sight, probably thinking of fan mail. I frowned.
Shinichi pulled out several letters along with some odd boxes. Then handed them off to me in an attempt to keep them clean.
"Come on." Shinichi scooted me through the gate leading to his house. I followed him inside. "Make yourself at home," Shinichi shouted over his shoulder as he went deeper into his home.
The smell of his home always reminded me of a bookstore. I wandered into where the scent was strongest, his mystery sanctuary, and all its glory could still leave me in awe. Book upon book, walls covered in them, and still some novels were left strewn about the library since there was no more space in the shelves. I dropped the letters at his desk, toward the end of the room, then sat in the cushioned chair behind it. The cushions drew me in, I sunk deeper, slouched in further, and lazily shut my eyes.
"What are you doing?" Shinichi walked in with a laugh. He threw me a wet towel to clean myself.
"Nothing," I immediately piped up.
"Ooh," he absentmindedly answered as he opened up his packages. While he was busy with the boxes I sorted through the letters. Three percent were fan letters for his father. ninety-seven were fan letters for him.
"So many girls, so little Shinichi." I sighed while sorting through them.
"You don't expect me to answer all those do you?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you adored all the attention."
"Actually, I adore one attention." He scratched his neck, focused on the package. I hid my face in my hands. My mind couldn't take this kind of conversation without frying, so I changed the subject... But what to say?!
To my surprise Shinichi spoke for me, lifting the box through the air incredulously. "Why do you mail things to me when we see each other everyday?"
"Cause you get so excited, like a child receiving and opening presents on his birthday." I mimicked his voice, "oh my, what could it be?"
"Ha ha..." he feigned a laugh.
Shinichi tore the tape, and there it was. A grin was spreading across his face faster than he could get through the bubble rap.
I spoke as the voice in his head, "What could it be, what could it be?"
"Ah!" Shinichi gasped. "The last volume of Detective Samonji! I've been wanting this! Everywhere I went it was sold out. How did you know I didn't have it?!"
"Actually it was a lucky guess. From the books that you've been making me borrow. Your Detective Samonji set was incomplete."
He paused. "Wait making?"
I nodded. "The first chance you got, you threw Sherlock Holmes at me in hopes I would like it, mister mystery maniac."
"So... You don't like it?"
"Oh." I itched my upper arm nervously. "No... Actually, Sherlock grew on me, cause he would say cool things: mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius. And then something funny like: There are always some crazy people about. It would be a dull world without them. And-"
Shinichi laughed, "It's lunatic's not crazy people."
"Anyway, my favorite was when Holmes was tailing that guy and he said, I followed you. Then the guy relplied, I saw no one. And Holmes ended with, That is what you may expect to see when I follow you. I thought it was hilarious," I laughed.
Shinichi broke into a grin almost too wide for his face. "That was when he was following Dr. Leon Sterndale, he suspected him of murder, and he was right! It-" Shinichi paused. "Before I forget." Shinichi walked around his desk and opened a drawer beside me. "I thought you might like this." He handed me a giant rainbow swirl lollipop with a soccer ball keychain attached to the stick end of it.
"How old do I look?" I pointed to my face.
"Younger than me." He shrugged and put it into my hands.
"It's so cute." I pulled the keychain off and twirled it around my finger. Then I held up the loli. "And this is so rainbow!" I looked at Shinichi, face glowing, eyes sparkling. "I'll save it forever."
"Please eat it..." he scrubbed a hand over his face. "And about those mystery novels..."
"Yeah, sorry for not telling you... After reading something awesome like Sherlock Holmes, the novelty wore thin quick."
"But, the rest of them... you would talk like you read them," he wondered aloud.
"I looked up a shortened version online. But, ya know, I like to get the most out of mystery novels. I always start in the middle, so not only do I wonder how it'll end, I wonder how it began."
"You're joking right?"
"Hehe, yeah," I admitted and slipped the keychain into my pocket.
"They're probably wondering where we went." Shinichi set the letters down and we headed out.
An indistinct conversation caught my attention. As Shinichi locked his door, I looked around and saw someone opening the front gate.
"Oh, Shin-chan!" A blonde, curly-haired woman, skipped past me and heartily embraced Shinichi.
"A secret lover. I knew it," I whispered loud enough for Shinichi to hear.
Shinichi jumped at the accusation. "What?! This old lady is-!"
Said woman pinched his face on the words old lady. "Who's this?" she asked, looking me over from head to toe.
Caught off guard, I resorted to manners, and bowed while introducing myself. "Sachiko Keiko."
"Keiko, huh?" She smiled slyly at Shinichi. "You never told us she's so cute." Then she squealed, "and for her to think I'm young enough to date you, she's a perfect choice."
"Choice for what?" Ran came around the gate, closely followed by Sonoko.
"We're having a celebration," an older man announced as he entered our circle, and stood by my side.
"Celebration? As in a party? Count me in!" Sonoko joyfully cut in.
"Hmm? Shinichi," the man observed our attire, "what are you two doing in PJ's?"
Apparently Sonoko and Ran had already dressed, so there we stood, isolated in our sloppy morning outfits.
"Who are these people?" I quietly asked Shinichi.
Shinichi's poker face faltered. "They're my parents..."
I recoiled a step back. "Your wha-... Kudo Yusaku? ...Yukiko?" I shakily pointed at the two new visitors, remembering a time when Shinichi spoke of his mom and dad.
"So, what do you say?" His mother cheerfully asked me.
"Excuse me?" I managed to question.
"I'll ask," Shinichi cut between his parents and me. He cleared his throat, opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to form words. Then his cheeks built up to a gentle shade of red when he finally mustered up the nerve to say, "would you please accompany me to the celebration?"
"Celebration?" I half-mindedly asked. My brain still struggled to wrap around the fact that those two older folks created him.
His father stepped in. "It's for my novel, The Night Baron, it's hitting a record high in sales!"
I shook my head, effectively snapping back to reality. "Sure, but I left all of my dress clothes at my old home."
"No Problem!" His mother hooked my arm and dragged me off. "We're gonna have fun."
I'm not exactly sure if I should have said something at that moment. Like Hey, Shinichi's mom, where are you taking me in my pajamas? So, for the lack of an excuse, I allowed her to do as she wished. Fortunately, Shinichi followed as well when we jumped in a car, pajamas and all.
When we got out, my worst fear came alive; indecent in public. We arrived at a clothing mall, and as expected, stares jabbed us from all directions. Shinichi didn't exactly care as fan girls would swoon over his garb. I tried to hide behind the Kudo's, but Shinichi broke off from our group when his mother took me into a high-end dress shop and threw me into the first changing room she found. Soon after dresses came pouring in over the stall door.
"When was that party again?" I asked while removing the seventh unfitting dress.
"Two hours." She hummed to the store's tunes.
I stared, mouth agape, at the rest of the dresses still accumulating.
"Um, Shinichi's mom?"
"Please call me Mom~" she sing-songed
I blinked. Um. "Why are you doing this?"
"Well, why not? For my little Shin-chan to have you for company, it would help me feel better about leaving him in that big empty home."
"But, I'm not so special..." I walked out this time wearing a sleek green dress. The skirt faded to a gradient cluster of glitter. The long sleeves slung loosely, made of sheer fabric.
She stepped around to fix the ribbon at my back. "Not true. You're scared of cats."
I flinched. How was that a compliment? Wait, "how did you know that?"
"Shinichi rarely calls when we're away, but when he does." She chuckled. "You're all he really talks about."
"Um." The meaning of her words went beyond me. It's normal to talk of those around you.
"You don't know how to swim, but love the water. You enjoy speed, but hate learning to drive. You're tense when it rains, but calm on cloudy days." She smoothed out the bow, and forced me to twirl.
I blushed at the description. A stranger keyed into my quirks felt oddly invasive, but flattering.
"When Shinichi sees you, he sees all the little things that make you. From what I can tell, you're special." She softly smiled. "Even if you are oblivious to it."
I straightened up and put my best smile on. "Th- thanks."
We decided then that the green dress suited me perfectly. Sometime after our purchase, Shinichi mysteriously reappeared. He didn't say where he went, but he was definitely up to something since every time I asked he smirked.
Back at the Kudo residence we began preparing for the celebration. I heard from Ran that Sonoko ordered a limo, just to arrive in more style than her two-hundred dollar dress. As for Ran, she went off with Sonoko to choose a dress from home. Shinichi had already dressed in his suit, combing his hair, and brushing his teeth.
I wanted to ask about what his mother said. To see how true her words were. I chuckled to grab his attention, however what came out of my mouth was, "remember the last time you wore a suit? That time you got us in trouble?"
"That time we promised to never speak of again?" He watched me warily from the corner of his eye.
I refrained a smile. "Did you tell your parents about it?"
"There's no reason they should know."
"Uh-huh."
"It wasn't a bad thing," he defended.
"It was more amusing than anything."
"You said it wasn't! And when pointing out embarrassing stories, what about the time you nearly burned this house down? I'm sure they'd love to hear that."
"That was your fault," I reminded him, then laughed. "What about the time the Tokyo Spirits lost. You went up to the roof and—"
"Leave!" he slammed the door in my face.
"What was that?" His mother called from downstairs.
"Nothing!" I chirped.
When the limousine arrived we were all set. Hair fixed, nails done, and everything doubled checked. Triple checked for the girls.
I couldn't help but stare at Shinichi while remembering what his mom said. This is the same guy who said all that? It's hard to believe, even if he is a detective. The simple words sounded so sweet. I wanted to hear them with his voice.
"Keiko." Shinichi hesitantly smiled. "What?"
I snapped out of thought. "Huh?"
"Is something on my face?"
I had been staring, so I had to say something. However only a giggle bubbled up.
In context to our previous conversation, he took my response the wrong way and snapped.
As fate would have it, this ensued a fight. It felt so childish, but I couldn't stop him or myself from bickering. The words I really wanted to say wouldn't come out. After it ended, Shinichi was upset. I sulked in a pit of self-loathing for not speaking the simple truth.