Disclaimer: Gosho Aoyoma owns Detective Conan… not me… unfortunately… though I can't see how he'd be very happy coming up with scenarios with people dying constantly. /
So summer is coming and I'll be able to write like crazy soon… last summer I updated every day. OO That is amazing now that I look back on it… but please bear with me… almost there!
Silent Life
Chapter Six
----
-------
"We're what? Are you sure, Genta?" the disbelief (and slight annoyance) in Conan's voice was not at all hidden, and yet, the slightly… dull boy didn't notice it and merely continued on excitedly.
"Yeah! We're having one of those… cultury festivy things!" Genta jumped up and down, excited.
"Genta-kun! It's a cultural festival," Ayumi corrected, placing her hands on her hips. "And sensei said that our class would be doing a play on…"
All three of the detective boys jumped forward, their arms opened up wide, "Sherlock Holmes!"
"Eh!" Conan's jaw dropped, and Haibara stood next to him, trying to keep from laughing out loud. "Sherlock Holmes! Uso!"
Conan's POV
"Hey… Kudou… you don't suppose… they're serious…?" the auburn-haired girl leaned over, whispering into the young detective's ear. "I mean… this is elementary school… right? I mean… they don't have cultural festivals for elementary schoolers… especially a full… all-out play... but then I wouldn't know… I've never gone to elementary school before… let alone junior high."
Conan leaned over towards Haibara as well, so that their faces nearly touched, never noticing the pink stain growing on her cheeks, "I don't know about the play thing… they might have those… I don't remember. But I'm sure that we don't have cultural festivals…"
"Edogawa-kun! Haibara-san!" the teacher rapped on their connecting desks with her ruler. "While I understand that you two are the top students in this class… (she, however, failed to mention that they were the top students in the school)… it does not give you the right to daydream and to flirt while I'm teaching a lesson!"
"… gomen nasai, sensei…" the two students mumbled, bowing their heads, trying their best to actually appear as if they were ashamed of themselves.
Nodding to herself, the teacher turned around and walked back to the front of the room. "Besides," she smiled at the small children in the room. "None of you would want to miss this!" She picked up a large board and set it up onto her desk, standing up, so that the students could see. "Perhaps some of you have heard… for the first time ever… elementary schools will be having a mini cultural festival… a joint one to the high school's! Now… won't that be fun?"
And the children replied like children should… "Yay!" "What's a cultry fan?" "Does that mean we'll become movie stars?"
The two… older… children however… sat in their seats, trying not to believe that such an idiotic thing could actually occur… and that they actually had to be… a part of it.
"A cultural festival," the woman began explaining very carefully and meticulously to her students. "Is a sort of big party and presentation that the school gives to parents and other people in the area… it's also a good way to raise money… but you kids don't have to worry about that. Just think of it like… like the spring carnival… except in our school!"
And the innocent children cheered… except for the two, which remain most important.
Haibara and Conan exchanged worried looks.
Conan was about to turn back towards the front to hear what the teacher was saying before he stopped and stared at Haibara. She was now facing the other way, but he continued staring at her side view.
… had she just shown… emotion to him? … worry even?
As if she had read his mind, the wideness of her eyes disappeared instantly, but she kept her gaze focused on the front, not daring to look at him. The surprised 'o' of her mouth creased into the passive yet cold line that was commonly seen on her face, and even the warm air around her seemed to cool off a little as she slowly regained her composure.
… and he found himself disappointed by the fact that he no longer had access to viewing some of her emotions…. For just a minute… he could understand her… even if only a little.
"Looks like Yoshida-san, Mitsuihiko, and Genta-kun were correct… look," she raised a small, slender finger, and it pointed at the large board the teacher had placed on the table. Conan's eyes followed Haibara's finger and continued on in the same direction until they fell onto the large and evil smile on the teacher's face.
"We, class, will be doing an extremely important part of the festival… we will be doing a play…" the woman stopped, pausing to take a breath and build tension. "On Sherlock Holmes… with a twist, of course!" The teacher winked…
And the children cheered.
And Conan and Haibara… both smacked their heads on their desks at the same time… both resulting in a rather large bump (Conan's slightly larger than Haibara's), and both of them being, once again, reprimanded by the teacher.
"Really…" she put her hands on her hips. "What has gotten into the two of you today… this will be your last warning, Haibara-san, Edogawa-kun."
"Hai… sensei…"
The teacher shook her head before returning to her table and pointing at the board. "See this, class? I've covered the names at the top with a strip of paper, but this is the way that we're going to decide roles in the play!" She laughed maniacally before pointing at the bottom of the board. "This is where each of you put your names… and the lines in the middle will connect them to another name on top… that way, none of you will know what role you get! But don't worry… you'll have plenty of time to practice your lines… the festival isn't until June!"
And the children "Ooohed and Aaahed…"
The two 'children' in question… groaned. They exchanged looks as if complaining to each other. "Next June? That's six months away… how long is this going to take?"
"Now each of you come up here… and write your name down. Starting with… Ayumi-chan… now Genta-kun… Mitsuhiko-kun… Renna-chan… Reika… Haibara-san… Conan-kun…"
Conan smirked inwardly as he noted how even the teacher call Haibara "Haibara-san". Such a term of respect for a young child could only be given to someone as… sophisticated and… cool as Haibara.
They returned from writing their names on the board of doom and sat quietly in their seats… as if sensing, with dread, what role they would be given.
"Since we'll be playing the story… A Scandal in Bohemia, there will be three main characters… the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, the beautiful opera singer, Irene Adler, and, of course, Dr. Watson," the teacher smiled at the class before bending down and slowly stripping the piece of paper with the character names under it off.
"I don't see why you don't the like the idea of being a part of this play… you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes?" Haibara's voice ground against the inner cogs of his mind. In short, her sarcasm was getting to him.
Conan turned to respond when he heard the teacher speak.
"Oh! How fitting… our very own detective… Conan-kun will be playing Sherlock Holmes!"
He was torn between being happy… and crying because of the unfairness of it all. He had to play the main character in an elementary school play?
"But then again… you are Japan's very own Sherlock Holmes, right, Kudou?" she smirked. "It's not as if you-"
The teacher's voice once again interrupted their conversation. "Ah! And look at this… Haibara-san will make a wonderful opera singer!"
The tiny girl froze. Slowly… ever so slowly… she turned to face the front of the room, her eyes fixing upon the big, bold letters of Irene Adler at the top… with a line connecting her name to it.
Veins began forming on her head as she heard Conan desperately try to suppress his laughter.
"Oh… and the 'twist' we'll be putting into this will be… that Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler fall in love! Won't that be interesting?"
The girls sighed happily… the boys groaned… but Conan and Haibara…
"This can not… be happening."
Haibara's POV
"Oi… Haibara! … Haibara!" (Didn't think I'd let it end there, did you? XD)
"What. Is. It?" she turned and stared piercingly at him. Each one of her words were stressed, and carried a non-all-too friendly edge to them. Apparently, what had happened earlier in class today… was all his fault?
He shrugged and began walking beside her. Answering her questioning gaze, he sighed, "I asked hakase to recharge my skateboard."
The glare on her face began fading, and her mouth dipped into a small frown, but Conan took no notice of this. The lively flush of her cheeks also disappeared into nothingness… she was once again the pale, cool, emotionless ex-Black Organization member she normally was… but Conan didn't notice.
But then again… its not as if he ever notices…
"I can't believe that we have to do a play and a movie version of Sherlock Holmes… that blasted woman even altered the story! How dare she ruin Doyle's wonderful masterpiece!" he grumbled as the two of them walked towards Haibara's home. She may only have been living there for a little over a year… but it was still home to her.
Of course… Sir Arthur Conan Doyle… Sherlock Holmes… his idol would have him more preoccupied than I would…
As soon as the thought entered Haibara's mind she felt like slapping herself. Since when had she become a lovesick good-for-nothing? She may no longer be a part of the deadly band of criminals, but she still had her pride.
"Hey Kudou…" she stopped walking, causing him to pause and turn back towards her in slight confusion.
Conan raised one of his eyebrows and stared hard at the girl… no… the woman in front of him. "Yes?"
"I… I need to tell you something…"
"Haibara…?"
"I… I…"
…..
To be Continued…
Yes… Conan/Haibara fans eat your hearts out… things are beginning to heat up. (finally) But yet, you can come track me down and murder me in my sleep since I left you like that. Guess what Haibara's going to do? She's on the verge of telling him something very important. XD
I wrote a longer chapter than normal to make up for the late update… wait two more weeks guys! Summer is coming and I'll have nothing but writing fanfiction to do!
REVVVVVVVVVVVVIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!
uso - in this case, "you're lying"
hakase - professor