A/N: We got Heiji and Kazuha now! And I think I've got a plot line for both Shugo and Tsukiko. And even though no one reviewed the previous chapter with Sera and co, I'm still happy that you've been reading it!
The third file: Not quite an intermission
Subfile two: Toyama and Hattori
And so, the summer was over and it was the time for the school to resume. For Shugo it meant starting in a new middle school. He hadn't began in the spring when school year had begun, instead he'd had an extended summer break of sorts. Something he'd needed. Change of scenery had been wonderful but also needed once again some adjusting. Shugo had poured all his energy in cultivating his hacker personality and gaining underground reputation. And while he might've hung out with Eisuke time to time, it wasn't… Well, it simply wasn't the same. Yamato said that seeing a person to die changed people. The same went with killing. You always killed a part of yourself.
"Not that I have much left to be killed." The man had laughed. Shugo hadn't. So Yamato had sighed. "Bad joke, eh?"
"Yeah…" Shugo had muttered before starting changing details in backgrounds of himself and his 'relatives'. That was how his summer went. A carefree attitude around Eisuke and the gramps from Okonomiyaki place and Souhei. Midori-go, Night Baron, data, data, data when inside with just him and Yamato.
The final backstory was finally finished. During summer Shugo had had visions of sorts. But not about the future but past, drawn and colored like manga pages. Flashbacks Shugo didn't remember experiencing. When asking about them, Yamato had explained them as the 'world flexing and fluctuating to accommodate him'.
"It happened to me too. I was fifteen. Sharp memories began from when I was eight but the visions filled the gaps from the time prior that… I'm just a creation of your sister's imagination. She made me a back story but it doesn't cover everything, especially when some key parts of it, like Tsubiyama Renkon and the original Midorikawa Shugo are missing. So the world changes around me to accommodate the path I've been creating. Fills plot holes so to say. And the things you've seen in those dreams – memories – are same for everyone involved. You know you weren't actually there to live them, but for others they are real. They mean that this world has accepted you and your presence won't cause major divergences accidentally. It's naturally different if you seek to make changes. What did you see?"
"A beach… Tsukiko and I there as Jade and Lari… No, as Hoshi and Daiki. And the Kudou family and the Akai family were there too. The car falling down a cliff…" It was vague thus far. Maybe he'd later see it more clearly. There were bits that were same to his real past and bits that were purely of this world's creation. Like mother being Japanese and an Interpol agent.
And so Shugo had taken what he'd learnt from 'his past' and integrated it into the backstory he'd been creating for several years. It was an extensive one that wouldn't be found accidentally but bits and pieces when needed. Not enough to make a mystery but to create a veil between pertinent and privacy.
Shugo walked through the doors of Kaihou Middle School and made his way to the principal's office. His new school uniform was still a bit stiff but didn't hinder any of his movement. But using a uniform was still something to get used to. At the office, he received a locker key, timetable and the map of school accompanied by a small brochure of after school clubs. Afterwards, he was escorted to the door of his first class. And then all of the students' eyes were on him as Shugo introduced himself.
"My name is Midorikawa Shugo. Please treat me well." It was formal but honestly Shugo couldn't muster quite yet any energy to make it personal. Besides, this was Japan and this was a first meeting. Impressions and propriety were important. He could show more personality later. The only thing Shugo regretted now was that he couldn't attend the same school than Eisuke. The other boy was living in completely different part of Naniwa-ward.
"There are free seats at the back and with Nishimura-san." The teacher gestured at the students in the room. A boy at the backrow awkwardly raised his hand. He was Nishimura then.
"Thank you." Shugo nodded and made his way to sit next to the boy. He decidedly didn't look at the dark skinned boy and the ponytailed girl sitting next to him as he passed the pair. Shugo had known he'd taken a risk in meeting yet other canon characters when enrolling to Kaihou but unfortunately that had been the closest middle school to his apartment, and besides what were the odds of ending on the same class than the Osaka duo out of the three classes of the same grade? One to three!
But apparently one to three was just enough for Shugo to meet Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha. Well, no one said he had to interact with them. Aside from the laws of anime but pssssh, who cared about those?
The people who decided to crowd his desk right after the lesson ended. Real swell… But Shugo swallowed his irritation and smiled at the girls and boys surrounding him and asking questions.
"Where did you come from?" Nagano.
"Which club have you thought to join in?" Not sure yet.
"Have you got a girlfriend yet?" No.
"Do you have any siblings?" A little sister. Was studying elsewhere.
"Do you like soccer?" It's alright. Prefer basketball though.
"Basketball? What about baseball then?" Not that much.
When the bell rang, signaling the start of the next lesson, Shugo could only sigh in relief.
The week onwards progressed relatively quickly. Yamato got freelance jobs as a photographer for magazines while also working full-time for a courier company. The man's time-management was something amazing that Shugo could only fathom. Meanwhile Shugo had signed up for Kyuudo club. He needed as least some way to keep up with his skills with a bow and arrow even if it wouldn't be quite the same than Yabusame. Shugo also began keeping a help-site for technical problems. Since his knowledge of the computers and other electronics was quite advanced compared to the actually technology as of yet, it was quite easy. And with the combined salary of the two, they managed to splurge a bit. For an electric piano as one.
And with another option for past time than just hacking(which was sometimes stressful), Shugo finally began to relax. For the entire last year Shugo had been quite tense. Feeling of being watched, general paranoia, blood in his hands… It was true that people in the village had been watching after him for a while. Everyone knew he'd been with Kai during the 'accident'. Everyone pitied him. Everyone left him helpless in the swamp of guilt that tried to swallow him. Even yabusame hadn't given Shugo the feeling of freedom when in his focus there were only the arrow and the target. Even now he only decided to keep up with his skills so the time and effort Kai had devoted to teach Shugo, wouldn't go to waste.
With computer, Shugo had always this slight dread that someone would manage to track him down. Because of the mixed state of electronics usage, he couldn't be too sure that someone was much more advanced than pagers and such let it be understood. A true genius so to say. At least Shugo now had the Black Baron to guard him.
But a piano… With the piano, Shugo could just let go. He had headphones over his ears and plugged into the piano as he played. Sometimes quietly, sometimes as loud as he could. Yamato sometimes took another set of headphones and listened too.
And it was also because of the music he got to interact with the Osaka duo. By chance really. Shugo had gone to the library near school to look for some music sheets.
"Yer the new student. Midorikawa-kun, right?" Kazuha had asked him when spotting him. And she'd startled him too.
"Ah, yeah…" Shugo grinned sheepishly after gathering his bearings. "And you were… Toyama-san, right?"
"That's right." Kazuha smiled. "I haven't gotten the chance to talk with you yet. How have you settled here?"
"Just fine. I live one summer in Osaka some year previously so there is some places that I still remember. And I have a friend from back then who's been showing me places." Shugo replied and turned back to the shelf he'd been browsing before the girl had approached him. Maybe he'd pick some Debussy for a change…
"Ah. That's great to hear then. I bet you've already seen the main sights here too."
"Some yes… But if you are offering to show some more that one can't find from mere tourist guide, you are more than welcome to show me." The boy smiled at the girl before picking his chosen sheet book from the shelves. And it was about that time he thought to feel some sort of murderous aura coming from the direction of the junction where many shelves met. Burning hot aura. Obviously from the hot-blooded detective. Shugo turned slowly to face the direction the other boy with a sly smile on his face. "Of course you are welcome to join us, Hattori-kun."
"Heiji! You were listening in?!" Kazuha gasped, whirling around to look at her childhood friend.
"I was not!" The boy protested. "Just passin' by."
"That murderous aura you are emitting says otherwise." Shugo deadpanned.
"The what?"
"Midorikawa-kun, ya can feel auras?"
That was a response Shugo hadn't been expecting. Though considering ho superstitious both Heiji and Kazuha were, believing in auras wasn't that strange. And Shugo had to admit he had been getting weird feeling from people lately. Maybe it was a side-effect for surviving in this world, like Tsukiko had her other two personalities, Kage and Red Moon.
"Well… I suppose." Shugo shrugged. "I don't really think about it since it's like a background buzz. But then sometimes there are stronger ones. You know the saying 'if the look could kill'? That's what I felt from you, Hattori-kun."
Heiji seemed a bit sceptic still but Kazuha clapped her hands together in excitement. "That's amazing!" She announced.
"You think so?" Shugo blinked in surprise.
"Sure." The girl nodded, her ponytail bobbing with the movement of her head.
"That's great and all ta say… But can ya prove it?" Heiji frowned.
"Maybe. I mean, I can try to describe things for you but it's a different matter whether you actually believe me." Shinichi surely wouldn't. "And even if you will believe me I won't start playing a medium."
"Of course not. We can keep a secret. Right, Heiji?" Kazuha gave a look that promised slow and painful death for the boy if he didn't agree.
"Fine then." The boy groused. "But first we'll test it. Ya free to check around with us now?"
"Sure. I'll just check these out." Shugo gestured the music sheets and manga books on his arms.
"Ya play tha piano then?" Kazuha asked when the trio turned to walk to the librarian's desk.
"Yup. I needed something new though so I came here."
"Are ya any good?"
"Kinda."
The three middle schoolers made their way to the Gansen-ji temple which was relatively close by and could be reached by foot easily.
"We could go to Festivalgate sometime." Kazuha suggested as they walked toward the rock garden in the shrine. "I guess you haven't been there, Midorikawa-kun."
"No, I haven't. Actually the last time I went to an amusement park was… eight years ago I guess." Shugo mused. "And you can call me Shugo. We are going to see each other for the next few years anyways."
"Enough chit-chattin'! Time for tha test." Heiji announced. "This rock garden, what do ya sense from it, Midorikawa?"
Shugo gave an amused look at the boy before sobering and turning to face the garden. Now that it had been pointed out to him, there was something. Something that he'd normally ignore since this was an old trace. The boy slowly crouched on the wooden porch area that surrounded the one of the buildings. There was sort of dark shadow lying on the gravel that usually was carefully patterned. The gravel was still undisturbed in reality but that something Shugo could just barely see was different. Human shaped with a monk's robes. Unmoving.
Shugo licked his dry lips before speaking. "A monk died here. A long time ago." He stated quietly, like respecting the place's significance for other reason than its significance for Shinto religion. "Hit his head on that stone over there." He pointed at one of the stone's which was situated near where the ghost's head was. "But it wasn't… It was just an accident. If it had been intentional, murder or suicide the image would be darker…"
"…Wow." Kazuha breathed. "That was amazing, just like otou-san told me… He investigated this accident at first as a murder. It was years ago."
"Is that so?" Shugo gave a faint smile to the girl and got back on his feet. "Does that satisfy you Hattori-kun?" While the Osakan might've decided to forgo the pleasantries with Shugo, it didn't mean he had to do the same.
"Quite impressive." Heiji admitted slowly. "One more thing though…" The boy dug into the neckline of his school uniform and fished out an omamori. It was old and looked handmade but while worn, it was taken care of and obviously cherished. And even without those observations, Shugo would've known what it was. Now though… "Tell me what you can see from his."
Behind Shugo, Kazuha was slightly blushing. Ah, with his senses open he could feel the waves of embarrassment coming from the girl. Pre-teens. She'd have very different attitude when she hit high-school. But Shugo just tilted his head and scrutinized the omamori. Just what he could feel and not the stuff he remembered from reading the manga.
"It has a twin-pair. I can feel it behind me. Toyama-chan's?" Shugo began. There indeed was one. They both had the same protective glow around them that was seeping into the wearer's skin. Huh, this was quite interesting really.
"Hai. And ya can call me Kazuha." The girl squeaked.
"Alright." Shugo smiled despite the glare Heiji was aiming at him again. He refocused on the omamori in front of him again. "There is a… memory? Something humorous linked to it. Probably something inside the omamori." But one shouldn't open the lucky charm or all the luck would escape. "That's all I can say though."
"That was… impressive. And something ya couldn't have just found out like with tha accident in this temple." Heiji nodded finally.
"Glad to have your approval." Shugo deadpanned. "Can I go now? Yamato-niisan has probably dinner ready for me."
"…Why don't ya come with us? Okan is probably waitin' for us and knows Kazuha's comin' anyways." Heiji spoke up then.
"Sure. I just need to call Yamato-niisan."
On the way to the Hattori residence from the station in Neyagawa, Shugo had a chance to think about his newly-found ability. When he really thought about it, it probably began shortly after being released from the hospital. After Kai's death/murder. Maybe all the paranoia and fear he felt wasn't just his imagination but shadows of things past. And maybe Shugo had subconsciously blocked them. Maybe. And when in Osaka the boy finally relaxed and started to notice things. Things that he still could block when needed. To be honest, it was all quite interesting.
"Here we are." Heiji told them(well, Shugo only since Kazuha had visited the place many times before). Shugo looked up at the great gates and his mouth fell open. He'd forgotten that the Hattori residence was this big and of the traditional Japanese style. Yeah, it could be seen at the beginning of the Tiger Scroll case but that was just one case in the midst of numerous others. The only other private residence of similar style that Shugo had visited was that of Tatsuo's but that was in the forests of Nagano and not in the middle of Osaka.
"Oh, wow…"
"I really like Heiji's place." Kazuha smiled at Shugo's expression as they walked through the gate to the garden and then to the house.
"I think I like this place too."
"Tadaima!" Heiji called inside the house and began taking off his shoes. "Kazuha can show ya where the slippers are. I'll go ta tell okan that yer here too."
"Ah, alright."
Heiji pattered deeper to the house while Kazuha took guest slipper for herself and Shugo. All the while muttering about Heiji's lack of manners.
"Ah, Kazuha-chan. And Shugo-kun was it?" Hattori Shizuka appeared to the hallway in her regal beauty and neat kimono. Shugo knew right then and there that he'd get along with her.
"Yes, Hattori-san. My name is Midorikawa Shugo." The boy smiled and gave a bow. "Nice to meet you."
"Welcome. You can leave your backpacks in Heiji's room. I think he already went ahead… Just up the stairs and along the corridor. I trust Kazuha-chan can show you the way."
"Sure thing, Shizuka-obasan!" Kazuha nodded next to Shugo. "Come along, Midorikawa-kun."
"You can just call me Shugo." The boy said when he went to follow the girl. "Ah, Hattori-san…" He turned around a bit after passing the woman.
"Hai?"
"Could I please borrow the phone? I need to call niisan and tell him not to wait for me."
"Sure. The house phone is just opposite direction than the stairs in this floor." Shizuka smiled.
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Hattori-san." Shugo bowed quickly again before hurrying after his new friend.
Shugo left his bag to Heiji's room and made his way back to downstairs. The smell of food was already waffling in the air. That of delicious food even. Shugo's stomach growled as he picked the landline from its cradle and dialed their own home number. He had learnt it by heart as soon as it was installed.
"Moshi, moshi? Ishikawa speaking…" Yamato answered a bit after the dialtone. The TV was playing on the background.
"Shugo here." The boy spoke.
"Aa… Where are you Shugo? I was about to start eating soon. Unfortunately just cup ramen. Got a tiring day at work…"
"I'm at friend's place, niisan. I borrowed their phone." Shugo intentionally used the honorific to indicate that someone might be listening in to their conversation. He'd seen in comics that when using a landline, someone could pick a phone connected to the same number and thus listen in the conversation.
"Yeah, the number didn't look like one from payphone… You staying there for dinner then?"
"Un. Hattori-kun has praised his mother's cooking."
"Hattori… now where have I heard that name before?" There was some noises on the background, telling that Yamato had opened one of the cupboards and was trying to open the ramen onehandedly. Bloody multitasker…
"You've probably heard the name from TV…" Shugo said in mock-deep in thought. Outside he heard a car door being slammed shut. It seemed the master of the house was coming home now too. Well, it was well into the dinnertime.
"Ah! The chief-of-police! Of course it was a familiar name… One of those…" The man didn't say any more about the topic. 'Hattori' was one of the names mentioned in the Organization on the list of people 'not-to-cross'. If you did, you were killed before you could be arrested. In a way such a high profile target that was un-corruptible was protected simply by the Organization's self-protective instinct. If a whole group of people could have instincts…
There was a sound of something sliding along a countertop and the clattering on the floor followed by Yamato's cursing.
"Stop multitasking, Yamato-nii. You just mess things up." Shugo deadpanned.
"Brat…" Yamato growled with a fond undertone. "Fine, fine. You go have fun with friends. Tell me everything when you get back… Or do you want me to come and pick you up?"
"Ah…" Now that Shugo thought about it, he wasn't quite sure how to get back home… He'd gone to school, library, that temple all in Naniwa-ku of Osaka and then Hattori residence that was in Neyagawa, a city in Osaka prefecture but on in the city of Osaka itself. "If Yamato-nii could come and pick me up, it'd be great… Ehehe…" If this was the time of smartphones, Shugo could've found the route by himself.
"Alright… Call me at least an hour before you want to be picked up and tell me the address. I doubt you have it at hand currently… Now where's that broom?"
"Okay, see ya, niisan. And the broom is where it usually is: in the closet for cleaning supplies."
"Thanks. Jaa ne."
"Jaa ne." Shugo hung up the phone and placed it back to the cradle. He turned around then…
And jumped in surprise when he saw Hattori Heizo standing at the other end of the corridor.
"You are Heiji's friend, right? Shizu mentioned you."
"Hai. Midorikawa Shugo desu. Yoroshiku." Shugo bowed.
"Hattori Heizo. Yoroshiku." The man inclined his head. "Why don't you go get Heiji and Kazuha-kun; the dinner is just about done."
"Sure." Shugo waited until the man turned to go to the dining room before hurrying into the stairs. Damn, the man was intimidating. Just had this… aura of respect. Not one that Shugo could sense but one that just was there was everyone to notice. And while Shugo was tall, taller than Heiji even, Heizo seemed to tower over him.
The food was delicious. Shugo didn't remember when was the last time he'd eaten something so good. Yeah, Yukiko's food was great but it didn't even compare to Shizuka's. And while Shugo didn't chomp it down, his appreciation must have been visible on his face.
"Do take some more." Shizuka urged the boy.
"Sure. Thank you, Shizuka-basan." Shugo nodded back, addressing the woman as asked. "This is really delicious."
"Told ya. Okan's cooking is the best." Heiji stated smugly.
"How's your family, Shugo-kun? You mentioned a brother…" Shizuka asked then, verbally but gently rolling over her son.
"Umm… Yamato-niisan has been taking care of me since I started school. He is a family friend. Kaasan and Tousan are working aboard still." Shugo told her and the rest of the dinner company. When he'd gotten those dreams of his supposed past, he'd deleted almost everything he'd written thus far. And deleting was made with the help of Night Baron. "I have a sister too but she isn't living with us."
"I see. Have you enjoyed Osaka then?"
"Yes. It's partly same and partly different than Tokyo, but I like it here."
"Shugo-kun joined the kyuudo club and I hear he is one of the best there." Kazuha added.
And so the conversation flowed. It didn't even feel like an interrogation like Shugo had feared. He learnt things about his new friends(for example the story behind the omamoris) while giving bits and pieces about his own background too. And from a mutual and silent decision, the three pre-teens kept mum about Shugo's ability to feel the auras. It was still a bit uncertain thing and needed more exploring.
A wall clock chimed, indicating 7 o'clock.
"Ah, I needed to call Yamato-nii about the address…" Shugo realized. The time had slipped out of his hands. He turned towards Shizuka and Heizo. "Could I…?"
"Why don't I take you home? It's quite late after all and it isn't certain your guardian will find here that quickly." Heizo offered then.
"You'd really? Thank you very much."
And thus began Shugo's connection with the Hattori family. This time Yamato decided to stay in the sidelines but seemed to receive a reluctant approval of both Heizo and Toyama Ginshiro. Especially when Shugo's home was closer to school, Heiji and Kazuha took to hanging out there occasionally. Which lead Heiji commenting and then mentioning to Shizuka Yamato's poor cooking skills and both her and Kazuha's mother deciding to give cooking lessons to the man on weekends. Lessons to which Shugo and Kazuha both attended with Heiji acting as a test-taster.
Other 'new' activity in Shugo's life was cases. Heiji had the curse of Shinigami obviously. It wasn't as bad as the one haunting the Kudou family but there was at least one body in a week, which led to a call to the police station and most often than not Otaki Goro arriving with his team to solve the case. With Heiji and Shugo assisting. Shugo could usually see who the culprit was and where the murder weapon was, if it had been concealed or put in pieces, but he usually refused to tell Heiji.
"Why?" The Osakan boy had groused once.
"You need to put the pieces together by yourself. Otherwise you won't learn. And just because I can see who the culprit is, it doesn't mean they can be arrested. Evidence, ya know?" Shugo answered promptly. "My testimony won't hold on court. It is a tool, just like your wits are."
A/N: And cut! I'm relatively happy with this chapter. I got to introduce people once more. I just hope we'd see more of Heiji's parents. Heizo was so difficult to write so eventually I didn't give him much to say.
So yeah, Shugo had feel auras. It's sort of a sixth sense for him. And since Haibara can feel BO people I don't think Shugo's ability is that far off. Especially when other people can sense murderous glares too and Akako exists in this world.
Shugo's dreams. Those will be explaned better with time but the basic premise is that even if Shugo and Tsukiko both are from other world, they didn't start existing out of nothing. I mean their bodies are still in their original world!
And yeah, I've got something like plot for both Shugo and Tsukiko by now. I can't wait for their first meeting again. And everything else afterwards. BTW, do you think I should merge these two fics afterwards into one. Or continue them separately?
AND BTW! I've still got the forum for this fic. Feel free to discuss about things. I can try to put links for my art in there too. Just add this after the basic part
/forum/Leaping-into-a-Dream/190714/
Thank you!