Aoko stepped into the stadium and stopped at the top, panting as she looked around. She had missed the train here and had barely made it to the Karate Regional Championships in time. It seemed that Ran was the one competing, judging by the distinctive triangle. She had arrived just in time to see her to land a kick to the abdomen.
"One point. She wins," she muttered to herself. And now she just had to wait for the cheering to tell where the others were. As if on cue she heard Sonoko's voice and smirked as she made her way over.
"Amazing, amazing. Ran is amazing," Sonoko cheered.
"Hmph. It's a piece of cake for her. It's because she gets her competitive spirit from me," Mouri Kogoro boasted. She snorted. It seemed like the old man wasn't wasting any opportunity.
"I pray she doesn't inherit the habit of being carried away and then get run over by reality from you," a distinctly feminine voice sounded. Aoko sweatdropped. So Eri-obaasan was here too. She stepped in before they could start arguing.
"I don't think you have to worry about that with Ran," she said, taking a seat beside Eri.
"Hey you! Where have you been all this time?" Sonoko accused. "It's the finals right now,"
Aoko scratched her cheek, "Sorry, sorry. Kaito said he was busy today so he couldn't drop me so I had to run here."
"Isn't this place at least five kilometers from your house?" Sonoko sweatdropped.
Aoko shrugged, "Which is why I ran," indicating her still short breathing. It had taken her nearly half an hour to reach and she had sprinted the last part. It had only just started to even out.
'Karate fanatics and their ridiculous stamina,' Sonoko thought.
Aoko glanced down instead. At least she had made it for the most important part. She was going to talk to Kaito later about canceling plans suddenly, especially since he was friends with Ran, too. What did he even have to do on a Saturday morning? From below she saw Ran look up and heave of sigh of relief when she saw her. She shook her head, silly girl, of course she came to cheer her on.
Aoko looked around, "By the way, where's Shinichi?" She hadn't caught a glimpse of her cousin since she'd arrived and she knew for sure that Shinichi was here. Ran would have dragged him even if he hadn't been invested. But there wasn't a hint of that distinctive cowlick.
Sonoko waved a hand, "Oh him, he got a call from the police. They're probably calling him in for a case."
She sweatdropped, "Ran isn't going to like that." No, it would be accurate to say she would hate it. Mouri Ran was a sweet, wonderful girl most of the time, but she was also a gifted martial artist and wasn't afraid to use that talent.
Sonoko, it seemed, had forgone Shinichi's fate in favor of supporting her friend. "Ran, do your best at the final battle," Sonoko stood and shouted at Ran's retreating back. "Come on, you encourage her too."
Aoko rolled her eyes, but cupped her hands, "Ran, you better win this thing."
The three around her sweatdropped, 'Why does that sound like a threat?'
"The final sparring match between female martial artists is about to begin,"The voice of the announcer blared over the gym.
"He's not seriously going to miss this, is he?" Aoko glanced around the gym. There wasn't a sign of Shinichi. She would have thought that even if he had a case, the police could wait until the end of the match.
"It just goes to show how similar you two are," Sonoko teased.
"At least I'm here!"
"One comes late and the other leaves early," Sonoko shrugged.
Aoko sweatdropped, 'That isn't the same at all.'
"Oh well, it looks like both your boyfriends are equally unreliable," Sonoko switched topics.
"How did you even get there anyway?" Aoko asked dryly. One moment Sonoko had been teasing her about her similarity to Shinichi and the next she had switched to her favorite subject. The speed and ease of her jump had Aoko almost jealous. It was a wonderful ability for an author.
Sonoko pouted, "Mou, it's not any fun teasing you. You never react."
"That's why I don't," she said dryly.
"Still, Ran is going to be furious when she finds out," Aoko sighed as the final match began. "Well, nothing we can do about it." And she wouldn't be the one thrown into the furnace.
She crossed her arms as the match began, with both girls bouncing on the balls of their feet. Her eyes narrowed, watching both intently.
"Aoko, if you continue to look so serious your face will stay that way," Sonoko poked her side.
"I can't help it when it comes to a match," she complained. "It's the best way to read your opponent and find out how to counter them," she said as Ran aimed a kick at the other girl, who dodged.
"Yes, yes, continue the same way, Ran," she heard Kogoro encourage beside her.
Her eyes narrowed, as the match went on and the difference between the two became apparent. The one in red was calm, smiling even. It was clear she was concentrated and clear minded. Ran, though, was beginning to get frustrated with her inability to carry through her attacks and becoming overly emotional. If this continued she would lose her ability to think clearly and would attack with abandon. Her frown increased when Ran fell to one knee as the other girl attacked. And moments later, driven back.
"Calm down, Ran" she muttered. If she couldn't keep a clear head then she would lose despite being the more powerful fighter.
'It's the weakness of every fighter, but you especially need to be able to think clearly.' Ran was a powerful fighter, but her strength was also her greatest weakness. Not for lack of it but because it was connected to her emotions. If Ran was feeling down then her performance would also go down.
If she didn't regain her cool she would lose. She eyed the match as it resumed and given the change in intensity, or rather how both girls were giving back in equal measure, it seemed Ran had managed to regain some of her cool.
But it wasn't enough. She crossed her legs. Objectively speaking, Ran was a better fighter than the girl in red. But, she was also a very hot-blooded person, and someone who was likely to feel the pulse of the match rather than see it. If the other girl managed to get Ran off balance again she would gain victory.
'The first opponent every master must defeat is their own mind.'
Ran was driven to the edge of the sparring area. All eyes were riveted on the match, from the apprehensive ones on her side to the delighted eyes of her opponent's supporters.
"Geez, what are you doing Ran?" Aoko muttered. She looked up in surprise when she heard Sonoko exclaim the very same, though much louder. "Fighting spirit! Spirit! Will power! Guts! Lots of Guts!"
She made a face, "What are you doing, Sonoko?" Though, she supposed it wouldn't hurt to hear a bit of encouragement. It was too bad Shinichi wasn't here as well, even if he would never have shouted encouragement like Sonoko.
Speak of the devil, her eyes caught on a figure in blue at the very edge of the stadium, near the exit. So he hadn't left after all. His waving caught Ran's attention, and she leaned forward to read his lips as Ran did.
"Jiken," she read out loud. "That idiot." Well, he certainly had guts to say it to her face.
She winced when she saw the expression on Ran's face and the way Shinichi bolted out. She needed to calm down not get angrier.
As the aura around Ran grew, she tilted her head. She knew how powerful Ran was when she was angry. And she was hotblooded… there was a reason people said that was when she was the most terrifying, after all. Aoko rested her head on her hand, elbow pressed into the armrest. And indeed, within moments of them once again sparring, Ran had taken the lead, this time overpowering the other girl. It was almost anticlimactic how quickly the match had ended given the way it was going before. Even the referee looked surprised. Considering how she had won, Aoko supposed she couldn't blame him.
After the match had concluded, the entire group had gone down to congratulate Ran, exchanging hugs and congratulations. Immediately afterwards though, Ran's parents had gone their separate ways, with Eri-san going back to work and Kogoro-ojiisan heading off to a case. The three girls had decided to celebrate, per tradition, after Ran had showered and changed.
Coming back, the three walked down the streets together, towards Sonoko's house. As usual, the butler greeted them when they entered.
"Welcome home Sonoko-sama. Welcome, Mouri-sama. Nakamori-sama," he bowed.
As they passed through the hallway Sonoko and Ran gushed about the cheese tarts, "I ordered two boxes so we could all have enough,"
"Eh? But they don't allow people to make more than one order," Ran gushed.
"That's the Suzuki family for you," Aoko rolled her eyes as Sonoko grinned triumphantly, "Oi, oi, don't look so proud, you little knucklehead." And with that Aoko rubbed her knuckles against Sonoko's head as Ran tried to hold in her laugh. When Sonoko managed to escape Ran couldn't help but burst out laughing as Aoko ran after her. Soon the walls echoed the sounds of their laughter as the three ran down the halls they knew as well as their own homes.
"Are you sure it's okay for us to be loud though?" Ran asked nervously, suddenly realizing Sonoko's parents might have guests over.
"Don't worry, after last time my parents made sure I know when they have important people over," she waved away.
Aoko grinned and nudged Ran impishly, "Besides, even if we did get in trouble we have Ran with us so Tomoko-obaasan will let us off lightly,"
Sonoko grinned beside her, "Right, right."
Ran sighed, "Mou, you two are hopeless," she said as the two exchanged grins.
"That's why we have you, Ran. The model of what we should have been," Aoko exclaimed as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Our guardian angel," Sonoko added.
"Does that mean I should be harder on the two of you?" her eyes twitched.
Aoko immediately assuaged her, "Please don't. We already have your mom and Sonoko's mom for that."
"And Yukiko-san, sometimes," Sonoko added. Aoko shuddered, remembering a particular incident from her childhood.
As they were talking Sonoko drew them towards her room. It was a giant room with several large windows that allowed natural light to flood it. The three sat on her bed as usual, talking and laughing as they always had. Aoko reached over and placed the cheese tarts on the table near the bed.
"Eh, that's right," Ran suddenly realized, "How did you manage to find Shinichi and me anyway?"
Aoko raised a hand and responded dryly, "She found me first and decided to track you down, too,"
Sonoko shoved her hand down, "Enough of that. Let's dig in," she brought the box down in between them. Ran took the seat to her left at the table. Aoko took the remaining seat as Sonoko sat down.
"And the first order of business," Sonoko clapped her hands, drawing their attention. "Congratulations to Ran for winning the championships!"
"Eh? No, no, it's fine," Ran tried to protest, blushing at the second round of congratulations.
"You're already blushing?" Aoko smirked at her, poking a finger into her cheek. "Careful, if all the blood rushes to your face too quickly, you might just faint."
"Mou, enough already," Ran tried to glare but the redness of her face ruined the effect.
"Hai, hai. Open your present," Sonoko enthused, pushing a wrapped object into her hands.
"You didn't have to buy anything for me," Ran protested.
Aoko huffed and shoved it to her, "Of course we didn't. But we wanted to. Now hurry up and open it."
Ran sighed, but took it, though she merely gazed at it for several moments. "Hurry up and open it," Aoko nudged Ran. The girl nudged her back playfully before carefully unwrapping it, causing Sonoko to impatiently order her to get on with it.
"A bag?" Ran held up the insides. "And it's a nice one too."
Sonoko grinned mischievously, "Yup, and it was designed just for you. There's even a little compass attached if you get lost."
Aoko smirked as Ran threw a pillow from the nearby sofa at Sonoko. "Hey, be careful of the cheese tarts," she warned.
"Why is it attached like that, Sonoko?" Aoko asked curiously. Rather than a part of the bag, it was separate, attached to a chain.
"Ah, I was going to give the compass as a consolation prize if you lost," Sonoko explained sheepishly. Aoko raised an eyebrow, smirk widening as Ran blushed.
"You really are something else, Sonoko," Aoko shook her head. Then she leaned over and picked up the bag that she had laid on the chair closest to the bed and withdrew her own gift.
She handed it over to Ran, who was about to open it, but she stopped her with a hand, "Before you open it, I want you to know that I'm calling in that promise you made when you lost the bet we made when we graduated middle school."
"You're calling that in now?" Sonoko gaped. It was so far back that she had completely forgotten about it. For her to bring it up now made Sonoko anticipate just what the bag contained.
"Why do I feel like it isn't anything good?" Ran narrowed her eyes at Aoko. Having practically grown up with her she knew that the other girl had a fondness for trolling others. She thought it had be inspired, at least in part, by Kudo Yukiko (which was true, though she had forgotten to take into account every other influence in the trio's childhood).
Aoko merely grinned back at her, "Open it." Ran eyed her suspiciously before turning back to the present and she threw Sonoko a smirk over the other girl's head. Sonoko's eyes widened when she saw her expression before she gained a smirk of her own. That particular smile was one the two shared, mostly because it was the one they got when they were teasing Ran and Shinichi, usually about each other.
Carefully opening the wrapping, Ran was surprised when inside was a simple box and opened the lid… to reveal a T-shirt. Giving her a confused look, Ran unfurled the shirt. And promptly blushed.
Sonoko took one look at the shirt and threw her head back laughing. Ran tried to glare at Aoko but it was ruined by her face trying to imitate a tomato.
It was a simple white shirt, but the image on the front was what had caused the fuss. In all his printed glory, Kudo Shinichi stood as proudly as ever with one hand extended and his famous catchphrase printed on the side.
It had been rather surprising to see Shinichi's face on a shirt, but she supposed that given his popularity it wasn't surprising. She had even seen some Kaitou Kid memorabilia lying innocuously around the store. Given the thief's ambition to make up for lost time she guessed that it was a wise business decision.
"I want you to wear that on your date to Tropical Land with Shinichi," Aoko smirked at the look on Ran's face. Sonoko was still trying to get her breath back.
"I- you-he-" she was too flustered to speak and Aoko finally took pity on her.
"It's okay, you can tell Shinichi I made you wear it," she said mock sympathetically. "But you still have to wear it."
"It's brilliant," Sonoko praised between gasps. Ran ignored them both.
"I was going to give you an Emilio shirt I saw but I thought you would like this more," she smirked.
"You should have just bought me the Emilio shirt. I can't wear this in front of Shinichi," Ran wailed. She would die of embarrassment if she had to wear this on their day at Tropical Land.
"A bet is a bet, Ran-chan," Aoko shrugged. Sonoko was still struggling to stop her snickering when she suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right, I have something for you too, Aoko," she stood up and moved to the table where she had kept a box and brought it back to the bed.
"A karate uniform?" She questioned, taking a look at the box.
Seeing her confused face, Sonoko explained, "Yeah. We designed a uniform for the two of you. You can't wear it in official matches but we thought you would still like to use it for training. It's better fabric and it's easier to move in. I even had a small part in the design."
Aoko blinked but accepted the present, "Thanks."
Ran smothered a smirk when she saw Aoko cluelessly accept the present. She had happened to be checking over the design of the uniform the other day when she had come across Sonoko's addition. Knowing Aoko, she wouldn't bother to do the same before wearing it and so would miss the message on the back of her collar.
She wished she could be there for when Aoko did realize what it said though. Or see the look on Kaito-kun's face when he read the small script.
Revenge truly was a dish best served cold.
Aoko stepped into the Kudo mansion and headed straight for the library. Even if it had been a long time since she had stayed behind these walls, she knew it intimately. Especially the library.
The library was most likely the most beloved room in the Kudo manor. It was filled with books of all sizes and shapes, and all mystery books. Or at least most of them. With his career as a novelist, Yusaku often ventured into the fields he included in his novels to bring an air of reality to them and the after effects of his research loitered in the library.
It was a large room, the largest in the entire manor. Even as a little girl she had always loved the way the walls towered over her, every nook and cranny filled with books. She had spent countless hours in here reading.
She loved the quiet atmosphere, the way the rows of shelved books added an erudite air to the room. Even with the desk, she had spent most of her time on the floor, spread out on her side with a good book by her side, often with Shinichi accompanying her.
A small grin crossed her lips. They had been odd kids. Where others would have preferred going out to play the two of them had been content to laze around in the library reading and discussing the realistic probability of the novels they read. Or at least until Yukiko-obaasan kicked them out and ordered them to get some sunlight.
She set her bag down on the desk and moved over to the shelves, picking up a book. It was one of her uncle's older books, before his famous Night Baron series. Still, it had always been one of her favorites since it was the first mystery novel she had ever read. In an effort to make sure she got into bed on time, her father had read the book to her, one chapter a night. What he didn't know was that she had been too impatient to wait for the next day and so had secretly brought a flashlight with her and spent the rest of the night reading.
Aoko sat down in the chair and opened it. She had originally come over because Yusaku had told her that he had left some manuscripts and some old documents for her to look over but reading for an hour or so wouldn't hurt anyone. And Shinichi was still on his date with Ran so it wasn't like she would surprise him.
She sat curled up on the chair with her favorite book in hand. Yes, a few hours wouldn't hurt anyone. And she spent them blissfully, only getting up to make herself a cup of coffee. She knew Shinichi, despite his own obsession with the drink, wouldn't mind. And she had practically been living here at one point.
It was a loud explosion that startled her enough to make her knock her coffee mug off the desk. Luckily, she had finished the drink while it was still hot, and managed to catch it before it hit the floor.
"Agasa-Hakase," she sighed. She wondered what it meant that any explosion, fire, or loud noise could immediately be attributed to the eccentric scientist, and usually correctly.
Sighing, she closed the book and left in on the desk beside the mug. This explosion was one of his bigger ones and he had most likely injured himself, either in the explosion or the aftermath.
And so, it was as she stepped through the gate that she saw a rather interesting sight. Hakase was there, but there seemed to be a little boy near him as well. Oddly, he seemed to be wearing clothes that were much too big for him. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed that they were the same ones Shinichi had been wearing for his date with Ran.
"Agasa-hakase?" she asked, closing the gate behind her. "And who's this?" She nodded at the boy beside her.
The old man rubbed the back of his head, "Actually, I don't know either. He was here when I, er, had an accident and he keeps on saying he's Shinichi."
"What." Her tone was so flat it could hardly even be considered a question. Shinichi winced. He knew that tone well, though it was usually directed at Kuroba. Either way, it didn't bode well for anyone who didn't wish to have a long vacation in a hospital. Or the morgue.
He hurried to explain, "I am Shinichi. Your cousin, Shinichi." She raised an eyebrow at that. Shinichi growled because it seemed neither of them were likely to believe him.
"But, he does seem to know things only Shinichi would know," Agasa interjected, though it quickly turned meek when Aoko turned her gaze to him.
"Like what?"
Agasa scratched his cheek a bit self consciously, "Well, he did know about the hair on the mole on my butt," she considered it. That wasn't the type of thing that a random kid on the street could find out using the internet. She hadn't even known (or wanted to know) that before this moment.
Her gaze instead turned back to the boy, "Let's pretend I believe your story. How did you get like that?"
"I was at the amusement part with Ran when I noticed these men in black and I followed them and they knocked me out and fed me a pill," he explained immediately. Aoko resisted the urge to press the bridge of her nose. That was something straight out of a manga. But his actions suited Shinichi completely.
Apparently seeing the expression on her face, the kid turned to Agasa-hakase. "Then how about this? You just came straight out of the Colombo restaurant, didn't you? And you were in quite a bit of a hurry," her eyes narrowed at his sudden deduction.
"H-how did you know that?"
"Your clothes professor," she didn't miss the way his gaze intensified or the way he gazed at Hakase, like a shark eyeing prey. It was a look she had seen many times on Shinichi when he began deducing. "The front of you has signs of being wet, but not the back. That's proof you were running in the rain. In addition, you have mud splattered across your pants. The only muddy road in this area is in front of Columbo, which is under construction," he smirked. "Furthermore, you have the distinctive color of Columbo's meat sauce on your mustache."
Hakase touched his mustache in shock, "T-Then you're-"
The boy waved his finger and tutted, "Elementary, my dear Agasa," and she snorted. At least he loved Holmes, even if he had misquoted him.
"Shinichi? Are you really Shinichi?"
"That's what I've been saying all along! I was shrunk by some drug," he stomped his feet at the man. Then he turned hopefully to her, like he knew she was the one he really had to convince.
Her eyes scanned him. His deductions and mannerisms were truly similar, if not an exact copy, of Shinichi's own. Even if someone could have copied him, or taught their kids to copy him, they wouldn't be able to copy his deduction prowess so easily. Not to mention he was still in the clothes he was wearing at Tropical Land.
Though perhaps it was the ridiculousness of his assertions that truly made her believe him. If someone had truly sent him, they would have asserted that he was an illegitimate child, not Kudo Shinichi himself. And they would have been present as well, taking the brunt of the questions and making the assertions.
"One question," she decided. It was the best way to prove his identity. Shinichi nodded, shoulders tensing in preparation.
"What shirt was Ran wearing today?" The question made Agasa fall over. Shinichi however, fumbled, his entire face turning red and he couldn't speak because he was so flustered.
"Don't hurt yourself. I already got my answer," she smirked. A confused Agasa looked between the two of them. Aoko was smirking like a smug cat and a completely flustered Shinichi. He decided he didn't want to know.
"Now come inside before you catch a cold," she ordered, opening the gate. "We can probably find some of your old clothes somewhere,"
He followed her eagerly, looking more than a little relieved as he did. Immediately afterwards she took out a towel and ordered him to dry off as she went looking for some old clothes of his.
Add something ere to make longer
"Smuggling weapons?" was the first thing she heard as she came through the door.
"Yeah, I saw a man blackmailing him with negatives of it, too," he said, still drying himself off. He was down to his underwear, which was still much too big for him, and Hakase was drying himself off as well.
"So they gave you the drug to keep your mouth shut?" she questioned, striding into the room and giving him the clothes she had picked out. Knowing him, he would choose that old uniform over the other, more casual clothes. He eagerly took the ones she gave him, though wrinkled his nose when he saw how well they fit.
"So basically, a strange side effect of the incomplete drug is that it shrunk your body?" Agasa mused.
Shinichi dressed himself, "Pretty much. Hey Hakase, you're a genius, right? Make a drug to change my body back to normal."
The professor rubbed the back of his head, "Don't be absurd Shinichi. If I don't know the composition of the drug…"
Aoko picked up the towel Shinichi had discarded and rubbed his head with it. It looked like he had had trouble getting his hair with his newfound child's strength. Shinichi stumbled under the force she used but kept his grumbling to a minimum.
"Then I just need to track down their whereabouts and get a hold of the of the drug, right?" Shinichi asked, leading them to the library. She had finished drying him and had put away the clothes he had worn in the rain. Clothes that had fit perfectly merely hours ago. Shinichi always did get into the oddest situations.
"Right. If we had that drug, I might be able to do something," Hakase agreed.
"Hold it, you two," the tone her voice made the two freeze. "Considering their ruthlessness and their methods, it's not the kind of thing that you can rush head first into. We have no idea how powerful they are or where they're even from. The fact that they managed to get away without the police even noticing them says a lot about their capabilities. They might be professionals, Shinichi," she warned.
Agasa nodded, grasping Shinichi by the shoulders, "That's why you mustn't tell anyone that you've been shrunk."
"Eh? Why?" Aoko resisted the urge to facepalm. Sometimes her cousin made him question his intelligence. Granted, it was nowhere near as often as Kaito, but they were there.
"You're still alive. In other words, if those guys know you're still alive they'll likely come target you again," he explained.
"But I-" he protested.
Aoko interrupted him before he could even finish the thought, "Shinichi, those men were trying to kill you. They're not the criminals you usually deal with. They're efficient and ruthless. It probably wasn't their first time killing people. Those aren't the type of people whose eyes you catch even if you're seeking death."
"And you'll put those around you in danger as well," Hakase added. "Understand? Your true identity as Kudo Shinichi must be kept a secret between us. You mustn't tell anyone else, not even Ran-kun." The warning must have gotten through because his gaze turned serious.
"Okay. I understand." From the tone of his voice, he understood just how dangerous those men were, and why he couldn't afford to include others, not even Ran. She frowned thinking about the surreality of the situation. While it was odd, being stuck like this might just ruin his actual life. She hoped this whole adventure would end soon. If it didn't, she didn't know what would happen.
"By the way, what were you even doing here, Aoko?" Shinichi suddenly asked, realizing that she had been in the library for a good while now if the empty coffee mug and the page she had dog-eared were any indication.
Aoko blushed, "I came here to pick up some stuff Yusaku-ojiisan found. He said they were some documents from an old mystery writer, and I lost track of time reading."
Shinichi snorted, that definitely sounded like his cousin.
"Actually, Aoko-kun, Yusaku-san gave the papers to me," Agasa said, surprising the two. "He came by earlier but they were in a hurry and he gave it to me to give to you. He said it would be faster than having you search the house for it."
"Alright, thanks Hakase. I'll pick it up after this," she waved at Shinichi, who twitched.
"Shinichi? Are you here?" the sudden interruption made all three jolt.
"Why is Ran here?" she hissed at her now shorter cousin.
"I don't know," he hissed back, stumbling back. "She must have been worried since I ran off on my own back then." She took a deep breath, reminding herself that in his current form his body couldn't handle a punch from her.
"Idiot," Shinichi laughed a bit sheepishly.
"If you're here at least pick up your phone!" she heard the sound of the door closing, "And you left the door unlocked,"
"This is bad! Hurry and hide," Hakase ordered, trying to shield him with his body.
"H-Hide? Where?" but he was already running towards the desk in the middle of the room. Aoko just watched the two run around like headless chickens and sighed.
Ran opened the door, an irritated expression on her face which quickly morphed into surprise when she saw who was inside, "Agasa-hakase? Aoko?"
Aoko moved towards her, "Mhhm. I had to pick up some stuff and Agasa-hakase came with me. Are you looking for Shinichi?"
Ran nodded, "Yes, he didn't call back after he left and I got worried." That idiot.
She nodded sympathetically, "Ah, he didn't tell you, then."
"Tell me what?" she asked suspiciously.
"Shinichi has a case. He said it might take a while and he sounded like he was in a bit of a hurry. I think it might have something to with whatever he was doing at Tropical Land," she said. "He came here a while ago to get some stuff and headed back out."
"Mou, that deduction otaku," she sighed in irritation. "And I was getting worried about him."
Aoko patted her shoulder, "He does act like an idiot sometimes," she said sympathetically.
'Oi, oi. Just how many times have you called me an idiot?' Shinichi wondered, hidden safely behind the desk.
"But it's okay, he manages somehow," she finished. Ran seemed to relax a bit hearing that. A sudden sound made the two wince and Ran curiously look over their shoulder. Aoko didn't bother to stop her, knowing it would only make her suspicious.
"Who's this boy?" she asked, getting down on her knees.
"Oh, that boy's-" Agasa stumbled, trying to fib.
"You're a real shy one, aren't you? Come on, look this way," Ran moved the desk out of the way so she could see the boy clearly. "
"This boy's," she gasped. Aoko tensed, waiting for her to make the connection, even though she knew it was impossible. "So cute!" and hugged him. Aoko's lips twitched, at least she wouldn't think it was Shinichi.
Her eyes bore into Shinichi's when he blushed, knowing what was going through his mind. She sighed, teenage boys would be teenage boys.
"Hey, who is this boy?" she asked the two of them. Aoko elbowed Hakase when it seemed he was going to answer that. The man rubbed his side but looked at her in panic, wondering how to respond.
"He's a relative of mine," Aoko explained. "He looks a lot like Shinichi, right?" She gestured at him. Ran nodded, taking another look at him.
"But why is he here?" she asked, tilting her head.
"His mother dropped him off, but Shinichi has a case so we're trying to figure out where to keep him," Aoko explained, her eyes taking a speculative gleam.
Ran tilted her head, "You're not going to take him in, Aoko?"
She snorted, "No way. You know I'm bad with kids." The other three winced. "Oh come on, it wasn't that bad," she scowled at them. Ran laughed nervously, remembering the only time Aoko had been left to babysit. It was never going to happen again.
"You terrified the poor child, Aoko," Ran reminded. She suddenly realized that it was probably a good thing Aoko wasn't taking him in.
"How old are you?" Ran turned back to Shinichi, following him as he retreated.
"I'm sixt-" he winced under Aoko's glare. "Uh, six," and laughed nervously as Agasa and Aoko sighed in relief.
"Oh, so you're a first-grader?" she asked in interest. "Mhmm," he nodded. Aoko pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at the sight. It was hilarious, seeing how her cousin could keep his cool in front of murderers and explosives and yet be completely undone by a single innocent question from Ran.
"What's your name?" All three tensed at that. Aoko and Shinichi exchanged a panicked glance before he glanced at the books behind him. She knew what he was going to do before he even did it.
"My name is- eto, my name is… Conan!" The name had her sending a palm to her forehead. "My name is Edogawa Conan." That high pitched laugh of his was going to get annoying very quickly.
"Conan-kun? That's an unusual name," Ran tilted her head to the side. The newly named Conan inched away, hiding behind her legs. She blinked, that was the first time a child had ever used her as a shield, real child or not.
"My dad's a big fan of Conan Doyle, and…" the words seemed to be reasonable to Ran.
"He seems a bit like Shinichi," Ran rested a finger to her chin. Aoko couldn't help but smile. It seemed that the Kudos and mysteries were intertwined enough that Ran didn't question it.
"He is related to him," Aoko shrugged, watching as Hakase picked up Shinichi and moved a bit away. "Yukiko-obaasan gave us this long explanation but I wasn't listening."
"What's with 'Conan'? You aren't a foreigner," Hakase whispered to Shinichi. Thankfully Aoko-kun had managed to explain it away.
"It's okay," Aoko interjected quietly, "Ran's used to us being mystery freaks so she won't give it much thought. And it's too late to change it now," she said as her cousin grinned sheepishly.
"What else could I say?"
Ran popped up beside them, making the little group jump. Hakase was the first to speak up, "Oh right, Ran-kun, sorry, but could you take care of him at your house for the time being?"
Aoko nodded in agreement, "That's right. His parents already left and Shinichi isn't here," she wisely excluded herself from the lineup.
Ran frowned thoughtfully, "That's fine with me. But I'll have to ask my dad."
Agasa nodded happily, "I see, I see. So you'll take him in," and carried Shinichi out of the room, with her following after throwing a smile at Ran. "Just a minute," she said.
"What's the big idea?" Shinichi growled at them, "Freeloading at Ran's place? What'll she do if she figures out who I am?"
"Just listen," the old man held up a finger, "Those men in black will eventually find out that your body hasn't been discovered. And when that happens this place will be the one they first suspect. Don't you think the people who go in and out of this house will be their biggest suspects?"
"Then wouldn't your house, or Aoko's be better?"
"For you to go back to your original body, you first have to look for those men who used the drug on you. Ran-kun's home is a detective agency with ties to the police," Agasa explained.
"Then wouldn't it be better to stay at Aoko's?"
She shook her head, "No, my home's too connected. Plus, my dad's obsessed with catching a thief so we wouldn't be able to go very far. You need someone who can maneuver more easily and see a wide variety of cases."
"I see," he nodded. Aoko expanded, "If you can manage to help Kogoro-ojiisan with more cases he'll be able to solve more cases and with your luck it's likely you'll come across something in one of them."
Shinichi's eyes twitched, 'Was that a compliment or an insult?'
"Besides, you won't have to worry about Ran finding out your true identity," Aoko interjected. "No one in their right mind would think a human could shrink. Even if you are similar you could always just say that you learned it from your older self."
"Hakase?" Ran followed them into the corridor. Aoko was the only one who managed to keep from flinching, but only barely. Instead she plastered a smile on her face, though she assumed it looked more like a grimace. She made a note to work on that, especially with Shinichi's condition. She couldn't afford to accidentally let things slip and in order to do that she needed to be able to lie smoothly. Funny, she was becoming like Kaito.
"Yay! I wanna go to your house, Oneechan," Aoko bit her lip to keep from laughing. Shinichi was actually adorable in his current form and the sheer ridiculousness of the situation made her want to burst into laugher. Even for Shinichi, this was too much.
"You're so cute!" Ran cooed. Aoko was the only one who saw the way Shinichi's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. He really did look like a little kid.
But, there was a lot she needed to think about. First, there were the two mysterious men. With the way Shinichi had described them, it was apparent they were seasoned killers, especially the one with blond hair. She would need to look into any police reports and see if they had any information. She sighed. It would take far more time and effort than if they had just decided to go digital. And she would need to find an opportunity to sneak in, as well as buy herself enough time to search thoroughly. No, that was too vague. And it left far too much area for her to cover. It would be better to wait before attempting that, or at least the final option.
Second, the pill itself. From what Shinichi had heard, apparently it was supposed to the perfect assassination weapon. Still that brought up the question of how a tool that was used to kill without traces could reverse aging. How many other people had fallen prey to the drug? How had they managed to develop such a drug without drawing the attention of government bodies? Where did they get the funding from?
The two possessing such a drug, one they implied had been created for them, perhaps by someone affiliated with them, implied that they had the power to do so. How much power did they have in the world? Who backed them? How far was their reach? Was she overthinking?
Third, the effects of the pill. Would the pill have after effects that would kill Shinichi later? Did the poison make him more vulnerable to other poisons? What about disease? She had no idea if the pill was continuing to affect her cousin's body. They had no sure sign that he wouldn't fall over dead any minute. Just because the pill hadn't worked correctly didn't mean it still couldn't kill him in some way.
Fourthly, the implications of the drug. Rather than the age reverting effect it had on Shinichi, it had been created as the ultimate assassination weapon. Untraceable, and unstoppable. If they did manage to develop the full version of the drug then it would give them enormous leverage. From the way they had managed to manufacture the drug at all they had to have power but with such a weapon in their hands their only limit would be their own discretion. If an organization had access to such a weapon then they would no doubt have the means to achieve their goal, as ambitious as it may be. If, on the other hand, the two were merely mercenaries then that meant they would lend that power to any power that paid them enough. She shivered at the implications of both options.
Right now there were too many questions and too little answers. She grit her teeth, hating her own helplessness in this situation. For now, all they could do was wait and watch, and make sure Shinichi didn't draw the wrong sort of attention. There were too many unknowns and too many dangers for them to run about wildly. Shinichi needed to concentrate on becoming Conan and helping Kogoro become a better detective. It would take time for that to happen, time they couldn't use to plan since they had no information to plan with.
The countermeasures. If they were going with this strategy they had no way to measure how long it would take. It would either finish in a few months (especially if it was some small-time assassination gang) or it could take as much as years if the target was bigger than that. Should that be the case, Conan would need to go under deep cover.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that they were by the front door until Ran was saying goodbye to them. She blinked and noticed where she was, having unconsciously followed them all the while, and waved back when Ran glanced at her.
"Okay, Aoko, tell Shinichi to call me when he gets home," and she nodded, internally grimacing and wondering how to solve that problem. Maybe she could convince Kaito to do it.
"See you later, Agasa-hakase. Bye-bye Aoko-neechan," Shinichi waved as he left, holding hands with Ran as he went.
"See you later S-Conan-kun," Agasa quickly amended after Aoko elbowed him. He gave her an abashed look at the mistake. She frowned, it would take time for them to get used to his other name and to use it without stuttering. It would be even harder not to shout out his real name in the heat of the moment or if he was in danger, something he got into more than should be possible.
"Hakase," she drew his attention. "With the condition his body is in right now, it'll much harder for him to do anything. And given his tendency to attract corpses he'll need to be able to defend himself. Can you design some things to help him?"
He blinked then nodded as understanding dawned, "I see. I'll get to work on it. Who knows, if it works well maybe I can even sell it."
"We'll see," she smiled. Then she noticed the time, "Sorry Hakase, but I've got to go. I still have to make dinner at home," she said and started towards the train station.
"Be safe," he called behind her. She waved and headed off. Even if they were still in Tokyo, Beika was a different ward than Nerima, and she would rather not walk the entire way.
Once she was on the train, she looked outside. In a single night her entire understanding of the world, or at least biology, had been undone. Somehow, someone had managed to manufacture a superdrug capable of reverting the aging process. And her cousin had managed to get in the middle of it, and nearly get killed by some mysterious men in black.
She went over what Shinichi had told her of the two first, Gin: tall, lean, gaunt; long blond hair; green eyes. Vodka: short, stout, broad face, sunglasses, Gin's underling. Both wore black.
They had distinct appearances but it would be hard to be sure until she saw them herself, or at least a picture. But there was one thing Shinichi had said that she knew would point them, especially Gin, out in a crowd. Cold merciless eyes, the eyes of a killer.
Aoko sighed as she stepped into her home, dropping her bag on the floor and stretching out. After the day she'd had, it was relieving to be back home again. And from the way it seemed every light on the ground floor was on it seemed her dad was home too. She smiled, it wasn't often that he was home in general and he only seemed to get busier with Kid's sudden emergence from the woodwork so she was glad he was here today.
Walking into the room, she saw her dad washing his hands, "You're home early today," she noted to him, moving in to wash her hands as he finished.
"Ahh, I finished early," her dad responded with a smile. She returned it. Preparing dinner together was an activity she loved, though not one that happened often. It was a time for them to share about their day and just talk.
"How was your day?" she asked, moving to take the vegetables out of the fridge. She turned the water on and washed them as she listened, the sound of the water coupled with her father's voice relaxing as she worked.
"It was definitely a lot of work, but I got all of my paperwork finished. There were a few cases with one of those big companies we needed to complete, but we finished that too," he responded. She smiled. It seemed that Kid's return had filled her father with renewed vigor.
"How was yours?" he asked in return. Aoko turned off the water and placed the vegetables in a bowl as she searched for a knife and thought of what to say. She obviously couldn't tell him everything, but it was nice to talk. She could already feel her shoulders relaxing. A part of her just wanted to take a long shower and climb into bed.
She took out a large pot and poured water in before pouring in the noodles, "I went to see Ran at the Regionals. It was a bit odd watching from the audience's place though,"
Her dad looked back at her for a moment, "How did you feel? It's alright if you-"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" She rolled her eyes, "I don't mind, Otou-san. I know my own strength and I'm proud of it. I don't need to win a competition to know my abilities. Besides, there's always next year."
"I guess," He took a deeper look at her and his face softened when he realized she was being serious. If she had been lying there was no way she could have met his gaze so proudly. "I just want you to know that it doesn't matter. I know you're capabilities, and so do you,"
She laughed, "Thank you, Otou-san,"
"I heard the brat got into another case," Ginzo commented offhandedly. Aoko froze for a moment then remembered that Ran had told her there was the case at the roller coaster.
"Yeah, a jealous lover killed her ex-boyfriend at the place they first met," she said.
"He always gets into cases in the most ridiculous places," her dad grumbled. She couldn't help the smile on her face when she just what he was remembering. It seemed her dad still hadn't forgiven Shinichi for the embarrassment from that time.
"He has the worst luck," she agreed.
Her dad snorted, "You say that like yours is any better,"
"I don't attract corpses!" she protested.
"Just everything else," he said. She grunted.
"I heard Kid had another case. How was it?"
"He sent us on a wild goose chase," he grumbled. "Showed up at the stadium in the last few minutes and disappeared,"
She shook her head. Honestly, she was surprised that with Shinichi's luck he hadn't encountered the criminal yet. Or perhaps he had, she hadn't really been paying attention to him besides that one case.
She paused when she heard the sound of the door opening. It seemed Kaito had finally decided to come over for dinner. Knowing him, he had been speaking to Chikage-Obaasan.
"Kaito, help me prepare the table," she called.
"Fine," came his long suffering sigh. She rolled her eyes at his reply, but suddenly remembered what time it was and moved to the living room. It was almost time for the news so she dried her hands before turning on the news.
"You don't usually watch the news before dinner," Kaito noted from behind her. She jumped, being too focused on what was said to have noticed him. Even so, her attention was only half on him as her gaze stayed on the screen.
"Shinichi solved a case today and I'm wondering if it'll be on TV today," she said absently.
"I would have thought you would used to that by now," he raised an eyebrow. She didn't answer, the reporter finally covering information she needed.
"Highschool Detective Kudo Shinichi Strikes Again," her dad read aloud behind her. Indeed, the announcer, Mizunashi Rena, was speaking about the events of the case.
"This afternoon at Tropical Land a murder was solved by famed High School Detective, Kudo Shinichi, involving a woman who killed her lover using her necklace and the grappling power of the roller coaster," she went on for a while, the news making Kaito gawk while she listened.
Finally it changed to another story and her eyes narrowed. There was no mention of the men in black or the deal at the amusement park despite the fact that it had been crawling with police officers. They should have been there for hours, collecting evidence, talking to the witnesses, even after Shinichi successfully solved it.
And despite that there was no mention of them. Which either meant they were extremely skilled or they had somehow influenced the police. Neither option was one she wanted to consider, nor one she could without more information. But this at least supported her theory of them being connected. If they had the power to create a drug the likes of which the world had never seen then it would make sense that they had friends in high places. Or perhaps had somehow managed to keep the officers on the ground quiet. Either way, the lack of anything on the news only showed there was something to be wary of.
"Oi, are you coming or what?" Kaito's voice broke her out of her musing and she turned to him. His expression looked irritated as it turned to her but there was an undercurrent of concern as well. His hand rested on her arm, and quickly left once her gaze landed on it.
She tilted her head, "You're right. I couldn't miss this. It's a special night." Kaito looked a bit suspicious of her smile but followed her just the same.
She moved back to the kitchen as Kaito took a seat, carefully preparing the sliced fish with the vegetables before placing it in front of you.
"Hai, dinner," she said with a smirk.
"Wow, looks delicious," he replied. Her smile widened when she heard the strained note in his voice, and how it jumped an octave.
"Doesn't it? You love fish, don't you?" she taunted, pushing it closer to him, and taking a special delight in the way his Pokerface shattered.
"How is it, Kaito-kun? I prepared it myself," her dad asked from behind her. "See, got one more."
She smiled. Perfect. "You don't want to put all that hard work to waste do you?"
Kaito took several steps back as she approached, taking the fish from her dad's hands. She grinned. She had nearly forgotten about the fish after the day she'd had but the look on Kaito's face was too much to overlook.
'And now I have your weakness in hand, Kaito.' she thought gleefully. Kaito must have seen the expression on her face as he merely retreated faster. His scream would be something she would treasure for years.
Something sparkled through the air as she took a step forward. He dodged and she chased after him. "Stop it, stop it," he cried, shooting cards at her.
"You stop," she demanded. "Do you have any idea how expensive Red Snapper fish is?"
"You're the one with no idea!" he snapped. The last card sent the fish flying, luckily into her dad's waiting hands. She bit her lip, but couldn't help bursting into laughter. Kaito gave her a dark look but it was mitigated by the grin curling at his lips.
"T-This is-" The sudden cry drew her attention to her dad, who held up a jewel she instantly recognized.
"The Eye of the Moon," she narrowed her eyes. "But what's it doing here?" From the way her dad reacted, he hadn't brought it with him, or expected it to have been in his fish. No, no one expected a priceless gem to be stuck inside their fish.
That was odd. Kid had been the one who had stolen the gem, and yet it had somehow shown up in the fish she had bought. He couldn't have put it there beforehand since she had bought it before his heist. Which meant he had to have put it there afterwards. And yet, why had he put it in the fish? Why not something else, something easier to spot?
Then there was the way the gem had stayed in one spot. Looking at it, she could see he hadn't added anything to it, so the gem shouldn't have been able to stay inside the fish with the way she and Kaito had been handling it. Which meant that he couldn't have sneaked into her house in the middle of the night and put it in, or something. So it had only just been put in. But she had only taken it out of the freezer today. But there were only the three of them here.
Seeing her pensive expression, Kaito winced before trying to distract her, "We should eat soon. It's already pretty late," he said nervously. His words seemed to bring her out of her reverie. He cursed himself silently.
He'd forgotten how hard it was to get things past Aoko. And if he wasn't careful she would discover his secret.
"Sure, let's eat," she nodded, then smirked at him, "I hope you enjoy the meal." His eye twitched. Why that-
In the end, it was a nice meal, with the three of them talking and laughing as usual, though there was much more of latter on Aoko's part as she watched Kaito struggle with the fish. All in all, it was a nice end to the day, and she sent him out with a smile- and an offer of leftovers.
IIIIIIIIllllllllIIIIIIII
After a long, hot shower, Aoko stepped out feeling refreshed and more than a little thirsty. It was late at night so the house was dark and she could tell from the view on the side that Kaito had gone to bed as well.
The only light on was her lamp, which she had left on so she could find her way about in the dark. Next to it lay her phone. She sat on the bed, towel around her shoulders as she reached for it.
The screen opened up to show what she had last looked at and a smirk crossed her face. With all that had happened she had forgotten to send the pictures to Yukiko-obaasan.
In an act that only a true family member would do, she and Sonoko had snuck around the area for Shinichi and Ran's date. They hadn't stayed long, just enough to get the picture they were looking for.
She scrolled through her phone to the photo she wanted. She had taken several in hopes of catching the perfect moment and finally gotten it. The image showed Shinichi, blushing and surprised with his gaze at Ran's shirt, or rather the image of his own face on her shirt and Ran's equally embarrassed expression.
She smiled and saved it. Even if Shinichi did manage to get his hands on her phone she would have copies. With a smirk she sent it to his mom. She, at least, would appreciate her efforts. And the two of them really did look adorable.
The pictures afterward were ones she had snapped of Shinichi's new body while he wasn't looking. She flicked through them. He really did look adorable with his big eyes and chubby cheeks. When she had actually been that age, Shinichi had looked, well like Shinichi, but seeing him as a baby again reminded her of just how adorable he had been. She fought down the urge to squeal. Or cackle.
Knowing his mother, she would have an encyclopedic knowledge of every picture and sending her pictures of little Shinichi that she didn't know about would drive her insane. And so it was that she made the decision to send the photos.
She laid in bed with a smile, after turning off the phone. After all, knowing her aunt, she would send her a dozen messages in the middle of the night. It would be fine to let her wait a few hours.
Then she remembered the events of the evening. Discounting what had happened to Shinichi, it seemed Kaito was somehow involved with Kid, with the way he had reacted to her eyeing the gem. She didn't know how or even if Kaito had even known about it. For all she knew Kid had passed by him and used him as a way of returning it to the police.
Still, that didn't answer why he looked so worried. He couldn't not be involved if he was so anxious but she didn't know how involved he was.
Though at the same time she couldn't believe that idiot had used a priceless gem to stuff a fish.
AN: The thing about Aoko not being as good with kids as Kaito, I think that's true in canon too, with him being the one that makes them laugh and stuff. I don't think she's that bad, but I thought it would be funny to exaggerate it a bit, and it goes with her new character, which is more serious and more analytical, kind of like Shinichi.
Yeah, I know I kind of split the events of the first episode, but I had too much stuff the other chapter and it ended on such a good note. Besides I think this one works too.
