Mitsuharu

Title: Mitsuharu
Rating: T
Fandom: Detective Conan
Summary: There were only three kids of the Akai Family, right? There was no way that Masumi had a third older brother. So why the hell were these people calling him Akai Mitsuharu? More importantly, how the hell was he even alive!? [OC Insert as Akai Sibling]

"Mitsuharu, are you just going to stay and sulk in your room?" Subaru asked the next morning. "Should I tell Enomoto-san that you're sick?"

"No," Haru forced himself out of bed. "I can't just wallow in self-pity. Whether Shukichi forgives me or not doesn't matter. I need to focus on the present. I can't let his words get to me," 'It does hurt but maybe if I ignore it, the pain will fade away,'

"You're rather late for your job though," Subaru looked at his watch. "It's already past opening time,"

"Ah, I can still get there before the afternoon shift begins!" Haru kicked his brother out of his room and quickly got changed. "Cora, let's go!"

"Mrow!" The snow white catjumped down from her perch and followed Haru out the door.

"It's a nice day out so let's walk instead of riding my motorcycle," Haru declared as he inhaled the fresh air.

Corazon stopped and made a detour into an alleyway. "Mrow?"

A cat with a very similar fur pattern to Taii approached Cora. The cat was smaller than Taii and was a female. She had a collar around her neck. "Mrow?"

"Mugi-chan?" Haru recognized the calico cat as one of the pets of a student from Teitan Middle School. "What are you doing out here? Ayame-san is on a field trip and her parents are on vacation. If I recall correctly, you should be staying with Ayame-san's grandmother,"

"Mrow," Mugi meowed.

"Alright, let's go head to Café Poirot," Haru sighed. "I guess you really wanted to see Cora and Taii. Taii's at the café though," He knelt down and petted Mugi while giving her a treat. "You must be hungry. I'll whip you up something to eat in a jiffy. Who knows how long you've been out here? Ayame-san's grandmother must be worried!"

When they reached the entrance of the café, the door was locked. "Huh?" Haru peered inside. "That's weird. It looks like they closed up for a bit. I wonder why," He took out the spare key from his pocket and opened the door, allowing the two cats inside. He combined a cup of canned mackerel, a tablesoon of sunflower seed oil, a tablespoon of rice, and two tablespoons of broth and then poured it out into two plates. He set it down on the floor for the two cats and cleaned up the food processor.

"I wonder where everyone is?" Haru looked up at the ceiling. 'Hmm…is there a case or something? Since this place is going to be closed until whatever situation Azusa-san and Amuro had, then I guess I don't have to work today. There's no harm in seeing the commotion,'

Once the two cats had finished eating, Haru closed the café up once again and headed upstairs to the detective agency. He knocked and entered. "Azusa-san? Amuro-san? Are you guys in here?"

"Haru-san, I thought you weren't coming in today?" Amuro questioned. "Azusa-san went to her apartment to bring Taii here,"

"I overslept," Haru lied. They didn't need to know about his argument with his brother. "Anyway, what's with these people? Who are they?"

"All three of them are claiming to be Taii's owner!" Ayumi informed. "Two of them are lying!"

Haru noticed the old woman inside. "Are you Ayame-san's grandmother?"

"You know my granddaughter?" Shagawa Mutsumi asked.

"She often brought Mugi-chan to the café when she came here with her friends," Haru held up the female calico cat. "Cora and I found Mugi-chan in an alleyway on our way here,"

"Mugi-chan!" Shagawa took her from Haru. "Thank you so much for finding her! She suddenly disappeared yesterday afternoon after eating!"

"Cats tend to be sneaky, Shagawa -san," Haru chuckled.

Suddenly, Cora started acting aggressive towards Amesawa Shougo. "HISS!"

"Oi, oi, what's with your cat!?" Amesawa backed away. "Tell him to back off!"

"First of all, Cora's a girl," Haru glared right at him. "Secondly, Cora only acts that way when someone is threatening someone she considers hers to protect or when she smells catnip because she hates catnip. So tell me, if Taii is your cat then why do you have catnip sprinkled all over you?"

"But doesn't catnip calm a cat down?" Mitsuhiko inquired.

"For some cats, it acts as a sedative," Haru calmly approached Haru. "For others, such as Cora, it causes aggression,"

"Oi, oi, why are you accusing me without any evidence!?" Amesawa snapped. "Where's your proof, huh?"

"When this man first entered," Haru turned to Amuro. "Did Goro take an immediate liking to him?"

"Yes," Amuro nodded.

"Goro is shy with strangers," Haru pointed out. "Besides, catnip only lasts five to ten minutes. If we wait for that time to pass, all the cats here will see you nothing more than a strange man trying to take one of their friends away,"

"But what would he want with a stray cat?" Kogoro questioned. "You could just adopt one from the shelters,"

"A male tortoiseshell cat only happens in 0.1% individuals," Amuro informed. "The cheapest has been valued at one million yen. I heard of a case where one was valued at twenty million,"

"Twenty million!?" Kogoro exclaimed.

"I hate people like you," Haru took another intimidating step towards Amesawa. "Leave before I lose my temper,"

"The cat must be Masuko-san's then, right?" Ran said.

"But I haven't seen him for four months and my wife fed him most of the time," Masuko shook his head. "He probably doesn't recognize me,"

"Then let's try an experiment!" Conan suggested. "Azusa-san, feed Taii right outside the door. Masuko-san, walk towards it and then open the door to see if Taii recognizes you,"

Masuko did so and once the door was open, Taii was sitting as if he had expected Masuko. "Nya,"

"It was like Taii-chan was expecting him before he even opened the door!" Ran noted. "How did he know it was Masuko-san?"

"The sound," Conan informed. "Haru-niichan once said that cats have a good sense of hearing and remember their owner's footsteps. Masuko-san, you mentioned that your cat went missing when you moved houses. Did you use Cheetah Delivery Service?"

"Y-Yes," Masuko stuttered. "But how did you know that?"

"We saw that cat once in the back of a delivery van from the same company," Conan answered.

"Ah, I get it!" The Detective Boys realized. "Taii was trying to get back to his owner! He thought that if he got in a van with the same picture as before, he could go home!"

As the kids waved goodbye to Masuko and Taii, Taii cried out to Cora who meowed loudly back. Both cats seemed sad that they were departing. Masuko noticed this, along with the tears in the Detective Boys' eyes. He handed them a business card. "This is my home and e-mail address. When you have time, come and visit him,"

"Really? Thank you!"

'And there they go visiting a stranger's house again,' Haru sighed. 'Yes, he's Taii's owner, but you are literally entering the home, the turf of some guy you just met!'

"It'll be weird without Taii here," Azusa commented. "I've grown so used to him coming by each day,"

"Did anyone else notice that Masuko-san was constantly sneezing?" Haru brought up. "I think he's allergic to cats just like Yumi-san,"

"He's allergic to cats yet he owns one…"

"I can visit him and ask if he's willing to give Taii to us," Haru suggested.

"No, he came all the way here to reunite with him, meaning he does care about him," Azusa shook her head. "Taii still remembered him after all these months too,"

XXX

Against Azusa's words, Haru still went over to Masuko's apartment about a week later. "Masuko-san, I'd like to take Taii off your hands, especially considering that you have a cat allergy,"

"I'm sorry Field-san, but I can't give Soseki back," Masuko apologized. "I plan on giving him back to his original owner,"

"Original owner?" Haru blinked in confusion. "I thought you were his original owner,"

"I got Soseki from a friend because my wife was suffering from an animal loss," Masuko explained. "I'm having the kids come by today before I give him away. My friend's books aren't selling well so I thought this cat would bring him some luck,"

"Ah, I see," Haru nodded in understanding. "The kids and Cora will miss Taii a lot,"

"Mrow," Cora nuzzled against Taii.

"Cora often hung around Taii and even taught him how to hunt," Haru sighed. "I hope that friend of yours takes good care of Taii. I'll come by with the kids in a few hours,"

"I hope the kids will be as understanding as you," Masuko said. "They really love Soseki,"

XXX

When Haru, Cora, and the Detective Boys arrived, there was a commotion at the door. The apartment building manager had unlocked the doorknob but the sliding lock prevented the door from opening any further. Taii exited with blood on his paws, prompting Conan to unlock the door. They found Masuko lying on the flood, bleeding from a head wound. After listening to the suspects' testimonies, Conan deduced the culprit's identity and exposed them. Urushiya Rinpei, Taii's former owner, was arrested for attempted murder.

Since Masuko had a cat allergy, he agreed with Haru's request and gave him back to Café Poirot.

I like cats. Haru likes cats. Cora's a cat. Taii's a cat. Goro's a cat. Mugi's a cat. This is a cat chapter.