"Professor... Did the cat you saved, just say she wants to kill me?"
Agasa gives Conan a nod.
They both continue to stare at me.
Awkward silence...
I decide to break the uncomfortable atmosphere, "I am not a cat. I am a teenager just like Kudo Shinichi. Yes. I'm talking about you, Edogawa Conan. APTX 4869 did not reverse me back into a kid but rather turn me into a cat. Questions?"
"How did you come in contact with the drug?" Questions Conan.
"I was there the day you were drugged. They found out my hiding spot and shot at me. My face was scratched. After that, I pretended to be dead, hoping they would let me go."
Although I let them feed me the drug on purpose.
"How did you follow me back here?"
"I did not. It was a coincidence that those kids brought me back."
"I am not fully believing you, but I don't want you to leave this house. Those people will be after you."
"Don't worry. They won't-"
"How do you know they won't?"
"Why don't you try to figure it out, meitantei-kun."
How would they find me when I don't belong to this world?
Conan smirks at me for calling him great detective but that smirk becomes serious when he says, "Just be careful. It's better to be safe than sorry."
"Meow" I reply as I find a sunny spot near the window to continue my nap. Being a cat is good... No more school for me.
By the time I wake up, the house is dark. Only rays of light from the moon and stars shine through the window that I was napping close by. Although it is dark, I can still see clearly that there was a bowl of milk next to me. Besides the milk is a sheet of paper with Japanese characters on it. I stare at it blankly. Aren't the words suppose to transform into English somehow? I can't read Japanese. Suddenly, like I said, the words slowly turn into English. This is cool. The paper reads, "Since your name is not Ao, what is your name? Professor Agasa."
An idea pops into my head. Something fun. Something outrageous. If I write in English, will it turn to Japanese? After searching under tables and desks for a pencil, I grip the pencil with my right paw and start to write a fake name. Wait. What if Agasa searches me up? If he can't find me in the population, ain't I screwed? Have to make up a believable name.
*An hour later thinking of a name*
Whatever. Maki Yuna will be my name. After writing it in romaji, I wait for the miracle to happen. One two three. Nothing. Okay, maybe it takes longer. One two three four five. Nothing. I can't write in Japanese apparently. I place down the pencil and start lapping my cold milk. Cold milk tastes so much better than warm milk. After drinking half of the bowl, curiosity grows within me. Where is all that junk food? Chips and ice cream, here I come! I locate the dinner table and a chair. But the chair is too high for me to climb on. I push a few heavy hardcover books to the side of the chair and try climbing on. Victory! It works. Sitting in the chair, I can see a glimpse of the grocery bag filled with goods from before. With one leap, I land on the table. This is heaven. Chips, sweets, and chocolate. Yum. I bit open a bag of dark chocolate and start munching on it. Hmm... This is the life of a cat. I then open a bag of honey and barbecue chips. This is satisfying. After eating, I lick my lips clean and jump down the dinner table. Time for some exploration around the neighborhood. Going back to the window where I was napping, I push the stack of books and chair over and made my way out of the house.
(Don't ask me how a kitten managed to do all this. Use anime logic.)
The fresh and cool night breeze runs pass my fur. The silence of night calms me from the uncertainty of my future in this world. I walk down alleys after alleys. I found schools and a lot of houses but none of them was as weird as Professor Agasa's. Other cats and rats can be seen in the alleys too. Some of the alleys stink. Stink like garbage. On my way back, I see Shinichi's house. Hehe. Exploration. But nope. There are people outside his house. If I remember correctly, the Black Organization came to look for Shinichi to confirm his death. They searched the house a few times. Wait. This means Sherry/Haibara Ai will appear soon. I have to be on the lookout. I need her to create antidotes for me too, especially during emergencies. Talking about antidote, there should be this alcohol that creates temporary antidote effect... Can't quite remember the name... Oh well.
I make my way back to Agasa's house, through the window, and back to my little basket. Warm and comfortable. However, I couldn't fall asleep. Maybe it's because I slept for most of the time today. Since I couldn't fall asleep, I get out of my basket and climb the staircases to the second floor. The staircases are more tiring than the staircases when I was still in my human form. A flight of stairs is like five flights of stairs. Ughh... When I finally arrive on the second floor, I found Agasa's room. He is snoring away with his big belly going down and up. I search for the time around the room and finds a clock. The clock reads exactly five. Should I wake him up? He might be tired though... Oh well. I'll let him sleep for two more hours. While waiting for him to wake up, I happen to fall asleep myself. I fell asleep right next to Agasa's bed. That is a bad idea. I am awake from the shock from my tail, "OUCH!" Professor Agasa steps on it without knowing.
"I am so sorry Ao-kun, I did not know you were here!"
"It's okay. I fell asleep here while waiting for you to wake up, that's why."
"Oh, I see. Ao-kun, are you hungry? Do you want some milk or cat food?"
"No thank you. I did not like milk and cat food, to be honest."
"Then, what do you like to eat?" he asks as he takes me downstairs in his arms.
"I like meat. I love eggplant. I-"
My sentence is cut off by Agasa's scream, "my snacks!"
Oops.
"Sorry Professor Agasa."
"It's okay... I'll just buy new ones. But next time you eat, tell me, so I can buy your share as well."
"Yay!"
Professor Agasa sweat drops.
"Professor, where is Conan?"
"Oh, Shinichi? He's in school."
"Oh right, he's only a seven year old."
"Ao-kun, do you mind me calling you Ao-kun or would you want me to call you by your actual name? Based on this paper, your name is Maki Yuna right?"
"Yeah. Just call me Ao-kun. I'm fine with that. Professor, are you lonely? You seem like you want me to stay no matter what."
"Hehe... You can see that?"
"Yup. But no worries, even if I'm going to leave you, someone will take my place soon. Someone that will have more similarities to you than me."
Agasa gives me a confused look, "Ao-kun, what do you mean?"
"You'll see," I said as I give him a playful smile.
Professor Agasa then gets dressed to take me out for breakfast. Although I have already eaten breakfast around five. It's going to be lunch for me! Free lunch just sounds great.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
He gets his car keys and picks me up to go out the door, "somewhere delicious."
He opens his yellow beetle with his car keys and puts me next to the driver's seat. He walks to the other side and enters.
"I'm so hungry..." he says when he starts the car engine.
We start heading out into the driveway, signs zoom pass before I can even read them. I notice that everything is in Japanese. Not English. Maybe I just need to stare at it in order for it to turn into English? Maybe I'll try that with the menu.
The beetle stops its flight and parks to the side of the driveway, right in front of a not so fancy store, but is decent. I stare at them, what I believe is the name of the store, and hopes it turns to English. Slowly, the Japanese fade away and clear English stands in its place. While concentrating on the title of the store, Professor has already gone off the car and walked over to my side to open the door for me. The sudden appearance of his face knocks me out of my concentration.
"Ao-kun, we are here!"
"meow"
Professor Agasa gently picks me up and puts me on top of his shoulders. When I look back at the name of the store, it is back to Japanese. I guess this ability only works when I concentrate.
"This place allows pets to come in, that's why I thought it would be a great place to eat with you"
"Professor Agasa, you are acting like a father who's taking his daughter to eat at a good restaurant."
"Ao-kun is like a mini daughter to me," says Agasa with a huge smile.
"But we've only met not too long ago..."
"I don't know. It was just this feeling that you need my care."
A warm sensation rushes into my heart. This feeling that I was unable to feel back home because my father never cared what I do most of the time. His coldness makes Agasa's words warmer than ever.
My eyes soften and a slight smile runs across my face, "Then Professor, can I call you dad from now on?"
Agasa turns to look at me and pats my head softly, "Sure!"
When Agasa opens the door, a welcoming atmosphere fills the room. There were cats everywhere. It is a cat cafe where costumers can play with cats while they enjoy their sweets.
"Sweets for breakfast?" I whisper into Agasa's ear
"Hehehe..." he replies with a sweat drop.
I guess it's fine since he won't be able to after Haibara Ai appears.
He enjoyed his time eating sweets while I have to get along with cats. He better pack me some sweets on our way home.
The other girls in the cafe are picking me up and playing with me with cat toys. For some reason, the toys are appealing.
When we leave for home, rain starts to pour. Professor hands me the packed sweets and puts me on his shoulders. He takes off his lab coat and hovers it over his head as he makes a run for his yellow beetle.
Once we are in the car, I open the packed sweets. Inside is a bouncy mango pudding, my favorite.
By the time we are home, the pudding is all in my tiny stomach. Professor parks his car and he runs into the house with me on his shoulders again. When he hangs his lab coat and looks for a dry one to wear, I jump off his shoulders and jump onto his lab table. There are pieces of metal everywhere with a bunch of tools all over. I guess this is how an inventor's room would look like?
"Dad, what are you making?"
Professor replies as he walks over to the table, "I'm making batches for the Detective Boys."
Oh, the tiny thing.
"Can I have one too?"
"Why do you need it?"
"To get in contact if I'm caught by the black organization one day."
But it's more like to get in contact while I'm living with Kaito. Yes, I'm planning to figure out where Kaito lives.
"Dad, do you know someone named Jii?"
"Oh, yeah. Do you know him?"
"He's... a friend of a friend of mine..."
"Are you going to look for him."
"Yup! But don't worry, someone will take my place," I jump onto the window and look through. There's that tiny lab coat lying on the cold wet street, "and she's right here"
Again, Agasa gives me his confused look.
"Dad, get an umbrella. We are going to welcome a guest"
"Ao-kun, I just noticed that you omit that same sense of mysteriousness as Shinichi when he's making his deduction."
Agasa picks up his umbrella by the door and walks out into the rain. There, in front of Shinichi's house, is a girl.
Agasa quickly carries her back into the house and changes her out of her wet clothes. He puts her on the bed and looks out for any signs of fever. I sit next to her and confirms that she is Haibara Ai or code name Sherry.
When Ai comes into consciousness she questions her surrounding and is in shock when she sees a cat explaining the situation to her.
"This is Professor Agasa and this is his house. I am his adopted cat, Ao."
"A-a talking cat?"
"Well, if I had not taken the APTX 4869, I would still be a normal teenager who is enjoying life. Thanks to the drug you created, I have shrunken not into a child but into a cat. Isn't that right, Sherry?"
The name makes her flinch and her glare soon sharpens. It feels as if her glare pierces every part of my body.
"Chill, I pose no threat or harm."
"Kudo Shinichi turned into a female kitten?"
"Pftttt... HAHAHAHA. Can't wait till Shinichi hears this..."
Her glare turns into confusion, "Who are you then?"
"I'm sure that when the people from the organization went back, they informed you that your drug took out two teenagers. One with an unknown identity. The one unknown is me."
"I see. Tell me where is Kudo Shinichi" she demands.
"I will tell you where he is but only if you help me discover the antidote. And when you do, give me a share of it."
She gives me that glare again and promises, "deal."
"Dad, tell her about Shinichi."
"If I know that this old man knows I would not have questioned you," say Ai as she looks at Agasa and sweat drops.
"Dad, can you tell me the address of Jii?"
"Oh. Okay, let me see..."
"Before you go anywhere, tell me how you knew about my code name." Questions Ai.
"A secret is what makes a woman, a woman" I answer with a smirk.
Ai's glare turned into a smirk as well.
"Ao-kun, Jii's address is XXXXXXX. Need me to drive you there?"
"Nope. Just gimme the detective boys batch, some cookies, and hard candy. I'll go by myself."
"Are you going to leave now?" asks Agasa worriedly.
"Yup. I don't want to be caught by Shinichi. He's gonna throw questions at me and I don't want that."
Agasa's face forms a frown as he replies, "okay..."
"Don't worry! Not to mention, you already have Sherry with you. And since she is a scientist, you guys will have lots in common."
"But..."
I grab my belongings and happily say "bye" as I jump down the window again.
"But the detective batch has area limit..." finishes Agasa.