A/N:Sorry for the late update! I have had no ideas for this, but I will try and update as much as possible!

Chapter 2 Distant welcome

I knew it. There was going to be something different about this world. I just know it.

At first, those were the words that would travel through her head. They were comforting words, for they helped to console her by hoping that somehow she would survive her cruel destiny that awaited her in every world. Eventually, those words started to lose their meaning and comfort as the years passed by and she remained unaging. She was perpetually trapped in an eleven-year old's body, and she had no way of telling anyone how much it hurt.

No one else could possibly understand how she felt. She felt useless, helpless. Was she really meant to watch all of her friends turn against each other due to other's insinuations, their own prejudices, etc? If this was what eternity was, watching life go by and not taking a part in it, then she hated it. She just wanted to live a long life and die. She didn't want to die in the way she always did. She despised being trapped forever in this prison of misery and anguish.

Furude Rika still believed in wishes and magic. Sometimes she did. After all, she was the sole heiress to the Furude family-who was believed to have a tie to Oyashiro-sama. Rika found this to be a fact, since the god did exist and was present here and now. Usually, the god did not exist. Rather, she existed, she just could not be seen by ordinary people other than Rika or people suffering from the higher levels of the syndrome. However, something had changed. She knew it within the depths of her soul.

First, there had been the fact that there was no Shion attending school. In the last world, she had been present, but now she was strangely absent. Perhaps she had never escaped from the Catholic school she had been sent to. Anything was possible in these bizarre-and nightmarish worlds. She just wanted to one day escape all of this and reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

Second, there had been new students at the school. Sure, Keiichi usually transferred to Hinamizawa in every world, but this one was an exception. Two new kids that she had never seen before in any world had arrived in Hinamizawa just a few hours ago. They were friendly but distant kids.

She felt as though they were holding something back-though, who was she to talk? Who was she to bad-mouth Keiichi and the others for keeping lies from their friends, when she had been the most dishonest of them all? She had constantly lied to them, over and over. She wondered whether they actually would believe her if she told them directly. Hanyuu was a difference, too. For the first time, her friend was visible. No one could see her horns (of course.)

She sat in her seat, watching as the teacher, Rumiko Chie, a kind soul with blue hair and eyes lectured the class on a boring lesson Rika had heard hundreds of times before. She was being literal with this. She yawned aloud.

"Rika, did you have trouble sleeping last night?" Her best friend, Hojo Satoko, asked. She was seated next to Rika. Satoko had blond hair that she usually kept back in a headband, and pink eyes. She was an outcast of Hinamizawa due to the difference in political belief that her family had felt against the head of the village, the Sonozaki. Rika was one of her only friends.

Rika shook her head. "Nipah. It's nothing like that, nano desu. I just was up all night talking with my cousin since she has just gotten here! It's been a long time since we've seen each other, right, Hanyuu?" She asked, nudging her shyer companion. Rika's purple eyes seemed to convey a message to the timid girl hiding her face.

The girl lifted her head to reveal a delicate face. She was very modest and withdrawn. Her hair was a shade of lavender. Her eyes were a darker shade of purple. "Hau..you're right, Rika." She said, smiling shyly.

Someone else behind them was watching in interest. Rika sighed mentally and heard some excited giggles. She knew who that was.

"HAUU! HANYUU-CHAN IS SO CUTE! OMOCHIKAERI!" The female voice squealed, and then Rika heard the sound of a chair being pushed back and the sound of a struggle going on. The next thing Rika knew, the girl held a struggling Hanyuu in her arms, and took off.

"RYUUGUU-SAN, DON'T TAKE THE NEW GIRL HOME!" Chie shrieked.

"But, she's just so cute!" The girl squealed, hugging Hanyuu close to her, who looked like she was going to suffocate from lack of air.

"Hey, Rena! Why don't you take her home later? If you suffocate her, you won't be able to take her home at all!" A male voice cried.

The brunette who was hugging Hanyuu looked up. Her cerulean eyes widened as she realized the full meaning of what he had been getting at. "Oh, thank you Keiichi-kun!" She said, giggling and then releasing Hanyuu, who scampered behind Rika.

"She's scary even when she's not paranoid." Hanyuu muttered. Rika just smiled at the irony of this scene. The fact was that Rena was an avid Oyashiro-sama believer, more like a fanatic. Here she was, trying to take the real Oyashiro-sama home. If only she knew...

Rika sweatdropped. "Hanyuu...behave."

She noticed the two new students in their seats. They seemed to be listless, as well. Sometimes, you could tell a lot about a person just by looking at them. That was something Rika had become particularly good at. For example, the boy who had flirted with Mion was seated a few seats away from Satoko. He was already casting amorous glances at all the females in the room. Most of the girls her age were giggling excitedly.

He seemed to be a prankster and a ladies' man. Interesting person, indeed. Well, he wouldn't be getting her to fall for him. She was interested in no one. Living an inescapable youth tended to drain one's interest in sexual relationships-or any type of bonding for that matter. Not that he didn't seem interesting-he was. He just seemed irritating to her. Conceited, too.

She glanced over at the other boy, who was also slumped over in his desk. His hands were propping up his face. It was evident to Rika that he was bored. He seemed to be very similar in appearance to the trickster beside him. On the contrary, there were some obvious differences. His hair was neater and better-looking, for one. His eyes were a dark blue, while the other's was definitely a violet in color.

His personality was harder to discern. She had only known him for a few hours at the most. The least she could say was that he seemed bored with the things in school. The look on his face was that of someone accustomed to dreary and tedious things. She wondered why there was such a mature look in those eyes.

He turned in his seat. Obviously, he wasn't stupid enough to not realize that someone was staring at him. His bright blue eyes were full of interest as he stared at her. She smiled childishly at him. "Nipah!" She said. "Why are you looking at me, Sir?" She asked sweetly. Inwardly, she sighed. She was getting sick of acting childish just to keep her true nature under wraps.

He shrugged his shoulders, and looked away from her. "Nothing, really. I was just curious." He whispered enigmatically. His face seemed to take on a pained expression as he looked away from her. He seemed so distant and forlorn somehow...

Rika was watching him with more than a hint of curiosity now. She wondered why he would look so forlorn. Maybe he was just homesick. Well, that was probably an ordinary feeling to have. Anyone would miss their home after being away from it. There were probably some exceptions to the rule-Satoko might be the best example. Satoko had endured years of abuse from her aunt and uncle, and as a result, she had closed her heart off to everyone but Rika. Fortunately, ever since she started living with Rika, she had become more open-hearted and caring, though Rika knew she still hurt inside.

She decided she would go over and talk to him sometime. She knew Mion would probably come over and introduce herself to him sooner or later. The perky greenette was quite extroverted, sometimes to the point of annoying people, but she meant well. She was always upbeat and full of energy and wished for everyone she knew to be happy, no matter who they were.

So did Rika, but as a result of all the hardship she had endured, she had nearly given up on all hope of ever escaping this endless world of sorrow. That is, until the last world. It had been nothing short of a miracle. Keiichi and Rena and Shion had all overcome their problems by talking to one another and not fighting with one another. They had almost won that time. Almost, that is until the true villain revealed herself and killed her friends in front of Rika. Hanyuu had informed her of everything that had happened in the last world because she had forgotten somehow.

Shinichi looked around the classroom at all the children who were casting very curious stares at him. Of course they would, since I'm new here. He had noticed something was a little odd about this village when he had first come here with Kaito. For one thing, they had no cell phones or computers at all here. That was highly unusual, as most of the kids in his high school had been using cell phones.

He noticed the frigid silence in the room when he and Kaito had come in. It seemed like the kids in Hinamizawa were not accustomed to outsiders. Personally, he couldn't blame them. It was only natural to be wary of strangers who just popped up out of nowhere. He himself had become a tad paranoid after he had returned to his real age. He supposed it was a side effect from being around Haibara. Well, it was only a smart thing to do, since he had imprisoned the members of the Black Organization, it would be wise to lie low, considering they might be out for his blood.

He noticed some of the kids in the room were looking at him in curiosity. Some of them were smiling cordially at him, like the greenette on his left. She was smiling at him. He smiled a ghost of a smile, and she grinned back. She seemed to be one of the few people who was actually friendly here. She was probably that way by nature. It reminds me of Ran.

Shinichi smirked at Kaito upon seeing the death glare that one of the other kids had sent him. It appeared Kaito's stunt earlier had won him a few enemies. Kaito didn't seem fazed by the other boy at all, rather he just waved cheerfully at him. The other boy looked even more angry.

"Oi, Kuroba. Don't go messing around here." He warned.

Kaito just shrugged his shoulders. "Why don't you lighten up, Shinichi? You need to have fun~! Smile!" Kaito exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. He headed toward the detective and stretched out his gums, much to everyone else's amusement. "You have nice pearly whites!" He said.

"Top it, Kuroba. I had thish for dinner last night." Shinichi muttered, and he slapped Kaito away from him. "Do you want me to eat fish in front of you? Perhaps we can split it."

Kaito turned pale, and backed away. "No, thanks. I'll pass." He said slowly, then returned to his desk. He looked green around the gills. Shinichi only grinned broadly.

Laughter rang out from around the classroom. A few girls were laughing at what had just occurred.

"That was quite impressive. To think you wounded his pride so easily." A blond girl said, sending Shinichi a mischievous look. "I'm Hojo Satoko, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Kudou Shinichi." He said back in response.

The teacher came back in then. "All right, everyone! Take your seats! That includes you, Mr. Kuroba!" She added, glaring at the aforementioned magician, who flinched.

"Why, why do you suppose I would ever get out of my seat?" He said innocently.

"I know you well enough now to know that you like to backtalk the teacher! Now, sit down!" Chie ordered.

Kaito sat back down obediently, but did so with a melodramatic sigh. He started twirling his pencil around, and most of the class now had their eyes on him. They gasped as he made his pencil disappear and then reappear.

Shinichi sighed. Did he have to do more magic again? Ah, well. It was more entertaining than sitting here doing absolutely nothing. He already knew all of the stuff the teacher was teaching the class, so sitting here was totally tedious. If only he had thought about bringing some of his mystery novels with him, he could kill time...

Recess came quicker than Shinichi expected it to. Most of the kids headed outside, except for a select few, who stayed inside. They were all crowded around a table.

What's going on over there? From the looks of it, I'd say they're all friends.

"Yosh!" The greenette from earlier shouted. She seemed very spirited. "Now the Hinamizawa After-school club can truly begin! Is everyone here?" She said.

"I am!" A brown-haired girl with blue eyes exclaimed.

"Good to know, Rena!" The greenette praised. "Is Kei-chan here?"

"I'm here as always, Mion!" He said.

"Satoko?"

"Hai!" The perky blonde from before said, grinning to show...a fang? Shinichi shivered suddenly.

"Rika-chan?"

A bluenette nodded her head. She seemed to be only ten or eleven. She smiled demurely. There was something fake about that smile, though. It seemed like she was holding back a little. Shinichi knew that face, even if he didn't see it that much. It was like the look on Haibara's face. It was a look of wisdom concealed behind childish innocence, or something poetic like that.

Nah, he was probably just kidding himself. There was no way there were others like him or Haibara out there, though he could never be entirely sure.

"Hey, Hanyuu! Come over here and join us!" The brown-haired boy said, waving to a shy purple-haired girl, who blushed and sat down at the table. She appeared to be a shrinking violet, Shinichi deduced.

"Today, we're welcoming Furude Hanyuu-chan into our club! But, before that, let me get to the point! We should try and get to know the two new transfer students who have just joined us! Kuroba Kaito and...what was his name again?" The greenette paused.

Shinichi sighed mentally. Must everyone forget his name? It wasn't that hard to forget. "Kudou Shinichi. That's my name." He repeated.

The greenette stopped. "That's it! Sorry, it slipped my mind!" She exclaimed again, which caused most of the occupants at the table to laugh.

"Do not mock the leader of the club!" She yelled.

Most of them continued to laugh, though a few timid ones, like the purple-haired girl, calmed down immediately.

"Come on over here, you two!" She cried, extending a hand to them.

"Ah, but I am already here, Ojousan!" Kaito said cordially, and Shinichi smacked his palm as he appeared in front of her startled eyes and made yet another rose for her, only this time it was a bouquet. "You are truly gorgeous." He praised unctuously.

The girl flushed red, and the other boy started fuming at the way Kaito was hitting on her. "Hey, lay off of Mion!" He exclaimed, standing up. "Who do you think you are?"

"Why, I only know myself as Kuroba Kaito! What do you want to call me by?" Kaito taunted.

The boy's face contorted in anger. "All right! From this day on, you and I are rivals!" He exclaimed, and pointed a finger at Kaito, who only smirked.

"Fine, but prepare to deal with your worst nightmare." Kaito said calmly.

"Nipah, I think you'll find that Keiichi is quite scary when he gets angry." The bluenette said cutely.

The other brunette squealed audibly. "HAUU, RIKA-CHAN IS JUST TOO CUTE!" She exclaimed, and then picked up Rika, who didn't resist her at all, and started to run off with her.

"Aren't you going to do something about her?" Shinichi asked blankly.

"No, that's how she always is." The greenette said. "Come on over!" She said again.

Shinichi gave in and walked over, plastering a smile on his face. He wasn't really in the mood for these kinds of things, but he supposed he'd give it a try. He hadn't come across any mysteries yet.
"Kuroba, were you duping me this entire time?" He hissed.

Kaito only grinned. "Maybe, meitantei-san. What are you going to do about it? You going to open up to these people?"

Shinichi nodded slowly. "Not about everything." He whispered.

"Why are you guys whispering?" The purple-haired girl asked. The shy one, that is. "Are you hiding something?"

"N-No, not at all! We're only friends!"

"You guys look identical. Are you sure you're not identical twins?" Keiichi cut in.

"No, I'm quite sure we're not. He likes screwing around with his magic tricks, while I prefer to be serious." Shinichi explained.

Rika grinned at this. "Nipah, it certainly seems that way."

"Tell us about yourselves! First, Furude Hanyuu!" Mion shouted.

"Um...I like sweets...I hate spicy food! I think games are fun!" Hanyuu stammered. "Anou...there a-a-re- some other th-th-things I-I- like to do! Just let me think of them!" She exclaimed, and hid her face.

"She's shy. That's okay." Rena said. "Because it makes her so cute..."

"Not again." Kaito complained. "You shouldn't try and take her home. I don't think selling kids makes you any money." He teased.

"No, it's nothing like that! When Rena sees cute things, Rena just can't resist taking them home!" Rena said.

"Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?" Shinichi questioned.

Rena winced. "No reason at all." She said.

"Next, Kuroba Kaito!" Mion said, smacking her hand down on his desk, where he was doodling.

"I love magic! I keep doves and I'm always ready to perform any time at all!" Kaito uttered. "I also hate things that live in the sea, and they must not be named! I also love to annoy Shinichi here, because it's so much fun!" Kaito said exuberantly, reaching out to pat Shinichi's head.

"Baro, don't call me by my first name! Call me Kudo!" Shinichi scolded.

"But, Shinichi, why are you rejecting me?" Kaito wailed.

"Stop with the melodrama." Shinichi said calmly.

"Kudou Shinichi! Tell us about yourself!" Mion said.

"Well, I love to play soccer, and watch it on TV! I also adore mystery novels, particularly Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes! He's the best mystery author around!" Shinichi gushed.

"Now's your time to leave. He'll ramble on and on for hours." Kaito joked.

"Kuroba, shut up. Unless you want to go to Sea World after school, you'd better shut up." He said, causing his friend to shiver.

"Why must you mention those horrible, disgusting,..." Kaito trailed off.

"Fish?" Satoko suggested. "What's wrong with fish?"

Kaito screamed. "There's everything wrong with them! They're hideous, they're ugly, and they smell bad!" He shrieked.

"Only to you." Shinichi added. He was careful to leave out any mention of his adventures as Conan or the BO or his identity as a detective. "Well, anyway, my parents live overseas. They come to check on me every now and then. My best friend is into karate." He finished.