A/N: This is a filler chapter, but I guess it turned out fine, if not a bit strained; had trouble writing this one. Either way, I hope you enjoy, at least a bit. XDD;; Also, there's no 'proper' way to eat ramen, but there's the Japanese way and the American way. The American way is to just take a load of noodles, shove them in your mouth and chew, but the Japanese way is to slurp up the noodles and stuff. Yeah… XDD Moving on…
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito in any way or form. Or shape. (Grins)
Chapter Eighteen
I watched Akako's back curiously for a moment before starting in surprise as she looked back at me with her piercing eyes. A smirk crawled onto her lips, sending an uneasy chill down my back. "Don't worry, this won't be a normal occurrence." She began and I almost brought my hand up to pull down my hat as someone glanced my way, only to realize I wasn't wearing one. Whoops. "We just need to make sure that you fit in well enough with everyone else; it would be bad if people started to notice how different you really are." She explained and I caught more than a few guys staring at her – I swear I could see hearts in their eyes.
"Ah, I see…," I trailed, eyes narrowing in thought. I suppose that made sense consider everything; but, I didn't think I was that strange …Right? I mean, so I'm from another world, big deal. It doesn't mean I'm not like the ordinary, everyday, person. I shrugged off the thought, following her as she turned and walked into a video store.
She stopped just after we had entered and I shot her a confused look. "Go find some DVDs you'd want to watch and I'll buy them." She stated, crossing her arms elegantly. She was going to just…buy me stuff…? I hesitated for a moment, fearing her real intentions, before seeing nothing change on her face and making my way slowly to the aisles of movies. My eyes browsed through the move titles, taking in all the pictures and faces – all of who I had never seen before. Whether it was because of being in Japan or another world, I didn't even bother to contemplate.
My face lit up as I spotted a familiar picture, a wide grin spreading. My hands immediately grabbed at the DVD and I stared at it interest before I snickered and took another DVD, and another – essentially getting the whole collection that they had of this certain series. Akako wouldn't mind; after all, this was all I was getting, right? No harm done and she had sealed her own grave when she said 'I'll buy'. With another chuckle, I headed over to the check out, Akako noticing and heading over as well.
Once we both made it there, she cast me what seemed like an incredulous glance – though, it was hard to tell with her; her pokerface was almost as good as Kaito's. "That's all you're getting? Gomera movies?" Yup, definitely incredulous. I nodded, a laugh slipping past my tight throat, almost sounding like a strangled choking noise, despite it obviously being laughter from my amused facial features. "Yeah, that's all. If you want, I can go get more things…," I shrugged theatrically, sending her a sly look.
She shook her head lightly, exasperated, and paid for the short stack of DVDs with a weird looking credit card and the cashier put them in a plastic bag. Akako took the bag before handing over to me, which I accepted happily. "Thank you, Akako-neesan~!" I chimed, my voice going up a pitch from my normally low drone of a voice.
She smirked at me as we walked out of the store, not noticing the cashier pinning me with a strange look. "You know," She began conversationally as we continued walking through the little town. "People your age usually don't speak so child-like." I blinked before my cheeks flooded with heat at the suddenly realization. My hand came up to my forehead with a berating smack – idiot! You're not currently tiny! How could I forget that…
She let out a wind-chime laugh and I blinked before joining in. It was funny, now that I think about it. Besides, Shinichi had made the mistake before, once or twice, right? I guess that just means we both slip into character a bit too much. Not a bad thing, just…embarrassing…
We spent the rest of the day casually – sometimes stopping to look through stores or to buy things. Akako had bought me a few other things , too; another hat – a fedora this time, resembling one I had bought just recently (for special reasons) – and few non-expensive clothes for when I changed bigger and a couple books. To say I felt bad about her buying everything was an understatement; I felt completely horrible. I mean, so far I've had to be dependent on lots of people and it bugged me. I'm an independent person, and this was really making me feel bad. Akako seemed to notice this and stopped offering to buy things, which I was immensely grateful for. When someone offered, it was only polite to take it, and now I didn't have that politeness drilling into my back.
Around lunch, Akako demanded we go to lunch – and really, I was hungry, so I had agreed; her frightening glare when she had dared me to say no had absolutely nothing to do with it. At all. So, we walked around for a bit before Akako spotted a place she wanted to go and grabbed my arm tightly, pulling me over as I scrambled to keep the pace with her.
I didn't even get to see the sign before I was pulled through the sliding, Japanese doors – how cool were those! – (the cook greeted us with a happy, 'welcome!') and led over to the counter, practically being put into a seat by the witch. I regained my balance, boots grappling at the seat's legs before I finally gained a good part to hold. I blinked at the table, turning to see Akako, who had taken a seat in the stool next to me.
"Where are we?" I asked curiously, looking around with bright eyes. Akako smiled at me in bemusement, moving a strand of her hair out of her face and behind her ear. "We're at a ramen shop; I hope you know how to eat it properly." Properly…? There was a proper way how to eat ramen? Did she mean the non-American way of eating it? I barely contained myself from sending her a sheepish smile and put on a show of nodding confidently. "Of course I do." Of course I don't.
Akako stared at me for a moment with her all-seeing eyes before she smirked sharply, as if to say, 'whatever'. Why do I feel as if I just dug myself a grave? She turned to the man behind the counter, who was looking at her as if he'd seen a goddess. I felt a sweat drop come down my face as I deadpanned.
"Salt; noodles extra-firm; topping: pork and seasoned egg." The cook grinned. "Coming right up!" He turned to me as I grew more confused. "What about you, young miss?" He questioned politely, and I fidgeted in my seat. "Ermm, I'll just…have what she's having." Whatever that happens to be. He nodded with a grin before turning and beginning to cook. The smells of the shop were nice and you could tell, just by the smell, that the food was bound to be delicious. The atmosphere was warm and comforting; small and cozy.
My feet swung absently and I vaguely took note everytime I heard the chains rattle softly. My blank stare was directed at my wrist as I fiddled with my changing bracelet, the bell jingling just as quietly as the chains. I looked up to Akako as she murmured to herself, "It's interesting." I raised a brow. "What's interesting?" I questioned and her gaze seemed to get more intent as she continued to have a staring match with me. "You have an Osakan dialect when your bigger, but when you're Alice, you speak like any other Tokyoite." I scrunched my face up in befuddlement.
"What? I have an Osakan accent? Right now?" That made no sense – why the heck would I have an accent here when I never had one when I spoke English? Unless you count my Michigander accent that a few people brought up from time to time, but I don't think that would affect my standard Japanese. Would it? I don't think so; it's just not… logical. "Yes, you do. Osaka-ben when your current age; it's fascinating. Did you land in Osaka when you first got here?" She questioned intently. "I did, why?" She smirked.
"That must be it, then. Since you landed in Osaka, the gem automatically set your Japanese so that you could fit in with the locals without gaining too much attention. You probably speak Tokyo-ben when Alice because something trigger it to change to standard Japanese." Could it possibly be because of Gin and Vodka? Because they were the only ones around when I began changing, and they spoke standard, I think. "I'm sure you could speak Osaka-ben in Alice's form if you consciously tried, but I think it'd be better if you don't; who could link you and Alice as one and the same, as long as Alice doesn't even show one sign of having the accent." It was more of a statement than a rhetorical question.
I was about to speak up again when two big bowls were placed in front of the both of us respectively, steam coming up from the broth and noodles. Ah, that looks really good~! Heavens, I'm eating ramen – actual ramen – in Japan! I can die happy now~…
I glanced over to Akako, both of us bringing our hand together as if in prayer, thanking the cook for the food, before she broke her wooden chopsticks in two and ate some of the toppings delicately. Then, she took some noodles with her chopsticks and slurped them up expertly; noiselessly and gracefully (which was pretty weird to watch). I turned to my own food, breaking my chopsticks clumsily and beginning to eat. I just hope that I can do this right…
ooOOoo
I scowled deeply, glaring over at Akako, who was laughing quite hardly – though she still managed to keep her grace, somehow – at the shirt she lent me. It was practically soaked, the whole front smelling suspiciously like the ramen we had just eaten. Apparently, I wasn't as adept at eating it as I would have liked. And she was enjoying this way too much.
"Shut up…," I grumbled for the umpteenth time, but it didn't seem to quell her laughter. I glared for a moment longer before turning my head away with a dramatic huff. "Meanie…," She laughed a bit longer before subsiding to random giggles. "Well, you said you knew how to eat it properly; I didn't expect you to be so…," – a giggle slipped past and I pouted – "horrible at eating it." She giggled once more.
"Yeah, well, there's only so much I know how to do here; I'm from America." I stated, hand coming up to ruffle my already spiky and messy hair. "Besides, in America, they only sell instant noodles…,"
She smirked at me from behind her hand, which she had brought up to cover her laughter politely. "I know that; I've been to America before." I blinked at her in interest. "You have?" She nodded, hand coming down to be placed in the light sweater she was wearing. "Yes, I went there for a gathering of sorts." I wanted to ask more about this 'gathering of sorts' but I could tell that was all I was probably going to get from her.
"Ah, I see…," We found ourselves in an uncomfortable silence – on my part, anyways; I don't know how she was – and we walked for a while longer before my phone buzzed and broke the silence. I pulled it out of the skirt's pocket and flipped it open, seeing Ayumi's caller ID there. The kids and I had swapped numbers earlier on in the week; becoming fast friends. Hadn't gotten Conan's number yet, though I probably would. Eventually. Maybe. I cursed sharply, swiftly ignoring the call and going to the texting section of my phone, Akako watching me.
'Sorry, Yoshida-san, I can't take calls right now. What's up? – Alice' I somehow managed to type it up fast enough, despite me making many mistakes along the way.
I received a text not long after, once Akako and I had found a bench to sit on; every guy that passed seemed to start lingering around, though. How annoying. 'It's okay. I was wondering if you were busy. Genta-kun and Mitsuhiko-kun and I are going to go to the park to play soccer, but since Conan-kun's on a trip to the mountains, we need one more player.' My eyebrow twitched. I was just a replacement? Somehow, the thought put a smile on my face; albeit an ironic one, but still a smile.
'I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm busy with my sister. I'll see you on Monday; sorry again. – Alice' With that, I flipped my phone shut with a sigh and bit my lip thoughtfully. Conan's on a trip, huh? It must be the one where that doctor dude was murdered. The Alpine Hut in the Snowy Mountains case. Or whatever it was called. That was fast; I hadn't known they had occurred so close together. I turned to Akako as she raised an eyebrow imploringly – head tilted slightly in curiosity. "Who was it?"
"Nothing…," I mumbled, getting a disbelieving look for the obvious lie. "Don't worry about it; it wasn't important. Just a friend from school." She nodded and we stood up again, only for her to toss me a bemused look. "School, huh? I heard Kuroba-kun had enrolled you into elementary school…What's it like?" She smirked at me and I rolled my eyes.
She was going to tease me all day, wasn't she? A sigh escaped my lips as I began answering her question honestly, much to her amusement. Might as well make the best of it…I internally reminded myself for the second time that day.
Review Replies:
To: Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan – You're welcome~! ^^ Yay~! Cookie~! (Grins as snowflakes fall and eats cyber cookie)
To: Iriss-sama – Haha, yeah, I thought the idea would be interesting since she's…far from normal. XDD And she's one of my favorite characters, too, so I rolled with it. (Laughs) And me, too~! X3 Thank you, I'll try! 8D
To: MagicMilkbone – Here's how most of the day turned out. XDD Well, up until after lunch, anyways. Lol. And yup, she'll be going – there's no way she'll miss Hakuba. (Laughs)
-This chapter turned out pretty 'meh'-ish, but meh. (Shrugs and Laughs)
-Edit: All fixed up~!