A/N: Yay! Happy anniversary, guys! 8DDD …You don't know what the anniversary is for? Why, it's for making it to the twentieth chapter together! We've been through a lot – grammar problems, continuity errors, faulty Japanese culture, and other things – but thank you for sticking with me this long. (Bows Deeply) Sa, I hope you enjoy the twentieth chapter of Revolver which introduces a new character who will show up a lot more. The new OC is created by Iriss-sama! Thank you, Iriss-sama-san (lol)! ^^ Also, sorry for the shortness – it was supposed to be longer, but I blanked halfway through and lost my train of plot. Lol, see what I did there? XD
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito in any way or form. I do not own Ryukaze Erise, either; she is owned by the awesome Iriss-sama.
Chapter Twenty
I shifted in my bed with a content sigh, sunlight warming my cheeks as it filtered through the window brightly. I could hear someone watching TV downstairs, and a small smile adorned my lips before I cracked my eyes open slightly, pupils dilating as they greeting the sun. I winced, squinting, and I looked away and spotted Kaito's bed – it was empty; he must be the one watching TV, then. Now that I think about it, his mom wasn't home, anyways – I would assume, since I wasn't informed of her returning; but who knows, the Kuroba family was always very….unexpected – so I don't know why I had actually had to ponder over who it was. I nearly face palmed, but instead brought my hand up to rub the sleep out of my eyes.
I heaved another sigh before sitting up sluggishly, teddy bear falling to the floor with a jingling clatter. I ignored it in favor of stand up and stretching my arms above my head and then starting down to the living room with small steps. I scratched the back of my neck carelessly, almost breaking skin but dismissing the pain as if it was only a passing annoyance. I reached the living room and looked up to see Kaito sitting on the couch, now looking at me with a bright grin. "Good morning, Alice-chan~!"
"Good morning, Kaito-niichan…," I murmured, yawning at the end of my sentence and running a hand through my unruly hair. He chuckled, leaning back onto the couch cushion as I climbed up to sit next to him, sinking into his side due to the way his weight caved the cushion in. I didn't care at the moment. He was warm…
"Or should I say good afternoon?" He joked, hand moving to pet my head in a soothing gesture as I rest my head on his side, body motionless like a ragdoll. "Afternoon…?" My voice was barely above a whisper as I felt the will to stay awake slip away. My eyes fluttered half shut, but stayed open just enough for anyone paying attention to see the dull edges of my dark chocolate brown eyes. Kaito made a humming noise in affirmative, hand freezing on my head and beginning to play with the short strands instead; trying to put some order to the tangled knots, I guessed.
"Yeah, it's already 11 AM. I didn't wake you 'cause you looked like you could use the sleep." He added as an afterthought and I nodded slightly. "I see… thanks." I could almost feel him smile before he turned back to watch whatever he was watching and my eyes finally shut completely once more, the world drowning out into a blurry, confusing mess.
I later woke up as my pillow shifted and I had to keep from slapping Kaito to keep him still, knowing that would be horribly rude. Very rude, I persuaded myself before opening my eyes with annoyance, awareness assaulting my senses like a wildfire, unlike last time. I retreated from Kaito's side, flashing him an apologetic smile that seemed to amuse him, and moving away a bit to get my own personal bubble. I pouted as I glanced at the time. It, surprisingly, was still eleven. Guess my little nap hadn't been as long as it felt. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but ended up chalking it off as neutral.
"So, any plans for today?" I asked, eyes flickering to the TV screen and seeing a comedy show on.
Kaito shook his head, sinking back into the couch in a theatrical show of laziness. "Nope, I plan on staying here all~ day. We may go over to Aoko's for dinner, though." He chuckled a bit and I deadpanned. Even too lazy to cook dinner, it seemed. Can't blame him; I did the same thing, sometimes. My eyes sparked with a sudden idea.
"Hey, would it be alright if I went out with some of my friends?" I questioned, a goofy smile creeping onto my lips. Kaito blinked curiously before he nodded happily. "Sure~! Just make sure you're back before six." I cheered before hightailing it upstairs.
ooOOoo
I left the house, half-heartedly saying a goodbye to Kaito after he had recited the do's and don'ts. 'Don't talk to strangers', 'don't go off with strangers', 'don't accept things from strangers'; basically, don't do anything including strangers. Of course with the one that made me laugh – 'don't take candy from strangers'. Kaito didn't understand why I had burst into a fit of laughter, but he didn't question it. Then I was off, scurrying out of his sight and down to the park, where I went into one of those tiny, portable bathrooms – ew, ew, ew; the smell… – and opened my bag, grinning as I pulled out a pair of considerably larger clothes.
I quickly undressed and changed before getting on the clothes – I was really happy Akako had decided to buy some clothes for when I was older; otherwise, I'd be wearing Kaito's clothes right now, which would be kind of baggy and there'd be the chance that he'd notice some clothes of his missing. Yeah. No thanks. I made sure everything was in place before placing a hat on my head, pulling it low, and exiting the nasty smelling tiny bathroom.
I stretched once out, arms above my head as if hailing the sky. It really did feel the best to be myself, without anyone around that knows who I am. Almost refreshing; plus, the feeling of sneaking around made it feel almost…euphoric, in a way. I snorted in amusement, bringing my arms down to stuff my hands in my baggy, teal sweater's pockets casually. I started to walk around, glancing at people here and there in interest. There was a few kids playing with a large, shaggy dog, their parents standing nearby, watching in bemusement as one of the kids was tackled gently and became a licking post.
I was brought out of my peace when I collided with something, stumbling back as I turned my head to see a shorter girl falling. I quickly snagged her wrist on instinct, hauling her up before she could hit the ground. I let go of her wrist after I was positive she wasn't about to lose her balance again, and brought a hand to my neck nervously, "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."
The girl looked up at me with clear blue eyes – a color that resembled a summer sky without any clouds; bright and pretty. She flushed bowing slightly, "I wasn't, either. I'm sorry." She apologized politely and I took in her appearance; long, brown-ish red hair that gleamed in the sun, lightly sun-kissed skin, and the blue eyes that had startled me before. She looked about 15 or 16, but I couldn't be sure. Overall, she was very pretty to look at. I chuckled at my thoughts, making her look up curiously.
"That's alright, it was both our faults; 50-50. No need to apologize." I grinned at her and I saw her taking in my appearance for but a moment before she giggled, offering her hand. "I'm Ryukaze Erise. Nice to meet you." My eyes lit with cheer and I took her hand enthusiastically. "I'm Koizumi Midori. Nice to meet you, too." She blinked in – what? Surprise? – before she smiled. "Are you, perhaps, related to Koizumi Akako?"
She knew Akako? I kept down my shock behind my own type of poker face and laughed, nodding a bit and taking my hand back. "Uh, yeah; we're cousins, actually. Do you know her?" I asked before mentally face palming. Of course she knew Akako if she had asked that. Stupid, stupid, idiot!
The girl, Erise, didn't seem to sense my inner turmoil as she smiled sweetly – I absently noted her pausing the music playing on her music player. "Yeah, we go to the same school. I've never met her personally, but every boy in school talks about her." Haha, typical Akako. Even people who haven't met her know her because of her charm…
"And you're her cousin, huh? That's cool. I've never seen you around before, are you new here?" I blinked at her sudden surge of speech, but my eyes narrowed in amusement. This girl was interesting. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." I chuckled and she looked kind of confused at my choice of words before she bounced back again, making me force down a smile.
"Oh, I see. How do you like it here so far?" She asked, rocking on the balls of her feet energetically and I found myself drawing a bit closer to her, drawn in by her presence. "If you ever need someone to show you around, I'll be happy to~!" She chimed and I let a smirk adorn my lips. "I'll do that." We continued talking for a long while, after we had found a bench to sit on so we weren't standing in the middle of the trail like idiots.
All the while, I couldn't help but think that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Review Replies:
To: MagicMilkbone – lol, I'm enjoying this too much, I think. (holding out on you guys, I mean). XD You'll learn soon enough (possibly). *snickers* And I will~! He's one of my favorites, so he'll definitely weasel his way into the storyline. XD Thanks for the review~!
To: Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan – lol, I'm glad you thought the jokes were okay. ^^ I was worried I was the only one who was going to find them even relatively funny. XDD;; (Grins as snowflakes fall and eats cyber cookie) Thank you, E-chan~!
To: Iriss-sama – Thank you~! (Grins) ((is totally loving holding out on information)) XD I got your PM, too. I read it over and was like, "Oh, this is perfect! I can totally work with this~!" XD And I'll try, thank you~! (Catches luck and puts it in a bottle) ^^ Also, one question, when you put 'Erise Ryukaze', were you writing it the English way or the Japanese way? (Just making sure I didn't fumble in this chapter by accidently putting it backwards…)
To: Lia Alcona – (Blinks) XD lol, yup; bad jokes. (Cheers) Here's the update! ^^ Thanks for the review. 8D
-Thank you, everyone, for sticking me this long into the story (20 chapters!). I love you all~! (Sprinkles you with happiness)
-Edit: Fixed~!