-Love of Four-
Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.
Warning: KaiShin relationship.
A/N: NO WORRIES I'M STILL ALIVE~ Actually, life just sudden reared it ugly head and now I'm drowning in work to be able to write (let alone post) any chapters. I'll try to update when I can so this is still a live fic.
02: Emergency Uniform
After two consecutive phone calls to the respective schools, and internally thanking the deities that both principals were such morning creatures to actually be in school so early, Shinichi managed to have the transfers done before school started for the day. It helped that his family had gifted generously to all their charity events and fundraising, though he was equally sure it was because of their family's celebrity status that had both school turning a blind eye to such strange and hasty requests.
However, the next problem comes in the form of wardrobe. Specifically for Shiina. Thumbing his mobile, Shinichi looked at the clock on his bedside table and wondered briefly if Ran was awake. He knew she normally wake up with the sun to prepare breakfast before heading out to morning practice at the karate club but they were at their final year and had no club activities to speak of so it was equally likely for her to sleep in slightly. Biting on the inside of his cheeks, he scrolled through his contacts and pressed call on Ran's number.
He waited patiently with a finger hovering over the disconnect button the moment the call is transferred to voicemail. Luck seems to be giving him the time of day as a sleepy voice greeted with a slurred "hello?"
"Um, morning Ran." He replied hesitantly. "I have a favour to ask."
"Shinichi? Is something wrong?" She sounded alarmed and Shinichi winced at causing unnecessary worry.
"No. At least not really I think. But I do need your help somewhat." He tries to placate his friend but the silence only signalled to Shinichi that Ran was on high alert and most likely coming up with worst case scenarios. "Don't freak out yet, and don't think I'm strange or anything but do you think you can lend me your spare uniform?"
"Ha?" He had the feeling that Ran was thinking him insane.
"Look, it's… I'm not sure how to say it. I'll explain once you come over. I know you won't have much time and all..." He started rambling but was cut off by Ran.
"I'm sure you have a good explanation." There was rustling from the other end. Likely Ran getting up to start her morning ritual. "Dad's not back from his stakeout so I won't have to cook breakfast. I'll be over in half an hour and I expect breakfast as compensation for the request. That and lunch, but I'll spare you dinner."
"Thanks Ran. You're a lifesaver!" Grateful that Ran decided not to grill him for information just yet, Shinichi disconnected the call and made his way to the kitchens. The waft of cooking drifted through the house as the clatter of cutlery echoed.
"You're making a mess." Shiina's voice was quite distinct over the clatter. "And it's impolite to start eating when not everyone is here."
"I didn't eat! I only poured honey over the pancakes." Conan whined in a voice equivalent to his age. "I have better manners than to start eating. I'm not Genta."
The sounds were all too domestic, quite reminiscent of the times when his parents were still living here, of the times when he was actually an eight year-old. It brought a smile to his face even if there was a persistent headache at his temples.
"Finally! Shinichi-niichan! I thought you had drowned in the tub or something." Conan, with a face entirely too bright and all together too hyperactive, beamed from his seat at the tables. Shiina was studious by the stove, staring at the pan as though it held the mysteries of the Earth. The small crackle and sizzle signalled there was bacon in the pan, a fire hazard in itself if left unattended for extended period of time.
"I was making the required preparations for the two of you to go to school." He winced, sounding too old to his own ears. "I don't think it's appropriate for the pair of you, no matter how you came to being, should stay here by yourselves."
"Aw, can't I just skip or something? It's not as though I'm learning anything…" Conan whined, and in that instance Shinichi cannot help but notice how child-like Conan was.
"I know you miss the kids." Shinichi went to ruffle the too-tidy hair much like his father had on lazy mornings. It was a strange feeling, having to play the responsible father in this situation. "You won't be bored."
"Then? I'm going to Teitan then I assume?" Shiina plated up the food and set it before a seat. "Though I don't have the uniform."
"Fixed that. I called Ran and she's coming over. Something about preparing breakfast for her as well." He took a sip of the orange juice.
"Did you explain to her the situation? Or were you stuck at the awkward phase and decided to surprise her. You know Ran isn't one to react nicely to such a surprise." She gestured between herself and Conan. "Plus she knew about the Conan incident, and about you crossdressing so seeing me here...well...I think it might blow a casket."
"It'll be fine. Ran's a tough girl." But even as the words left his mouth, some parts of him feared Ran's first reaction was punch him in the face. He could never predict Ran's reaction with any sort of accuracy.
Just as he took on several bites of the pancakes, and Conan was happily still sucking on the fork for the last remnant of honey, the front doorbell rang. Pushing out of the chair, he steeled himself to face Ran.
"Good Morning." He greeted. Ran immediately shoved a small paper bag into his arms before pushing her way through the entry. Shinichi nodded, noting the slightly pissed off vibe that was coming from Ran. He decided to put a bit of distance between them and opted to close the door before following.
Shinichi was alarmed when he heard a loud thud and quickly rushed towards the kitchen where he found Ran to have crumpled onto the floor, staring at the pair that was sitting by the table and clearly enjoying breakfast.
"Morning Ran-neechan!" Conan chirped with a small mess at the corner of his mouth. Shiina diligently grabbed a napkin and began to furiously wipe away the sticky substance before it dripped onto his clothes.
"But...You...and...him...and…" Shinichi figured they must have broken Ran's brain somehow as she stared at the two and pointed between Conan and himself. "You…"
"Yes, I used to be Conan." Shinichi nodded, giving Ran a hand to stand up. He gently guided her to a nearby seat.
"But...he...and you...here?" Ran's incredibly wide eyes flickered as harsh breath was drawn in rapid succession.
"Breath Ran. In. Out." Shinichi guided the now most likely hyperventilating Ran. "Yes, what you're seeing is not a dream or a figment of your imagination. Conan is here, in person. Physically touchable."
"But how? And she's, isn't she you?" Ran looked up at Shiina who was setting down a cup of cool water before heading to the stove and start on another plate of food.
"She was at one point." He nodded, "it's a bit hard to explain and even I don't know how it happened. Suffice to say that I fell asleep as myself last night and this morning, the pair of them appeared with a cup of coffee for me. Likely to buy me off or prevent me from going insane."
"But how?" Her grip on the cup was so tight that Shinichi fear she might injure herself. Carefully, she extracted the now empty cup and placed in on the table, some ways away from Ran to prevent her from reaching out. As added precaution, he took hold of her hands. On the one hand, it stopped her from doing anything physical, on the other it allowed Shinichi to monitor her heart rate just in case it skyrocketed. Though that came with the danger of Ran squeezing his hand too tight that he might lose blood flow to his fingers, or worst break his bones entirely because of the all-too-tight grip Ran is having on him at the moment.
"I believe," Shiina spoke with a plate in hand, "it had something to do with a fortune teller on our return trip from the date."
"With Kuroba-kun? In Ekoda?" Ran looked between the three before staring straight into Shinichi's eyes. "But how does she know?"
"We share the same memories up until that moment in time. Not quite sure what would happen afterwards though. Likely Shinichi-niichan will received all the memories in bulk when we leave." There was a rather evil grin on Conan's face. "You'll be having quite a headache afterwards I think." The subsequent sniggering was somehow contagious as Shiina was also trying to hide her giggles behind her fists.
"Yes, thanks for the heads up." Shinichi rubbed at his temple, the low grade headache is escalating and he briefly wondered where he kept the pain killers. In an instant, Shiina tapped him on the shoulders and handed over a cup of steaming coffee. Caffeine was better than nothing, though it would not make the headache less. There were very few things that could cure his headache, Shiina and Conan not physically existing it one of them. The other cure is unfortunately a train ride away and most likely still sleeping at the moment.
"I think," she replied to Ran's questioning gaze, "that it's like cloud computing. We share the memories, work on our own thing, and in the end upload it back into a single location which happens to be Shinichi."
"How come I'm not feeling any better with that explanation…" As much as people like to think Shinichi was like a crime-solving machine, he was essentially still human.
"Then do the two of you," at this, Ran directed her questions towards Shiina and Conan, "feel the same towards Kuroba-kun? I can't imagine how that would work."
"Hm…" Both looked extremely contemplative and Shinichi could not help but feel nervous. Twin pairs of sapphire quickly zoomed in onto Shinichi and he hesitantly took a step back.
"Nope. Nothing." Shiina declared after careful contemplation and shook her head.
"It's more like 'Kaito-niisan', familial more than anything else." Conan mirrored the action though with more of a shrug. "He's family, or at least he would be if Shinichi-niichan would get his act together and ask him to move in."
Shinichi reactively thwaped Conan on the back of his head and was immediately appalled by his own reaction.
"I'm sorry." He apologised immediately, looking over the back of the head for possible injuries. He could not believe how easily he succumbed to physical punishments. But at least he understood somewhat why Kogoro would suddenly manhandle him as Conan. The boy was rather upfront about a lot of things and they were things that are not normally well received by adults.
"No worries. Used to it already." He rubbed the back of his head. "It's not the first time."
"It should have never happened."
"Ahem." Ran coughed, trying to regain the small bit of attention back. "So? Neither Conan nor Shiina feels anything for Kuroba-kun even though they share the same memories? I find that particularly hard to believe."
"Well, when I was conceived," Shinichi winced at Conan's choice of words, "it was due to an emergency that I was given any sort of character or personality. I don't think it's strange for me to feel nothing towards Kaito-niisan seeing as Conan had a specific goal in mind and had very little to spare for such things."
Ran glared at Shinichi as though blaming for Conan's stunted emotional development. Shinichi tries to avoid all forms of eye contact and took a seat by the table to begin delving into his food once more.
-TBC-
