Hello? Anybody there? I just want to let you guys know that I'm not dead and I'm here with the ninth chapter and Childhood Times!!!!
I know it's been almost a year…*hides*
Tessa: Oh no, you don't! You're going to come out right now and apologize to everyone who has read your story.
Yes ma'am. So, I'm so sorry that this took so long. I added a little!Wataru scene in this chapter to make up for that!
Review replies!
DetectiveConanFan13- No, thank you for reading and reviewing. And here's the update!
Chibified Ran-chan- Yes. Once. With Yukiko's help. XD
HKPOTLCDCGSNSOHHCSAFAN- I love Wataru, too! That's why I'm writing this! And if you'll notice, all my stories so far revolve around him. Oh, love your username. XD
Thriefty- Well, wait no more! Really, you have already waited for eleven months…
Suigetsudan - I'm glad my sense of humor can be shared. So does this mean I've had that sickness for a year now? XD
Yolapeoples- The fridge? XD
Merialle- He did. But he failed. Three times. XD
Nataeiy1- Hakase would not be taking part in this story, unfortunately. But he will be mentioned! 8D
Ziraulo- They already had breakfast. The "ka-boom" came after that.
Waterdog- I'm flattered that you would want me to be a beta. I'd gladly take up the job, and I promise I won't screw up the updates like I do with my own stories. XD And regarding the question about Wataru's cooking skills, the answer is maybe.
Katiespaks- Dignity? What dignity? XD
Anonymousgir028- Glad that I can bring you amusement!
Sazerac- I know it's you, Shang! Thanks for catching that mistake, but I'm too lazy to change it anyways. XD *munches on the year-old cookie*
Midori: Ruth-sama has gone into her moping corner in shame of not updating for so long. I'm sorry for the long wait we gave everyone! Hontoni gomenasai! Oh, and we don't own Detective Conan!
Chapter 9
After helping Yuusaku clean up the mess in the kitchen, the boys decided that staying in the same house with a hungry but in-hiding Yuusaku would not be the safest thing to do. So Shinichi persuaded his father to give them some cash and took care of their lunch in a nearby Welcome Burgers (1).
"Is Yuusaku-san always like that?" Wataru asked as he tossed their paper wraps and paper cups into the trash can, Shinichi being too short to do it himself. Shinichi shrugged, "It's not much of a big deal. I mean, compared to what Hakase usually blows up, Tou-san's explosions are considered okay."
"…Hakase?"
"He's the old man who lives across the street from us. He's usually thinking up ideas for his inventions, but none of them work properly. Most of them usually end up going 'ka-boom'."
"…Oh, okay." Wataru seriously didn't know how to react to that.
"Well, Kaa-san took him to America, too, so the only explosions you'll hear are Tou-san's kitchen runs." Shinichi said. "Anyways, let's go to the bookstore. I can't wait to find the rest of the statues!"
As Shinichi bounded out of the fast food restaurant, Wataru hesitated. He remembered the hostility of the glare he felt and shivered even though the temperature was no where near cold. He nearly jumped when Shinichi popped back in and called, "C'mon, Wataru-senpai! Someone else might have found them already!" Shaking himself out of the stupor, he smiled weakly and went after the eager younger boy.
Let's just hope I was thinking too much, ne?
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There were even more people in the bookstore then yesterday, Wataru noted. He let out a sigh of relief when he didn't feel the glare. Instead, the only ones he felt were curious ones that settled on them when they came in, disappearing once the ones looking lost interest and went back to whatever they were doing before the two came in.
Wataru smiled wide before turning to Shinichi. "So, which bookshelf should I look into?" Shinichi looked at him, mildly surprised by the change in attitude. Oh well, if Wataru-senpai's feeling better, I guess that's a good thing. He smiled back at the taller boy, "You can go look in the 'ha' shelf and 'ma-ya' shelf. I'll go look in the 'na' shelf."
Wataru frowned, "Hey, how come you only need to look in one shelf while I get two?" Shinichi smirked even as he started walking towards his appointed shelf, "Because there are two statues in the 'na' shelf!"
Wataru blinked. Then he blinked again. Shaking his head, he smiled to himself and went to find the rabbit and the ram.
He found the rabbit with no problem at all. It was on behind the first row of books on the "ma-ya" shelf and Wataru had to check twice to make sure it really was the rabbit statue. Feeling happy about the quick find, he got up and jogged to the "ha" shelf. As he began looking for the ram statue, he let his mind wander a bit.
He thought about how his life has changed since meeting the sharp-minded kid. Kudou Shinichi had turned his world around for the best. And now, they are in a treasure hunting adventure that was the most fun he's had in years. He tried to remember the last time he really had any fun at all, and found himself thinking back to a vague memory when he was only four.
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"Papa!" Little Wataru cried out in delight. "Look! I can fly!"
"Wataru!" The older Takagi paled when he saw his son jumping off a tree branch, holding onto a thick vine that draped down from one of the trees in the dense forest. Forcing himself not to panic, Takagi quickly ran after his airborne son. "Wataru! Get down from there right now!"
"Let go?"
"Yes, I want you to-" Takagi's eyes widened in horror when he realized what he just said, "NO! Don't let go! Hold on as tightly as you can!"
"Okay!" Wataru smiled widely even as he swung to the next branch. Takagi trailed behind him, sighing with relief when his son landed safely on the branch. "Good, very good, Wataru. Now just stay wait, Papa's going to- WAIT!" His cry fell to deaf ears as Wataru grabbed on to the next vine and swung again.
This time, the vine wasn't thick enough.
"WATARU!" Takagi screeched when the vine snapped under his son's weight. Rushing forward, the older man managed to catch Wataru before he hit the ground. He accidentally trip over a root and they both tumbled to the ground, stopping when Takagi's back hit one of the tree trunks.
Panting from the fear he had felt when his son plummeted, Takagi held Wataru close to him. He forced himself to calm down despite still feeling the adrenaline course through his veins. He quickly glanced down at his son, hoping that the younger Takagi was all right. Takagi was surprised to see the boy shaking. Gently, he shifted the small body until he was facing him. The boy's head was hanging low, making it impossible to see his face.
"Wataru?" Takagi asked softly. Had it been too much? Did the fall scare him enough to traumatize him? Was he crying?
One could only imagine how surprised Takagi was when the boy suddenly threw back his head and laughed.
"Wataru?!" Takagi asked again, this time totally bewildered by his son's reaction. Wataru laughed and laughed until tears became visible in his eyes. As the laughs slowly quieted down to giggles, Wataru wiped at the tears and grinned up at his father, "Papa! That was awesome! Can we do it again?"
Takagi could only stare.
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Wataru smiled. The "Vine Incident", as he referred to it as, was one of the few memories he still had of their time in Kyoto (2). He used to wish with all his might that his life could go back as it had been in Kyoto. When his mother wasn't often running off on business trips. When his parents would play with him even if he didn't feel like playing. When the other kids were actually nice to him and he actually had friends.
But now, after meeting Shinichi-kun, his life has taken a turn for the better. He wouldn't mind continuing to live like this. Maybe when Shinichi's mother and friends came back from America, he can meet them and become friends with them, too.
He chuckled at this thought and happily placed the last book on the shelf back to its rightful place. He was about to get back up when realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
Wait, the last book on the shelf?!
This wasn't right. How had he come to the last book on the shelf without finding anything? Standing up, he quickly to a look at the shelf label to see that this was indeed the shelf he was supposed to look in. Panic rose in him as he went back to double check the shelf. Maybe he had just missed the statue when he was caught up in that flashback.
Ten minutes later, Wataru sank to the floor. It was certain now that there was indeed nothing hidden in the shelf. No jade statues, no carefully sculpted ram, no nothing.
But all the other statues had turned up right where they deducted they would. Why wouldn't this one be here?
Wataru placed a hand to his forehead when he realized something.
He still needed to tell Shinichi about this.
Shinichi-kun's not going to like this.
To be continued…
Once again, I'm sorry for the long wait.
(1)- Believe it or not, the restaurant actually exists in the DC world. Ran and Sonoko went to one before they went to clean Shinichi's house in that file where they first met Okiya Subaru.
(2)- For those of you that have seen DC movie 7, Crossroad in the Capital City, think of that flashback taking place in that part when Conan and Heiji were chasing the killer through that thick forest with Conan sliding down the trees like he was on a skateboard. Not a scene you can easily forget, if I do say so myself.
I went over some of my earlier chapters and noticed that I tend to use a lot of Japanese phrases in their speech. I fixed that in this chapter so more people can actually understand what they're saying. Hope it works.
You don't have to review. Just knowing that you read this would be enough for me. 8D
~ruth~
Next up: One of the statues is missing! I s it really gone? Or did Wataru just miss it? How will Shinichi react to this?