And then Ran interrupted his thoughts, through quickly closing the distance between them and pressed her cheek against his. Thus, she whispered her next words directly into his ear, just hearable for the two them.
"...that I love."
Chapter 3 - The Mansion in the Woods
The arriving train came to a stop, so nobody had to scream anymore to be heard. Shinichi, however, didn't know what to say at all. "Ran..." Her name escaped his lips after a short while. Ran smiled and him and got up from the bench, offering her hand to him.
"Come on, we don't want to miss that train, right?" Ran said, cheerfully. Now Shinichi also smiled, took her hand and stood up. They walked to the train, Sera and Sonoko following behind them. Shinichi could feel Sonoko's burning stare, lusting for information, in his back, but he chose to ignore it for now.
They sat down in a four person seating area, Shinichi besides Ran and the two other girls on the opposite seats. As expected, Sonoko's had a teasing look on her face because of the hand holding and some curiosity, probably because she wanted to know what Ran whispered in his ear. On the other hand, Sera had an undefinable look on her face, if Shinichi had to guess, she expressed...disapproval?
"So, Ran, what did you discuss with Shinichi-kun?" Sonoko inquired as the train left the station. "It looked very romantic, you two on a bench, cheek to cheek with an arriving train behind you..."
Shinichi, still watching Sera's face, trying to determine her emotions, noticed that her face twitched when Sonoko described the situation. Why was she behaving like that?
"Hey, Sera-san, you want to know too, right?" Sonoko nudged the boyish girl, who now looked like her normal self again.
"Yeah, I'd love to hear that from you. Kudo-kun."
Shinichi nervously scratched his cheek. "Ah, well, you see..."
"I told him that I got all the school papers he wanted to catch up on." Ran suddenly said, turning the attention away from the stuttering detective.
Sera and Sonoko stared at her in surprise. "School...papers...?"
Shinichi was just as surprised as they were.
"Yeah, he asked me to collect some for him while during his absense." Ran added.
Disbelievingly, Sonoko pressed for more information. "Really, now, huh? You two talked about...that? Nothing else?"
"It is important, Sonoko! After all, I don't want to fail the school year." Shinichi said, following up on Ran's excuse for the other two girls.
"It can't believe you two!" Sonoko threw up her arms in an overly dramatic fashion. "Such a great moment wasted on talks about school. Unbelievable!"
Shinichi raised an eyebrow at his classmate. 'Oi, oi, if it is so unbelievable, then why did you fall for it?!' He sarcastically thought to himself. He looked over to Ran, who gave him a smile and he gently squeezed her hand to show her his appreciation for not letting Sonoko in on their little talk. For now. He was sure Ran would eventually tell her friend, but if they didn't want to be teased during the whole trip, deceiving Sonoko for a little while seemed necessary.
The rest of the two hour train ride was spend on idle chit chat, like informing Shinichi about what's been happening at school lately. Somehow, he even enjoyed that; he never admitted it outright, but sometimes he felt sad about all the things he was missing of his usual daily life, so being himself and having a normal conversation about normal everyday stuff with Ran and Sonoko was actually pretty refreshing for him. Sera also participated in the conversations, but held herself back many times and checked her phone for texts from time to time.
Another 30 minutes after they arrived at the Nagano trainstation, they were already deep inside the forest. The wind gently brushed through the trees and the summer sun managed to find its way through the masses of leaves. Sera and Sonoko were leading the group, talking about Makoto apparently, while Shinichi and Ran followed closely behind them, currently in silence.
"Hey, Shinichi." Ran started a conversation again.
"Yeah?"
"Now that you've met Sera-san in person..." Ran hesitated for a moment. "...do you feel like you've met her before?"
Shinichi's eyes widened. 'Ran remembers her as well?'
"Now that you mention it, yeah. I think I remember her from somewhere...ah, but I can't quite pinpoint it. Can you?"
Ran shook her head. "No, me neither. The only thing that comes to my mind is that I hear the rippling of waves whenever she runs off. So, maybe I met her at a beach at some point?"
"Hm, could be." Shinichi raised one hand to his chin, his trademark thinking gesture. "Have you tried to talk to her about that?"
"Yes, once. But we were interrupted before I could finish asking my question and there hasn't been a good opportunity to ask her since."
'Hm, the last time I asked her as Conan if we've met before, Sera refused to answer me. And Ran remembers her from somewhere as well. Something with waves. What is the deal with that girl?'
"Aww, this forest is so beautiful!" Shinichi was taken out of his thoughts by this loud exclaimation of Sonoko. "Really, a nice walk in a forest is just the best!" Ran and Shinichi closed the distance between them and the other two girls.
"Thank you again for inviting us to this, Sera-san." Ran added.
"And I'm really happy that you guys came with me!" Sera replied cheerfully.
"But I wouldn't have guessed you were type to go on a hiking trip, Sera-san." Shinichi chimed in.
"Ah well, truth to be told, there is also a case I'm taking care of in this area." Sera replied sheepishly.
The rest of the group was expectably surprised. "A case?! Something with criminals?!" Sonoko and Ran shouted in unison.
Shinichi was only mildly surprised. 'I knew it! After all, she's still a detective...'
"Actually, it was my brother who was supposed to take care of this case. An old friend of his from high school asked him to uncover the secret of the rentable mansion that we're going to right now. My brother doesn't have time for it at the moment, so it's up to me, high school detective that I am, to solve this mystery!" Sera explained.
"So your brother is also a detective?" Ran inquired.
Sera continued. "No, but in high school he always knew the right solution to everyone's problems."
"But I thought your brother died?"
"My oldest brother did! I still have a second, older brother and he's got tasked with this. We're three siblings, I'm the youngest. But all three of us have different surnames."
Shinichi eyed Sera suspiciously. 'Her second oldest brother, huh. She told me at the bowling alley that he looks more like her father and less like Sera and her dead, oldest brother. She also said he was very busy, which seems to be true, if he can't do his old classmates a favor, but still sends his sister to help them out. Interesting...'
"How come you all have different surnames?" Shinichi asked Sera directly.
"Well, for example, my father died." Sera answered casually. "So I'm going by my mothers maiden name, Sera, right now. My brother also went by the name of Sera until he graduated from high school."
"So you actually had a different name before?" Shinichi hoped he was hiding his curiosity well enough, so she wouldn't get suspicious about his questions.
"Akai..."
Sera and Shinichi spun around to Sonoko, surprise on both of their faces; but both failed to notice the others reaction.
"A person in red..." Sonoko continued. "There was a red person behind that tree just a second ago!"
'Oh, she meant Akai as in the colour red.' Shinichi thought.
"Yeah." Ran added. "Somebody in a red raincoat and red boots. A woman with long hair."
'A red raincoat? In Deadly Premonition we'd be in deep trouble by now.' Shinichi thought, in one of the few times where a video game came to his mind before a novel. Thinking about what Ran and Sonoko just saw and about Sera's name and brother, he didn't pay too much attention to his footing.
"Huh...?" He exclaimed as he stepped onto a small slope and started to fall. Shinichi noticed the ground and dark waters coming closer to him - although it was more like he was falling closer to them - before his arm was suddenly grabbed by Ran, stopping his fall and allowing him to put down his feet down onto the slope without sliding down. Releasing a breath he didn't know he held, Shinichi stepped on the safe path again.
"Are you alright, Shinichi?" Ran asked.
Shinichi brushed over his clothes a few times. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I think that water down there is acutally a swamp, so I'm glad you didn't let me fall into that."
He then noticed that Ran was still holding his arm; he subtly squeezed her hand that was still clinging to his arm, making Ran blush at the realization of her own actions and hastily pulling her hand away. Shinichi gave her warm smile in response. Luckily, the two other girls didn't notice their small, wordless exchange.
"Yeah, we have to be careful where we're going." Sera explained. "There is said to be a bottomless swamp in this forest. I didn't realize we were already so close to it though."
"Wahh, really?!" Sonoko shouted, panickly looking down all over the ground. While the group calmed down and prepared to move along, they failed to notice the woman in red observing them from behind a tree.
After a short while, they reached their destination: a building that looked like a log cabin, but in much bigger mansion form. It looked very well built and seemed to be in a good shape and with the location here in the quiet, beautiful Nagano mountains, with a large forest surrounding it, it must've been a very good place to spend your vacation in.
The four of them stood before the mansion, admiring the sight of it. "Wow, what a beautiful holiday villa!" Ran cheerfully exclaimed, but then she frowned when her eyes fell upon the front door. "But why is the door completely painted red?"
Sonoko nodded. "Yeah, it's looking kind of scary..."
Scary wasn't the first thing that came to Shinichi's mind, but it was still kind of unsettling.
'Another mansion with something red...I hope this one doesn't light up in flames if were staying here...' He thought.
The sound of footsteps disrupted his thoughts and turned everyone's attention to a person approaching them from behind. It was a woman, not older than 30 if Shinichi had to guess, who was wearing a hoodie and a striped shirt, and carried a large bag.
"Oh, you must be Sera's little sister and her friends, right?" The woman said.
Ran nodded. "Yeah, we are."
The woman smiled and started to introduce herself. "My name is Tamami Minegishi. Thank you for coming. Erhm..." Tamami looked around the group before her. Apparently her old high school friend didn't send her a picture or description of his little sister. Sera noticed the woman's little problem and introduced the group.
"I'm Masumi Sera." She said, pointing to herself. Sera then gestured over to her companions. "And those two are my classmates, Sonoko Suzuki-kun and Ran Mouri-kun."
The two girls briefly greeted the woman before Sera continued the introduction.
"And this is Shinichi Kudo-kun, an even better detective than I am!" Sera said with a cheerful grin.
Tamami turned her gaze to Shinchi. "Oh really?"
Shinichi lifted his hands for a de-emphasizing gesture. "I'm not that big of a deal."
That earned him confused glares from Sonoko and Ran. His sudden humbleness seemed to surprise them.
The woman came a bit closer to him. "Hm, I could swear that I have seen your face before."
"Ah, you must mistake for the famous Kendo champion Okita from Kyoto." Shinichi played down the woman's recognition. "That happens quite often, actually." He followed up his lie with a smile. Tamami seemed to buy it, atleast she didn't question it any further. Just as Sonoko wanted to say something, Tamami proceeded to talk to Sera about the case again.
"So, anyway, I took photos of the strange incidents with my camera...uhm..." She looked over her shoulders. "...Sumika wanted to print them and take them with her...but she isn-..." Tamami stopped looking around, her eyes focussing in one direction. "Ah, there she is! Sumika! You have the photos with you?"
Shinichi followed Tamami's gaze. He spotted another woman approaching them, same age as Tamami, long brownish-blonde hair, tied together into two casual pigtails. "Yeah." She replied. The woman, Sumika, as Tamami called her, made her way over to them and handed Sera an envelope. "Good luck!" She simply said and went straight past the group, entering the mansion through the red door.
Tamami flashed them a sheepish smile. "Her name is Sumika Kawana, she's part of our group too." A nervous chuckle. "Don't take her behaviour personally, Sumika isn't that good with strangers."
The loud voice of a man gained the attention of the group. "Oh! Sera's little sister, the high school detective, really came all the way out here!" They all turned around to the voice, to see two men approaching the mansion.
'Man, this reclusive forest sees more commotion than the Detective Agency!' Shinchi thought with half-moon eyes.
Tamami seemed to recognize the two men. The one who spoke to them was a tall, dark-skinned man, with black, spiky coiffed hair under a white headband and a three day stubble beard. The other man was a bit smaller and a bit more chubby, with short, brown hair and a few freckles on his face.
"Jinsuke! Masaie! Did you come here together?" Tamami asked the two men.
"N-no, we just ran into each other in forest by chance!" The chubby guy stuttered, a bit uncomfortable for some reason.
The other man let out a small laugh. "Heh, he told me he got stuck in the swamp. He was busy changing clothes when I met him."
And there was probably the reason, why the chubby guy felt uncomfortable.
"This is Masaie Hakuya..." Tamami said and pointed to the small, chubby man, who raised one hand to greet the four teenagers staring at him. "...and this is Jinsuke Ninda." She continued, pointing to the dark-skinned man.
Said Jinsuke began to speak again. "It's a real shame. I was really looking forward to see some high school girls out here, but then they both bring their boyfriends along."
Tamami looked at her friend in confusion. "Huh?"
"Well, we heard that Sera's sister would take some of her friends from high school with her..." Masaie now said.
Suddenly, Sera and Shinichi realized what they were talking about. Sera started to get angry, while Shinichi couldn't hold in his laughter and just started to lose it.
"RIGHT! AND I AM SERA'S SISTER MASUMI, DAMNIT!" The tomboyish girl shouted at the men, who stared back at her with fear and confusion.
"What?!"
"You're a girl?!"
Now Ran and Sonoko understood why Shinichi was laughing; Ran tried to hold back her laughter - she wasn't doing a very good job at it though -, while Sonoko also started to outright lose it. Sera folded her arms in front of her chest. "Really funny, guys..." She muttered.
Shinchi felt wonderful; Sera's gender had given them quite a few funny situations before, but being able to have a long, genuine laugh as himself with his friends was just a blast. He realized something that came with not truly being himself for such a long time already; it gave him a whole new appreciation for things he took for granted before. Even a simple thing like chatting about school in the train or having a good laugh here. True, he laughed with Ran as Conan too sometimes, but it just wasn't the same.
The three of them calmed down and Tamami introduced the teenagers to the two men. Thankfully, these two didn't recognize his name or his face, so he didn't have to lie about being mistaken for Okita again.
"But I can reassure you that you were correct about me." Shinichi said, pointing a finger at himself with a smile. "I really am a high school boy!"
Jinsuke and Masaie mumbled something under their breath; quiet enough to make it impossible for the others to hear.
"Hey, Shinichi-kun, don't forget the other thing they were right about!" Sonoko exclaimed, drawing the attention to her. She then grabbed one arm of Shinichi and one arm of Ran and proceed to press their palms flat together. "You really were brought along by your girlfriend!"
If Shinichi needed a reminder that Sonoko was really good at pushing the right buttons when it came to relationships - he didn't, for the record -, then this was it; both Shinichi and Ran started to blush furiously, Ran a bit more than Shinichi.
Sonoko flashed them a Cheshire cat grin, Sera had an unreadable expression on her face, while the adults were still a bit confused, but Shinichi could already see amusement making its way to their faces; if he didn't want to get back the laughter, Shinichi needed a way to get out this situation right now.
'Alright, Kudo, now or never!' He thought to himself, before he winked at Ran. This brought her out of her stunning embarassment and made her wonder what he was about to do.
"Yeah, you're right Sonoko, how could I forget about that?" He said as smooth as he possibly could and entwined his fingers with Ran's - they were now effectively holding hands -, shook off Sonoko's hands from their arms and lowered their hands back to thigh level.
"Shinichi..." Ran whispered, still considerably blushing and Shinichi was sure his face wasn't looking much better, but atleast he now had the momentum of the conversation again, so he decided to deflect the attention from their relationship back to the adults.
"What are you carrying on your back?" Shinichi asked Jinsuke.
It worked; the man he addressed looked over his shoulder. "Oh, this? It's a baseball bat." He took the bat out the small bag. "I take it with me every year, for self-defense purposes."
Sonoko and Ran were shocked by his words.
"S-self-defense?" Ran asked with a slightly shaky voice.
"Against what? Are there wild bears living in this forest?" Sonoko hastily added.
Jinsuke scratched the back of his head. "Ah, no, nothing like that..."
Meanwhile, Sera took the bat in her hands to examine it; she gave it a sceptical look. "This bat's pretty thin. Can you even hit a ball with that?"
Jinsuke turned back to her. "Like I said, it's for self-defense purposes, not for actual baseball games."
Tamami clapped her hands together. "Alright, why don't we all go inside and have some lunch? I'll make you my tasty special menu and then we can talk about the reason why we asked Sera for help. Sounds good?" Everyone agreed; Jinsuke and Masaie assured the teenagers that Tamami made truly excellent food. They all set themselves in motion.
Suddenly, Shinichi felt something cold behind his back; he sharply spinned around, but he didn't see anything suspicious. Shinichi narrowed his eyes, gazing along the treeline; he could've sworn there was somebody out there watching him.
"Shinichi?"
Ran calling out his name brought his attention back to the group. He realized that she also came to a halt with him, because he was still holding her hand; upon realization of that he let go of her.
"No, it's nothing...I just felt like somebody was watching me." He said.
Jinsuke waved him off. "It's the density of the trees, makes people paranoid sooner than they can say 'Hallucination'."
Shinichi nodded, closing down that subject. Everybody went into the mansion; Shinichi remained outside for a little while longer and looked back to the treeline.
'No, that wasn't it. I'm sure somebody was there. My feeling about this kind of thing hasn't been wrong.' Shinichi thought. He turned around and followed the other ones inside. While walking, he threw a last glance over his shoulder, but he didn't spot anyone.
Out of his sight, behind a tree, a long haired woman looked at the entrance of the mansion again. The woman breathed heavily as she cracked a smile. The wind blew through her hair and the numerous trees, but it wasn't gentle anymore.
A storm was coming.