Beta Used: Grammarly
Summary: SIOC fic. What happens when an SI is reborn as the younger sister of Akai Shuuichi and Haneda Shuukichi and the older sister of Sera Masumi? Two-shots. Spoilers Episode 1018 and Chapter 1037. If you're not updated on the anime or manga, read at your own risk.
Life in the Kudo household went peacefully. Shuukichi and I went to school. I would spend an hour or two in the school's library after classes to do my homework for the day while waiting for Shuukichi to finish his Shogi Club. Once home, he and I would help around the house. I'd help Yukiko with cooking and cleaning while Shuukichi kept Shinichi company. They'd go on walks or play football at the park.
I'm usually with Yusaku-sensei during the evenings as he made me his assistant. I'd help with his fan mail, sort it out, and sometimes type out a reply. All he had to do was to sign it. We'd brainstorm about our novels, and they even helped me iron out loose ends. He seems fascinated with the concept of the wizarding world and would even randomly tell me an idea he thought of. Some of them are brilliant; some are just absurd. He even suggested an idea that would twist the whole plot to a different angle. I gave him the points and reasons why I couldn't use the idea, and he respected my decision. Of course, I tried to be vague as he said he wanted to be surprised. This is why I like working with him.
I still feel guilty about publishing and profiting from the Harry Potter books but getting encouragement from Shuukichi and Yusaku-sensei made me continue writing the series. Shinichi even came down the stairs wearing a towel as a robe, his father's eyeglasses, and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead courtesy of Yukiko and her black eye pencil. He waved a toothbrush in my direction and enunciated excitedly, "Avada Kedavra!" He panicked when I pretended to die. He ran to Yusaku-sensei, screaming his head off and bumping into things as his vision was impaired with the eyeglasses.
"She collapsed!" Shinichi bawled to his parents, who were looking on in amusement.
After some time, I explained that the spell he sent me was the killing curse. When he realized it, he jumped into my arms and cried on my shoulder, promising not to kill me. He said he loved my book, and it's his favourite bedtime story. So cute!
My books became internationally known, and Yusaku-sensei became my mentor. At first, I thought we would use a local publishing company to publish the books. I even prepared myself to reject a request to change the setting and characters to Japanese instead of English.
One day, Yusaku-sensei left, leaving Yukiko with Shuukichi, Shinichi, and I at the Kudo house, and came back a week later with the news that he went to London to meet with his European publisher. He thought I would appreciate a publisher that knows the setting of my novel, as the story's setting is based in London and Scotland. I didn't know the company's name until Yusaku-sensei presented me with a letter from Bloomsbury and two plane tickets to London to meet up with my new editor. The next thing I knew, I signed a contract, promising six more books.
Once Shuukichi graduated high school, he went to Osaka to attend university and start his apprenticeship with a Meijin. I started my second year of high school and published Chamber of Secrets. By this time, a local publishing company begged to publish my books for the Japanese audience. I agreed, but only if they publish both English and Nihongo versions.
I expected the Japanese audience to refrain from welcoming the books as mystery novels are more famous in the Detective Conan series. I was wrong. The concept of magic is still favoured, especially by young adults. Hearing requests from toy and clothing companies to make Harry Potter merchandise was also bizarre. I selected a London and Scotland-based company to make the merchandise for the series' first, and I was part of the process the whole time. I can't wait to complete my wand collection again.
I'd still blush and try to walk away from people whenever I heard them talking about the books. There is this bookstore I'd walk past on my way to school. When Chamber of Secrets was released, I saw a huge line outside while passing by. It also didn't help when a Book Club from school featured Philosopher's Stone as a topic, and the Drama Club made a Harry Potter production for the school festival.
I'm using JL Roberts as a pen name— using my initials from my previous life, while Roberts came from JK Rowling's pseudonym. I just thought it appropriate. Because it's a homage to the original author, and I think it would be better for people to think that I'm an older man instead of a teenage girl. I remember reading somewhere that Rowling's publisher requested that she use a male-sounding name, as boys may not want to read a book written by a woman. I got the same request from Bloomsbury. Yusaku-sensei protested, but I plan to use JL Roberts anyway. However, I told them I wouldn't do any signing events or interviews until I finished high school. They agreed, in exchange, that I sign some books for them to sell as collector's items. They seem to be on board to keep my identity. The only ones who knew were my editors and any staff assigned to my books from Bloomsbury and Seizansha, the Japanese publisher.
Yukiko and Yusaku-sensei became my go-between if people not in the know wanted to reach out to me to talk business. They seem to be enjoying it.
When I graduated high school, I got second thoughts about attending university, but Yusaku-sensei encouraged me to go. Because of my spontaneous decision to let Yusaku-sensei read the first book of Harry Potter that I wrote when I was fourteen, choosing to be a novelist as a profession makes sense. I'm now enrolled in Literature as a first year at Teitan University. I plan to take Creative Writing as my major. I even managed to pass the school's admission with a different writing style, as I don't want the school to know that I have already published two books, with the third a few months away.
Kudo-sensei, Yukiko, Shinichi, and I ate dinner at a high-end restaurant at Haido City Hotel for my eighteenth birthday. I invited Shuukichi, but he said that he and his master would be flying back to Japan the day after my birthday from America. I understood, but he still felt guilty, so he sent me flowers, chocolates, and a charm bracelet from Tiffany's. He sent a card saying that it came from him and Shuuichi.
My eldest brother has been religiously sending me gifts on my birthdays, Christmas, and Valentine's since I made him feel guilty that he missed seven years of birthdays and didn't even call me while he was in America. He sent me sweets, cereals, snacks, and clothes. He sent me makeup and skin care once, and I'm surprised he knew the brand I like. Either he asked Shuukichi, or he'd met Jodie by now, and she was the one who recommended the makeup. I'm also surprised that he (or Shuukichi, for that matter) has money to buy things for me and send them via international mail. Maybe the FBI pays more than I imagined. I sent him a care package filled with Japanese goods in exchange— I know he liked the canned black coffee— and wrote him a letter to tell him that he's forgiven and to limit his packages once a year. I told him to save his money or get a better apartment. I assumed by now that he's in New York and apartments there have high rents. He wrote back and said that he didn't mind spoiling me. He is so stubborn because he's now being petty. He would typically send me a UPS box. When I told him to lessen the package, he started sending me a box that was triple the size. He even told me he moved apartments and refused to tell me his new address, so that I couldn't return the favour. He even told Shuukichi not to tell me. Cheeky older brothers!
I used the makeup and shared the snacks with the Kudos as I won't be able to finish them anyway. I sent some to Shuukichi. His master loved Reese's cereal. Yusaku-sensei and Yukiko loved the snacks, while Shinichi and Ran appreciated the sweets.
I invited my friends to stay in a ryokan for the weekend in Fuchū a few days after my eighteenth birthday. Yuki and I need to go to Fuchū anyway to visit the Art Museum for class research. I mentioned before that the Detective Conan series has a floating timeline, meaning I can't rely on dates or years to know when a case or incident would happen. I expected that I wouldn't be involved until the series started except for anything related to the Akai family as I am a family member— an example would be the scene during the flight to Japan or the beach incident. So, I didn't expect that I'll be meeting them.
I was putting on my boots when I heard Haruka called out. "I'm coming with you!"
Nanase Haruka was my best friend. I met her when I was eight and attended the same school since elementary, and we've been friends ever since. We both set our eyes on Teitan University after graduating high school for different reasons. I know that Shuuichi, disguised as Okiya Subaru, would attend Teitan as an Engineering Grad student, plus I've been eyeing the Literature department. Haruka, on the other hand, wants to be a lawyer. When she learned that the lawyer she admired, Mouri Ran's mother, Kisaki Eri, graduated from Teitan University, Haruka's been adamant about getting into Teitan. We share a campus dorm, and it was lucky that it's near our department buildings.
I grabbed my handbag from the hook near the front door and brushed my long, strawberry blonde hair away from my face. "It's alright, Haru-chan. I can go to the store and buy the snacks."
"I don't mind coming with you," she consciously finger-combed her short brown curly hair after putting on her sandals. She shot a nasty look behind her as music and laughter blared out from the living area. "Haruto's being a jerk right now, and I can't stand him at the moment. Besides, Mamoru and Souma forgot to buy my favourite drink so I can get some now."
"Well, if you're sure." There's a vending machine just outside the Ryokan, but a nearby convenience store is four blocks away. "I could use an extra pair of hands. Haruto asked me to buy a lot of things."
Souma Yuki is the third person to come into our friends' group. Haruka and I met him in junior high school when he transferred from Osaka to Tokyo. From the start, he's a shy guy, always sticking with Haruka and me. However, he opened up in our second year and met new friends outside our friends' group. Yuki is an art major student who, out of all things, like to draw characters from his favourite book, Harry Potter. We once visited his house and saw his room filled with Harry Potter merchandise. His room is even Gryffindor House themed.
Mamoru Akira is Haruka's childhood friend and current girlfriend of Haruto. She's also from the same Engineering department as her boyfriend. She reminds me of Suzuki Sonoko— born with a silver spoon in her mouth and spoiled rotten by her parents. She's the second daughter of a games company president. She's also the typical cute gamer girl obsessed with games and makeup.
Haruto Sasuke is Haruka's ex-boyfriend. I still don't know why Hakura agreed to date Haruto in the first place; he's not the type of person to be friendly. In other words, he's a jock from the Engineering department and a bully. I saw him picking a fight with a fellow student. He stopped when a teacher walked by. He thinks that he can intimidate anyone just because he's bigger. You'd always see him in the campus gym working out. He's also part of the university's football team.
I would never invite Mamoru and Haruto in the first place; however, Mamoru would sometimes visit Haruka's house unannounced. She came in, heard our conversation about our trip, and invited herself. Of course, wherever Mamoru is, Haruto would follow.
I don't consider Haruto as part of our friends. I tolerated Mamoru as she is Haruka's childhood friend, but it would be just the three of us at any outings.
We arrived at the store fifteen minutes later. Haruka went straight to the drinks section while I searched for the snacks section. I had just filled my basket with crisps and my favourite melon-flavoured yogurt drink when a gunshot made my blood as cold as ice.
I immediately dropped my basket and ran toward the back to find Haruka. I found her holding her basket filled with pop and canned juice, her eyes wide and trained toward the cashier at the front. Two men with shotguns are standing at the store's doors, preventing customers from leaving. Both have face masks on, though one of them wearing a green beanie, has his face mask down to show his sinister smirking lips.
"Nobody makes a sound!" The other guy with brown hair shouted, cocking his shotgun menacingly.
Green Beanie Guy pointed the shotgun forward, making the other customers tense and fearful. A third guy, a tall one wearing a light blue jacket and glasses, came inside the store from the front, while a fourth one with a beanie and short moustache came from the back.
"Hey," Light Blue Jacket called out, "Shall we get this started?" Moustache Guy just snickered at the cowering customers.
Haruka and I were at the stationary station. Thinking fast, I looked around and found a cutter on the shelves. I removed the plastic, shoved it towards the back of the shelves, and placed the cutter in the inner pocket of my skirt. It's possible that these guys would tie us up so the cutter would work as a defence and a way out. Lastly, I grabbed my phone from my bag and shoved it in my bra, turning it off first. Thank heavens, I decided not to upgrade my phone yet. I've been using the Nokia 8890 since middle schoo school.
I grabbed the basket from Haruka's grip and slowly laid it on the ground. Crouching down, I yanked a still-frozen Haruka lower, so the four men won't see us. I didn't notice the clerk missing from the front and went around the next aisle, only to stop in our tracks to see the clerk pointing a shotgun at me.
He jerked the shotgun, indicating us to walk back. I glared at the man as I placed an arm around Haruka, now crying but trying to be quiet. We returned to the back, where most customers sat on the ground. Two customers were whispering at each other, their backs on us. The burly guy with black hair said something to his companion with bleached hair. Bleached hair only shook his head. I didn't hear what they were saying and just sat on the ground near a mother with a child in her arms. The kid looks to be only two. Haruka and I used our bodies to cover the child and mother.
The next thing I knew, the clerk said, "What are you guys whispering about?" As soon as the burly guy with black hair turned around, the clerk smacked Burly Guy with the butt of the shotgun. Burly Guy went down, and Bleached Hair helped his friend up. Burly Guy held his hand to the side of his face, and it came away bloody. "Be quiet, or I'll kill you!"
Moustache Guy came forward, holding a box. "Put all of your phone in the box!" He ordered. "Come one, quit stalling!"
The other customers fearfully removed their phones from their pockets or bags and placed them into the box. When Moustache Guy came to us, I didn't move.
"Oi, nee-chan," he jiggled the box in front of my face. "Did you hear what I said? Place. Your. Phone," he enunciated in that creepy voice. "In. The. Box!"
"I didn't bring my phone with me," I said in a steady voice, glaring up to Moustache Guy. I opened my handbag and showed it to him.
Unfortunately, I did not remove the chain from my shoulder because he grabbed it so hard that the metal chain strap almost choked me. "Bitch!" he yelled at me. I struggled to remove the chain strap off my neck and leaned back. I can feel the mother and child behind me trembling in fear.
He crouched down and placed the box on the ground while the clerk hovered above us, still holding the shotgun.
Moustache Guy grabbed my wallet from the bag and opened it. "Woah, lucky!" He shouted happily. He took the wad of bills from my wallet, gave half of it to the smirking clerk, and pocketed the rest.
Before he stood up, he threw a plastic bag towards me. He snickered as I caught it before it smacked my face. "Thanks, nee-chan! As a reward, you have to tie them up."
I glared at him but did as I was told. With trembling hands, I used the zip ties to tie the hands of the other customers on their backs as instructed. And that's when I recognized the two men whispering to each other.
The burly guy was Date Wataru. The bleached guy is Furuya Rei.
I froze when I instantly recognized them but schooled my expression quickly. Date Wataru can be an easy-going person, but Furuya Rei is smart. He was so bright that he became part of the National Police Bureau and managed to fool members of the Black Organisation as a double agent.
I secured the zip ties on their wrists and placed tapes on their lips. Once I was done, Moustache Guy tied my wrists with the remaining zip ties and secured tape over my lips.
"Okay, all of you stand up and get in the back!" The clerk yelled. "Quit dragging your feet and walk quickly!"
We were led toward the storage room. I stood in the back with Haruka, Date, and Furuya. A moustache guy stood near the door, watching the customers enter the storage room. I was the last person to go inside. He shoved me, and a gentleman as ever, Date broke my fall with his body. He glared at Moustache Guy. "Nobody better make a sound," he warned.
I sighed, closing my eyes in thanks that these guys are stupid. They may have taken the phones but didn't further search us.
Before I knew it, Date and Furuya were untied. Date stood up and removed his and Furuya's gag. That's fast, I thought, impressed.
"Nice thinking, Furuya," Date complimented.
"Help untie the others," Furuya said.
"Hmphed," I voiced. They both turned to me questioningly. I only jerked my eyes toward my pockets. Date crouched next to me and gestured towards my side. I nodded. I showed him my tied wrists and glanced back toward Furuya. "Hmphed!" I voiced again, jerking my head to my pocket.
They exchanged looks, Furuya only shrugged, but Date patted my sides before shoving his hands inside my pocket to take the cutter out. "Nice!"
"Oi, Captain Date!" Furuya hissed, "Now is not the time for this!"
"Calm down," Date said, showing Furuya the cutter, chuckling. "She has a cutter in her pocket." He used the cutter to cut my zip ties and removed my tape gag. "Besides, I already have a girlfriend." He turned back to me, returning the cutter. "Untie the others and keep quiet."
I untied the rest of the hostages, making sure to be careful to remove the zip tie and tape gag on the child. "I'm sorry," I quietly whispered to her as I removed the tape. She immediately went to her mother, sobbing quietly.
"What are they after?" I heard Date quietly mutter to Furuya.
"Probably the ATM," I answered. I stood up as they turned towards me fully. "When they led us here, I heard the clerk and Light Blue Jacket talk about money in the other room. They will discuss money at the front if their target is the registry."
"Light Blue Jacket?" Date chuckled.
Then I noticed that Date was still bleeding. I don't remember him bleeding in the manga. I looked around and saw a stack of water bottles on the shelf. I broke the plastic and took one. I fished my handkerchief from my pockets and soaked it with water. "Here, sit down. Let me check your face."
He sat down on the bench obediently and let me clean his face.
"The ATM cash re-supply!" Furuya exclaimed in triumph. "The re-supply schedule is kept secret to prevent theft, but you can predict when it will occur by checking the ATM's approximate balance on security images. They're probably here to rob a newly filled ATM."
"I see," Date said. "So, they couldn't have done this without the clerk's help."
Furuya nodded.
"Anyway, why are they not concealing their faces?" Date wondered. "The clerk isn't even wearing any sunglasses."
"I can think of a reason," I interjected as I applied petroleum jelly to Date's wound before securing it with a band-aid. I lowered my voice so the other hostages couldn't hear me. "They're not bothered because they can remove witnesses. I predict they will kill us once they're done here."
They looked at the frightened hostages within the room, their eyes lingering on the mother and child huddled in the corner. "In any case, we must devise a way to get us out of here."
"I may be able to help," I said as I fished my phone from my bra. Both men reddened but turned serious when they saw my phone. "These criminals are stupid. They took the phones, but they didn't search the hostages. I was able to hide my phone and grab a cutter from the stationary section." I paused as I turned on the phone, covering the speaker with my thumb to try and mute the phone's tunes. "My battery is full, but there's low reception inside this room." I showed them the screen. "We can call out, but I don't know if the signal would be good enough for a call."
By now, Furuya is investigating the switchboard near the door. "This may work. Miss, can I borrow your phone?"
"I'm Masami," I introduced myself. "That's my friend Haruka." I pointed at Haruka, who was trying to distract the kid.
They introduced themselves. I gave the two men my phone but left it to their devices. Furuya was fiddling with the switchboard while Date was on the phone. I didn't know what Furuya was doing until I remembered why he was fiddling with the switches.
I only saw the manga, not the episode. He's fiddling with the switchboard to manipulate the store's sign, sending an SOS Morse code signal using the light. Their other friends, Matsuda Jinpei, Morofushi Hiromitsu, and Hagiwara Kenji, would see it. Morofushi would understand the Morse code and call their fellow police academy students to investigate.
After some time, we heard loud noises from the other side of the door. "It's pretty noisy out there," Furuya remarked with a raised eyebrow. By now, he had stopped signalling SOS using the switches. "What's going on?"
Date only smirked. "I may have called Hiro for help."
Suddenly, the door revealed a guy with slanted eyes and black hair. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, Captain." He greeted Date.
"Hiro?" Furuya questioned. "What are you doing here?"
"I called them for help," Date explained, jerking his thumb towards the new guy. "I knew they were also out for the night, but I didn't know where they went."
"We also saw the sign's Morse code and came to take down the culprits." The new guy, who I assumed to be Morofushi Hiromitsu, explained merrily. "Not by force, but with numbers."
The rest of the people were puzzled except for Date and I. I knew a bunch of people outside would apprehend the culprits, and Date must have planned this with Hiro. But for some reason, the dialogue has switched. From reading the manga, I remember that Date was the clueless guy who didn't know what was happening, while Furuya predicted the outcome. Again, my presence changed things, but thankfully, no one ended up dead.
Haruka and I left the storage room to stare at the commotion outside. Several men and women hold the culprits down while another set of people secures them with ropes or packaging tapes. Two of the police academy students are holding the shotguns.
"We're just doing what your dad tried to do," a newcomer remarked. I turned to see another man with wavy black hair. "Right, Hagi?"
That must be Matsuda Jinpei. I ignored Haruka beside me, practically drooling at the sight of Jinpei.
"Yeah," a third guy answered. If all of them are here, this long-haired guy is Hagiwara Kenji. By now, Haruka has hearts in her eyes. I rolled my eyes at her.
"What do you mean, what my dad tried to do?" Dave asked.
I sighed in defeat. I won't be able to break Haruka's fawning for us to leave. I left Haruka's side; she'll be safe and went to the counter. I found the landline and dialled 110. I doubt that these people called the police. I explained the situation to the officer on the other line, and I was told to expect a patrol car in ten minutes.
"Better tell the officers to bring three cars, at least. They were five of them," I said, ending the call.
I went back to the group. The five men are still discussing something while Haruka drooled at them.
XOXOXO
Six minutes later, I heard the sound of patrol cars. The rest of the police academy students have left by now, and it's just Haruka and me, two puzzled ATM operators, Date, Furuya, Matsuda, Morofushi, Hagiwara, and the rest of the hostages. All five culprits are tied, gagged, and lined out front, with Date and Furuya looking after them.
The officers took our statements before hauling the thieves to the patrol cars. Additional patrol cars came to bring the other hostages home. The officers and ATM operators left Haruka and me with the five men.
I got my money back and stuffed them into my wallet. "Should we go to a different store to buy the snacks?" I asked Haruka once she was done drooling over the guys. "I don't know how Haruto would react if he learned that we didn't bring back food. We've been gone for two hours."
"There's another Lawson two streets from here," Furuya said as he approached us. "As thanks for the phone, we can escort you there and walk you back."
He gave me my phone back. His face reddened, but he managed to get his composure. I took it, muttered my thanks, and returned to their group. Date had a teasing smirk while the other three looked on curiously.
"Thank you!" Haruka squealed, wrapping her arms around Furuya's. "We shouldn't be saying no to the guys who saved us, right, Masami?"
"Ah, sure," I said, defeated. It isn't easy to reign her in whenever Haruka's in one of her moods. The only thing for me to do is to let her. Besides, I don't know how to talk to these guys. They don't know me, but I knew of them and their future, thanks to the Detective Conan manga and anime.
Haruka invited them to the Ryokan we're staying at, so I have to buy thrice the number of snacks I intend to buy. Thankfully, Date and Hagiwara chipped in. Haruka must have told them it was my birthday because Furuya, Matsuda, and Morofushi bought a cake and greeted me Happy Birthday.
In no time, we were walking towards the Ryokan when we met Yuki outside, smoking.
He hurriedly threw the cigarette into the trash when he saw me. "What kept you?" Yuki asked but noticed the five men following us. "Who're they?" He jerked his head suspiciously.
"Didn't I tell you to stop smoking?" I scolded him. He didn't react and just eyed the men distrustfully. "The store we went to was held hostage by five culprits; that took us long to return," I explained. He choked and stared at us with his jaw hanging in shock. He snapped out of it and inspected Haruka and me. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me lightly. "Are you okay?! Were you hurt?! What happened to the culprits?"
"Calm down," I assured him. "We're fine." I took his hand on mine and squeezed. He squeezed back. I gestured to Date and Furuya. "These two were with us inside the store, and they called their other friends to apprehend the culprits. No one was hurt." I eyed Date and his swollen cheekbone and bleeding eye. "Except for Date-san."
"I told you it's fine," Date said. He held up the chilled can of coffee to his cheekbone. "See? I'm icing it. It should be okay."
I let Yuki fuss over me. He freaked out when he saw blood on my skirt. "Yuki-kun, I'm fine," I stressed out, giving him the bag so he would stop fretting. Honestly, he's been a worry wart since high school. "The blood is Date-san's. He was bleeding when I asked him to take the cutter from my pockets. How long have you been out here?"
"Just ten minutes or so," he explained as he led us inside. The receptionist greeted us as we passed by. "The culprits didn't hurt you?" He asked again. I rolled my eyes at him, exasperated.
"I told you, I'm fine," I repeated. We arrived at Haruto's door, and Yuki opened the door. We piled inside. The Genkan is much smaller than the Kudos, but we removed all of our shoes and placed them in the cabinet.
"Haruto!" Yuki called in. "Masami and Haruka are back."
"It's quieter compared to when we left," Haruka noted.
"Yeah, well," Yuki scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Haruto finished the beers, so he should be passed out by now."
He opened the door to let us in but stopped after opening the sliding door. Not seeing this, I bumped into him and stopped to ask him what was wrong. Only, he's looking in the living room with shock, wide eyes.
"Masami?" Haruka called behind me. "What's wrong?"
Furuya and the rest must have read the mood as they shoved their way into the front. They looked into the room and gasped.
There, lying on the tatami floor is Haruto. His face is pale, his neck slit open, and he is bleeding on the floor.