Chapter Text
The jeers were the worst, followed closely by the disgusted stares.
Then there were the names she was called and the misused pronouns.
She would have gone insane from it all years ago, if it weren’t for her rock.
One would think that her rock would be her best friend, the most steady, trustworthy, and loyal person she knew. One would be wrong.
Even Ran had abandoned her in those first dark months, not understanding, not yet wanting to understand.
Oh eventually she came around and they made up, and Ran became her second rock. However those first months after her revelation would always stay between them, they would never truly be as close as they had been before and she despaired of that.
No her rock was somebody else, somebody surprising to her at first. Another close childhood friend.
Her rock was Kuroba Kaito.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Everybody was surprised when, on his 14th birthday in the middle of his party, Kudo Shinichi announced he wanted to undergo a sex change and become a girl.
Surprised didn’t even cover it, shocked was more like it.
After all, it wasn’t like the budding young detective was precisely feminine in any way, hell he was even the star of the soccer team.
His parents had excused themselves so that they could talk to their son in private after that little announcement.
Shinichi knew he wasn’t the best with words, especially when it came to what he was feeling inside, but the boy dug down deep to try to express what he felt in his heart of hearts. That he was a girl, should have been one, and his body was wrong. He spoke of the dysphoria he sometimes felt when he looked at his body, as if it was somebody else’s. And why should a girl have to be feminine he asked? Ran practiced karate he pointed out, which was not exactly a feminine sport.
His impassion speech, the plea for them to understand evident in his voice, got to both of his parents, and unknown to them all, to the boy listening to his friend through a crack in the door.
Yusaku and Yukiko looked at each other and both knew that they would give into their sons, no their daughters, demands. They could never deny him anything, especially when he believed so deeply about something.
Shinichi’s eyes shone with relief when his parents capitalized, his face filled with joy but quickly turning serious when they asked him if he thought this through. The world is not kind to the different they pointed out gently.
He had, he said. He knew it would be hard, that people wouldn’t understand and would lash out because of it. But, and he paused, he could not and would not deny who he was any longer. He could only hope that his friends would stand by him through this.
When Shinichi said this the listening boy’s heart clenched. Of course he would stand by his friend, after all he had always been there for him. How could he help but do the same?
When the Kudos returned to the party and announced that they had, after a long discussion with their son, decided to give him what he wanted several people outright left the party without another word.
It had already begun.
Most of the people left, adults and teens alike, were uncomfortable, not sure what to think.
Shinichi was mobbed by his school friends when he finally braved entering the room, the group curious if the boy was really going to go through with this, to them, crazy idea. Questions answered the room quickly started to empty out, party atmosphere gone. While they all said they’d see him at school come Monday, the boy knew that most of them would probably never talk to him again. It still hurt even though he’d been prepared for it.
The boy sighed as he leaned in a corner and watched his parents talk to the few remaining adults. Kuroba Chikage was over there, which meant that Kaito was still here somewhere. He hadn’t talked to his friend yet and was rather dreading it but it needed to be done. He needed to talk to Ran to but he wasn’t sure if she was still here.
Suddenly Shinichi spotted Ran coming his way, a brittle look on her face, and he gulped. Somehow he didn’t think this was going to go well.
He tried to explain to her, he really did, but she didn’t seem to want to listen, her blue eyes filled with tears.
Ran took a deep breath and spoke in as calm a voice as she could muster, “And-and what about us Shinichi?”
“I don’t-,” he looked into her imploring blue eyes and suddenly it clicked and he blanched. “Oh. Oh. Oh God, Ran, I-I don’t.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry Ran, I love you, but I don’t love you that way. I-,” he lowered his head and blushed slightly, “I like guys Ran.”
“I see,” she said stiffly and the tears she had been desperately trying to hold back came flooding down her cheeks. Ran turned and ran from the house, ears deaf to Shinichi’s pleas for her to come back.
Sonoko had thrown him confused but still commiserating look before taking off after her friend, after all, between the two of them they both knew that her loyalties lay with Ran.
It felt like his heart was being ripped from his chest. He and Ran had been best friends since they were children. He had thought that if he could count on anyone, it would be her.
Shinichi made to run after her when a hand landed on his shoulder.
“Let her be Shinichi. I think she needs some time to sort out her feelings, don’t you?”
“Kaito?”
Shinichi turned and sure enough it was his other childhood friend holding him back.
The two boys had been friends since they were five and Yukiko decided to introduce her all too serious son to her disguise master’s very outgoing son. While the pairing might seem like oil and water, the two boys had clicked and became the best of friends. They didn’t get to see each other as much as they’d like since Kaito lived in Ekoda and Shinichi in Beika, but they talked all the time and visited whenever they could. When Kaito’s father had died on stage when he was eight, the only thing that got him through it was Shinichi.
Shinichi looked into the face of his other best friend and doppelganger, just with blue-violet eyes and bed head hair, and wondered if he was going to leave him too.
Kaito smiled slightly, “You really never noticed that she had a crush on you did you? You can be so dense sometimes.” The boy sobered, “Just give her some time, hopefully she’ll come around. She is your friend after all.”
Shinichi’s sapphire blue eyes were full of pain and fear when he asked softly, “Are you going to leave me to?”
Kaito’s gaze was fierce when he answered, “Never. I don’t care if you’re a boy or a girl, or even one of my doves,” at this the amateur magician briefly made a dove appear and disappear in a puff of pink smoke, “you’ll always be my best friend. You were there for me when Oyaji died, how can I not be here for you for this?”
Sapphire eyes filled with tears of relief before Shinichi grabbed Kaito in a hug, burying his face in the other boy’s shoulder as he cried.
On the other side of the room Yusaku and Yukiko watched all of this with heavy hearts, knowing that the road that their son had chosen was a long and hard one, one filled with traps and pitfalls. But at least, looking at the way Kaito was hugging Shinichi back, it looked like he might not be alone on his journey.
They had been planning to go off and explore the world, leaving their son here in Japan, but now, they both understood that Shinichi needed them more. The world trip could wait.