Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Welcome home, Shin-chan!” Yukiko greeted Shinichi as he stepped into the house. His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden appearance of his mother. Although it shouldn’t be too surprising under normal circumstances, as this was his parents’ house, the time they spent in their own house, even their home country, was startlingly minimal. Whether due to an effort to evade pursuing and obnoxious editors, required photo/movie shooting locations in bizarre places, or even the Kudo family nomadic lifestyle, most of the time, only Kudo Shinichi lived in his family home. (Then again, they did buy another house in America (Specifically in Los Angeles, California), so they spend more of their time living there instead.)

“Oh.” Kudo greeted her eloquently. “How long are you staying this time?”

“Excuse me, Shin-chan!” Yukiko admonished, leaping toward her son and throwing him into a hug, despite his loud exclamations. “That is no way to greet your mother!”

Barely saving himself from falling over by grabbing a nearby wall, he held on almost desperately as his mother leaned further and further into his space, preventing him from properly breathing. ‘Ran’s punches might just be more forgiving than this.’ Shinichi thinks incredulously, before reconsidering. The mere thought of being on the other side of the punch thrown by Teitan High’s number one Karate Champion, who has the ability and (occasional) desire to fold him like a wet napkin, that, while being extremely hot, will always make him audibly flinch and cower in justifiable terror. Like–he loves Ran from the bottom of his heart; she will always be his first and forever love, but she is a terrifying woman. Always has been.

“Yukiko, darling. It might be wise to let our son breathe, I fear.” Yusaku teased, taking a sip from his cup of coffee, smiling at his wife’s exuberance. “He can only apologize if he still has the lungs to do it with.”

Yukiko slightly relaxed her iron-clad grip on her son, recognizing his free hand almost desperately tapping on her shoulder, trying to signal her to relent her embrace. She playfully frowns and completely releases her arms from around her son, spinning slightly in place as she rights herself again. Taking a step back toward her husband to stand next to him and leave the immediate front entrance.

Shinichi, with his newfound freedom, immediately collapses in on himself, resting his palms on his knees as he tries to regain his breath. Sweat metaphorically dripped down his back in his attempt to recover from his mother’s enthusiasm. “Sorry, Kaasan.” He says, breathlessly. “It is really nice to see you again,” After he catches his breath, he lifts his head and smiles warmly at his mother.

As he neatly takes off his shoes and slips into his home slippers, he gently places his bag down before smiling apologetically toward his parents. “I just didn’t realize you would be back yet.” Shinichi remarks, “I thought you would still be in America for that one shoot you were doing? Or on the plane to Hawaii again?”

“We’re not staying long, Shinichi,” Yusaku took another sip of his drink, smiling good-naturedly, “Your mother has a quick cameo to shoot here in Tokyo.”

“And we figured that we might-as-well stop by to see you, Shin-chan!” Yukiko cheered, clapping her hands together. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen our darling boy, hasn’t it Yu-chan?” She smiled at her husband, following after him as he and Shinichi began to walk toward the kitchen.

Shinichi smiled at the remaining coffee boiling in the pot and grabbed his now-dry mug from the dishrack. Pouring himself a cup, he tasted it and grinned at the bitterness. “And this is also a way to temporarily escape your editors before your next plane trip?”

“That is a part of it, but not the full picture,” Yusaku laughs, gesturing his hand towards Shinichi, “Can you figure it out, Tantei-kun?”

Shinichi laughs, “Based on the lack of explosions from Hakase’s building, one can relatively assume that either he is working on a project which requires more care and consideration, he is sleeping, or he has already left the house to go eat at a restaurant he occasionally frequents. Based on the lack of lights in the building, the former is highly unlikely, and the current time of day, the evening, likely rules out the second. Therefore, Agasa-hakase is not currently in his house. However, when you two are visiting, however briefly, he always makes a habit of being at home, likely to assist in any favours you happen to spring upon him. Therefore, the latter option appears the most likely.

“Regardless, the fact that the previously established schedule I received of your current location had detailed your reappearance in Tokyo, Japan to be in approximately 3-5 months. Meaning it’s unlikely Agasa-hakase is involved with your return, as the news would have been too sudden for any requests to be made, not without leaving some evidence of his departure being made with haste. But the strides of his gait–shown as footprints leaving his house do not look rushed or hurried, suggesting a moderate and casual pace.” He paused to take a breath, raising his hand to his chin in consideration, “Furthermore, he likely would not have been notified regardless, as you tend to prefer surprising me and Hakase whenever you appear suddenly.”

“All very true and interesting observations, Shinichi.” Yusaku carefully interrupted him, calculating the break between sentences and choosing the best time to chime in without unintentionally speaking over him. “You’ve answered the question within your own deduction; there is no need to superfluously detail your response.”

“Right,” Shinichi flushed slightly, taking another long sip from his coffee. While the day had been long and boring, being able to deduce something (no matter how small), relatively meaningless, was always a treat. His excitement when challenged must have shown through, and he played his hand a tad too obviously.

“While your deduction does provide an interesting way to reach the same conclusion, unnecessary details can muddle with the truth of the matter and prevent you from reaching the correct answer in the end. Instead, wrapping yourself in those eccentricities can result in incorrect observations as well as too much focus being dedicated to, what is essentially, a red-herring.” Yusaku continued, taking occasional sips of his mug, as Yukiko smiled and sat next to him. She infrequently took sips of her own drink (A herbal tea mixture with an occasional whiff of rosemary, cinnamon, and turmeric, both father and son noticed), whilst contentedly listening to the two banter.

“I get it,” Shinichi confirmed, “The facts of the matter are much more important than other clues one could possibly string together when compiling every observation made after surveying their surroundings. Because, regardless of the severity or intensity of the task-at-hand, making a correct and factual deduction is more important than any benign conclusions that can be inferred along the way. After all, they are so obvious, that any idea of them being different from the logical outcome are either clues that may help solve the overarching mystery at hand, or fallacies, throwing off the overall investigation.” He looks towards his dad, placing his cup down gently upon the table, “Right?”

Yusaku smiles in lieu of an answer, taking another sip of his coffee before continuing, “Your deductions need to follow a logical progression, yet there is no need to ‘re-invent the wheel’, so to speak,” He quotes, “After all, according to the principle known as Occam’s Razor?” He intoned, prompting Shinichi to summarize the principle he had presented.

“‘Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity,’ as in, oftentimes, between two competing yet compelling theories, the simplest is to be preferred.” Shinichi defined, eyes slightly widening in realization.

“Correct,” Yusaku smirked. His hint was, indeed, put to good use. “The simplest answer is generally the most correct. So the reason as to why we are here is…”

“We wanted to surprise you, Shin-chan!” Yukiko cheered, clapping her hands once again in excitement. “We’ll only be here for a day before we have to leave early next morning, my shoot starts around 8 in the morning, so we’ll likely be gone by the time you wake up.” She sighed, disappointed that the time she spends with her son is so blatantly minimal.

Yukiko stood up and walked around the kitchen island to hug her son again, despite his muted protests, “But that just means I get to have you all to myself tonight, right, Shin-chan?” Yukiko smiled down at her son, quietly memorizing his face all over again. Despite never forgetting it, the ability to see her son is greatly hindered by the requirements of her job, so each time she sees him, she makes a point to relearn each and every pore, freckle, and dimple in her son’s face. Enough so that the image will never be able to leave her mind, and her son’s visage will be once again burnt into her memory.

“I get it, Kaasan.” Shinichi sighs, both eager and filled with weary dread for the next few hours. After all, he never wants to miss a chance to see his mother and father again. The time they spend together is incredibly brief, but any opportunity he can get to make them see him and all the hard work he’s done, he desperately latches onto. Yet again, ‘I don’t particularly like being smothered constantly,’ the same thought always crosses his mind whenever he knows his mother is returning home.

“Ooh, I just realized something,” Yukiko exclaims, “Ran-chan’s karate tournament is coming up soon, right?” Shinichi nods, “How about, to keep her mind off the stress of the tournament, you invite her to the aquarium?”

“The aquarium? Why’s that?” Shinichi echoed, tilting his head ever-so-slightly to the side.

“It’s a popular dating location for young and older couples, Shin-chan. What don’t you get?” She places her hands on her hips and sternly looks down at her son, giggling at his slowly flushing cheeks and embarrassed posture.

“Kaasan!” He yells, embarrassed. Shinichi stubbornly looks away and finds himself staring at his reflection, created by the remaining coffee in his mug. His eyes soften slightly as the red on his cheeks flushes at the thought of inviting Ran to go watch fish together, maybe even getting food for one, but sharing the treat together.

Shinichi sighs, closing his eyes and taking another long sip from his coffee mug, draining it completely. He stands up and walks over to get a refill. “It sounds good in theory, but,” He pauses slightly, quieting so he can focus on pouring his coffee without spilling. It wouldn’t be disastrous if it did, but it’s a hassle, and not worth the playful scolding by either of his parents for his momentary spill.

“But..?” Yukiko parrots, also tilting her head slightly to the side. Yusaku smiles at the two of them, taking another sip of his own coffee, knowing exactly what Shinichi is going to deduce, and his son’s exasperation with this realization.

“Ran is just going to invite her parents along so they can, ‘make up their differences and become a happy family again,’ and I don’t want to further break her heart when inevitably they can’t show up and she’s late because of it,” Shinichi quotes sarcastically, carefully balancing his coffee cup and sitting back down, taking another sip of his drink before continuing, “Or, they do show up, act lovey-dovey for an hour before Kogoro-san says something stupid that gets Kisaki-san pissed at him again, and they both leave upset. As a result, Ran is also upset at her plan failing, yet again.” Shinichi sighs, ‘I don’t mean anything by it, really. I just don’t want to make her even more mad or even sad, when the initial goal is to make her happy.’ He stares at his distorted reflection again, imagining Ran’s smile, and how it would slowly fall off her face as she watched her parents leave her on her own, again. He knows how to deal with the isolation, but the idea of Ran, his favourite person, having to go through the same thing he did hurts more than when it even happens to him.

“Shin-chan,” Yukiko gently chides him, “Even if that happens, try to make the best of a bad situation. Take her mind off any stressors and just invite her to a place where she can relax, with you by her side.” She delicately places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes softly.

Shinichi’s eyes wander unfocused, remembering a small detail he almost forgot he recognized: “Ran’s finger was sprained yesterday, so her ability to practice for the tournament is greatly reduced. Furthermore, a day at the aquarium should be relatively low energy, so that it shouldn’t be too much of an issue.” Shinichi quietly ponders, ‘She shouldn't need to put on a bra, especially if it rains that day, as she’d likely wear a coat. Ran will likely be fine in that regard, as she can’t hook her bra right now, can she? I almost want to ask Kaasan about that, but I just know she will use it to tease me again…’ His cheeks slightly flush at the idea, and he slightly shakes his head to rid himself of the memory.  

Out loud, Shinichi tells his parents, “I’m going to go call Ran and ask if she’s available, thanks for the advice, Kaasan.” He quickly gulps down the rest of his coffee and walks over to the main hallway to use the house phone to call the Mouri Detective Agency.

Yukiko smiled, sitting down next to her husband and continuing to drink her tea, which, while colder now, still tasted positively delicious. Inwardly, she considered what other kinds of tea she could try out. Outwardly, she sighed and leaned against her husband, looking into his eyes to find they were already gazing at hers, and felt as her lips raised into the shape of a soft grin.

“He’s grown up so fast, hasn’t he?” Yukiko smiles wistfully. She’ll always love her son and how determined he has become throughout the years. But most of that was spent without their influence.

They’ve tried to return to Japan whenever they can, but dodging Yusaku’s editors and Yukiko’s fans tends to leave them in bizarre places, making for a lovely date night opportunity between the two of them, yet leaving them unable to return to see things in person, like Shinichi’s previous soccer tournaments. Although assisted by Agasa-hakase and his penchant for creating convenient gadgets to solve these conundrums, it hurts to watch the smile dim on their son’s face as he begins to realize his parents were unable to return home, yet again. Any congratulations would feel half-hearted compared to being able to physically celebrate his victory with him, whether eating out at a family diner or staying inside and watching one of his favourite shows right beside him.

“Shinichi is smart, he understands why we do what we do,” Yusaku sighs, lightly grabbing Yukiko’s chin and tilting her face towards his, where it had begun to droop. “We never abandoned him; Shinichi grew up with Hakase always watching over him when we were busy, and the money to do anything he wanted, within reason.” Yusaku smiled almost bitterly, “He’s grown up to be fiercely independent, and we have no right to take that away from him now, any of our attempts will be met with equally insistent denials. He’ll presume our insistence is merely coddling and deny it to his last breath.”

“After all,” Yusaku lightly traced his wife’s cheek, delighting in her visage once again, “Our son has made a life for himself here, and it wouldn’t be fair to rip that away from him without his expressed consent.”

Shinichi would not take too kindly to being told to leave Ran behind; his crush on Ran-chan, while endearing, just about reveals the co-dependence between the two of them. They have shaped their lives around each other and depend on one another for stability that their own life sorely lacks. For his son, Shinichi, he relies on Ran-chan for companionship; any task that requires an extra hand, his default choice, always becomes his childhood friend. He understands her abilities and loves seeing her shine, never wanting her to feel any negative emotion, instead, allowing her to thrive–blissfully unaware of any negativity that lurks underneath the surface. Shinichi knows that she is competent, but tends to believe himself to be the ‘Brains’ to her ‘Brawn,’ that any challenge they face can be solved if they work together. Yet this tends to ignore the fact that while Shinichi is more factually intelligent, Ran-chan is more emotionally intelligent, leaving her to pick up the metaphorical backlog, and sympathize with those whom he neglects–admittedly, which he trusts her to do.

Ran-chan, on the other hand, looks at his son for stability, with his compassion and steadfastness. She considers it a fact that Shinichi is undoubtedly stable, a solid presence which she can rely on whenever her insecurities begin to envelop her. Certainly, Ran is scared of ghosts; she is scared that her life will begin to crumble around her, and those who love her will eventually grow tired of her and discard her, which Ran believes has already happened to her parents, and she assumes that she is the underlying reason for her parents' separation. Which is untrue for several complex reasons, but regardless, Shinichi provides stability and confidence to oppose each of her fears and help her overcome them each and every time. Shinichi gives her hope, which she tries to spread to the world around her, as a thank you for being beside her and never leaving despite the hardships. Of course, her hopes do not always unfold as she desired, but she keeps trying; Shinichi never gave up on her, nor his own dreams to help as many as he could by revealing the truth wherever he can, so she does not want to give up on her own goals and aspirations.

Yukiko sighed, a touch melancholic and lowered her eyes; she understood, of course. Neither of them was the best of parents, not her or Yusaku, or even Eri-chan and Kogoro-kun. Each of them did the best they could, while their children were forced to bear the results of their actions and do the best of their ability to continue moving forward. While both of them had other friends and classmates, like Sonoko-chan or Nakamichi-kun, none of their relationships came close to the bond that was shared between Shin-chan and Ran-chan. The two of them were constantly together, separated out of necessity more-than-not, and consistently made time for one another (whether by physically hanging out on walks together, or their sporadic phone calls). Which, while cute, had the tendency to reveal just how lonely both of them were, yet also how much they gravitated towards each other. Shinichi’s home was here in Tokyo, Japan; more specifically, his home was with his dearly beloved, Ran-chan.

“The most we can do is offer our support in any way we can, and step in whenever Shinichi has gotten in over-his-head,” Yusaku sighed, taking another sip of his coffee mug.

“Right.”

The two quieted, with the paper scent from their extensive library permeating the whole house (likely due to books Shinichi placed sporadically around the house, which he had not gotten the time to clean up before their arrival; likely due to the spontaneity of their appearance), the mouthwatering scent of Yukiko’s cooking, and the slightly muffled sounds of Shinichi conversing with Ran over the phone. Overall, they enjoyed the peace and mundanity of it all.

Shinichi walked over to the foyer and grabbed his bag absentmindedly, before walking over to the main home phone of the house; its location was primarily for easy access, and Shinichi truly felt its convenience whenever he had to rush down the main staircase to desperately catch the tail end of it ringing. Mainly to avoid Ran redialing unnecessarily, or rushing over to his house because he forgot something that she steadfastly remembered. Her memory always was much better than his, as he was too busy focusing on the present and future issues he had, to even bother remembering any previous issues, which had admittedly led to a few close calls by her fists, but he generally managed to weather the storm—most of the time.

He opened his bag and looked through the day’s designated homework and silently calculated the amount of time it would take to do each worksheet, as well as what he assumed Ran’s ability would be. Not to insult her intelligence, rather to ensure that an evening outing wouldn’t interfere with either of their workflow and the break itself could actually be enjoyed, not become a glorified study session with a school of fish as their unwitting audience.

Once completed, Shinichi smiled, grabbing the phone and dialling a long-since memorized number and listening to its ring.

“Good evening, this is Mouri Kogoro’s office, if you have a case you need solving, leave it to me.” Kogoro-san’s voice intoned over the speaker, and Shinichi chuckled slyly.

“Good evening, Ojisan. Slow night tonight?” He questioned, a dash of laughter bubbling under his breath. The phone audibly played two rings before it was picked up by the recipient, much faster than the usual 5-6 rings he would hear when calling the Detective Agency. Not that he assumed those extra rings were due to Mouri-tantei being busy with clients, typically, he would be enamoured by reading the newspapers, betting on horses (again, despite Ran scolding him about it constantly), or obsessively rewatching every piece of media which starred (or even just featured a cameo from) Yoko Okino. Occasionally, the phone would ring for much longer, and Shinichi could reasonably assume that Kogoro-san had left the building to go play mahjong or drink his sorrow away, again, but those cases usually had Ran eventually picking up the phone herself and answering in her father’s stead.

“Tantei-bozu,” Shinichi could almost hear Kogoro-san’s eye twitching in his annoyance. “Do you have a case for me, or are you just wasting my time with needless questions?”

“Sorry, Mouri-tantei,” Shinichi laughed under his breath at the ensuing grumbles he heard over the speaker at his response, “I’ll let you get back to your very busy night,” He teased good-naturedly. If he actually was busy, Shinichi didn’t want to be the one to ruin Ojisan’s mood any further.

“I just had a question first, if that’s okay?” Shinichi slightly spun around so he could lean against the side table, tilting his head instinctively.

Kogoro-san sighed audibly over the speakers, and Shinichi could almost imagine him pinching his nose in frustration, “What?” He said, flatly.

“Is Ran at home? And could you put her on the phone, please?” Shinichi asked, grinning playfully.

“Why didn’t you just call her phone then?” Kogoro asked, “Why waste my time with this meaningless phone call?”

“Ran’s phone is likely dead and charging right now. I noticed her phone’s low battery when we were walking home together, and she mentioned her intent to charge it when she left to head home after grabbing some groceries. And, she’s likely started making supper, as your working hours for most weekdays tend to follow the standard 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. time frame–”

“Spare me the lecture, Tantei-bozu. When she’s done cooking I’ll have her call you.” Kogoro interrupted impatiently. ‘He must actually be busy if he’s not complaining like he usually does about me calling Ran.’ Shinichi realized, eyes widening in mild surprise.

“That works. Thank you, Ojisan!” Shinichi cheered, listening as the phone audibly clicked on the other end.

Shinichi smiled, reaching over and grabbing a book he had placed previously next to the phone, content to busy himself with re-reading “The A.B.C. Murders” by Agatha Christie; while he would always prefer Arthur Conan Doyle’s works–more specifically the canon of Sherlock Holmes–he did enjoy reading other mystery and crime novels from time to time.

As Shinichi passes page 100, willfully tuning out the murmuring sound of his parents talking to each other, he’s interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. He delicately bookmarks his position and swiftly grabs the phone, the corners of his mouth rising at the sight of the familiar number on the phone’s display screen.

He lifts the phone to his ear to hear, “Hi, Shinichi. Sorry about that,” Ran awkwardly apologizes, a trace of laughter echoing in her voice.

“Don’t apologize, Ran,” Shinichi smiles, “I knew it’d take a while for you to answer anyway. Besides, this was a spur-of-the-moment call, I wasn’t expecting anything less.”

“Speaking of, why are you calling me? I don’t think we have any challenging homework for this weekend…” She trailed off. Shinichi could almost imagine her wandering eyes and the way she’d delicately tap her lips in confused concentration, attempting to piece together a puzzle. “... Unless you’re calling just to annoy me?” She grumbled once he remained silent slightly too long.

“No, no, I do actually have a reason for calling you.” Shinichi reassured, standing straight, “Just…” He took a deep breath, continuing after hearing Ran’s slightly audible hum noise, “Do you have any plans for this weekend?”

“Hm?” Ran hummed, her voice rising in pitch, “No, you know that I have to take a break right now from practice. I just have to wait for my hand to heal, then I can get back to it. Why do you ask, Shinichi?” He practically felt her smile and barely contained anticipation through the phone’s receiver.

“I was thinking,” Shinichi began, “If you’re free this weekend, I figured we could go to Beika Aquarium together,” His smile grew more genuine, and his cheeks slightly flushed; he stood a little straighter, awaiting her response.

“The aquarium? Why’s that?” She unknowingly copied Shinichi’s earlier confusion, much to his amusement.

“Kaasan mentioned that it might be nice to get your mind off of the karate tournament, and taking a visit to the aquarium should be a nice way to spend your weekend, right?”

“Kaasan?” She echoed, “You heard this from your mother? Does that mean she’s home?”

“Not really, they’re only staying for the night before heading out early tomorrow.” Shinichi sighed.

“But that means I’ll have missed my chance to see them again,” Ran whines, and Shinichi finds it a little ironic that Ran tends to miss his own parents more than he does, especially regarding their inconsistent schedules and appearances.

“It’s not the first time they’ve done this,” Shinichi reminded her, snickering, “I’ll let her know you miss her, okay?”

“You better,” She pouts, “If you don’t, I will sneak over there in the middle of the night again.”

He knew better than to attempt to call her bluff, as during one particularly snowy day last year, she really did leave in the middle of the night to head over to his house. He only realized when she had already entered his house with her spare key, and he found her rummaging through his closet looking for any warmer clothes to bundle up into. While it was funny in retrospect, it scared the living daylights out of him and resulted in her having to skip a week of school due to a ‘mysterious cold she unexpectedly developed the previous night.’ Needless to say, Sonoko was close to poking his eyes out when Ran revealed why she actually got sick that day.

Shinichi sighed, “I’ll message you later tonight, Ran. Make sure your phone is actually charged.”

“What do you think it’s doing right now, Shinichi?” She sarcastically remarked.

He gripped the bridge of his nose in exasperation, his smile betraying his false annoyance, “Anyway, how does that sound, Ran?”

“The aquarium visit?” Ran reiterated, “It does sound nice.”

“Just the two of us, yeah?”

“Eh? I can’t invite Sonoko?”

Shinichi sighed humorlessly, “You can, but she’s going to want to drag you around constantly to look at the gift shops and cafes. It might be better for you to go there first, then invite her there yourself later.” Try as he might, he was never really Sonoko’s friend, and he never really tried to be. Sonoko and him shared a mutual best-friend in the form of one Mouri Ran, and the only other things they shared were occasional sarcastic remarks, mutual adoration for their shared friend, and the ability to throw around more money than they can think of. Sure, Sonoko may have been Ran’s first friend, but he and Ran knew each other before either of them even existed (entirely due to their parents being close acquaintances).

“You know that’s not true, Shinichi.”

“Ran,” Shinichi rolled his eyes, “Last time the three of us went to celebrate together, Sonoko dragged you off immediately and I had to follow behind both of you for 30 minutes.” All three of them managed to pass each of their exams last year, so Sonoko declared that the only way to properly celebrate would be to go to a cafe at the mall. What she neglected to mention, when treating herself (and Ran) was: “You both managed to go to 12 different shops, and even 3 different cafes before we finally got to the one we went to the mall for.” Ran deserved only the best, of course. But was it so wrong to want to go do what they came there for, then just leave?

“Ah.”

“Exactly, you see what I mean?” Shinichi snarked, “As I said,” He relented, “There’s always a next time.”

“I guess,” She sighed, “It just– It almost feels like, with us going together, like we’re going on a…” She cut herself off, likely as embarrassed and flustered as Shinichi felt.

A date. Kaasan wasn’t exactly subtle when recommending the activity, and neither were either of them, to be entirely fair. Shinichi would need to be criminally oblivious not to realize that he harboured a blatant crush on his childhood friend, as well as to not realize that Ran might feel similar. He’s heard Sonoko’s teasing remarks to Ran, and his face flushes as much as hers does each time. It’s not as if he doesn’t want to confess to her, but their relationship changing in any meaningful way scares him–as much as it scares him to think she might not even feel the same way. If they began dating, would their relationship evolve to be like his parents' or hers? That’s the thought that silences him whenever the idea of telling her about his feelings even materializes.

Both Shinichi and Ran quietly flustered, and Shinichi grabbed his phone from his bag to distract himself. Without really thinking, he opened the forecast app and found the weather for the next few days.

“Tomorrow might be best,” Shinichi said, “It looks like it might rain later on, so if we leave relatively early in the afternoon we could avoid the busy hours.”

“Really?”

“You should probably wear a jacket regardless of the weather, though.” Shinichi advised, “It’s also likely to be windy that day, and the aquarium itself should be pretty chilly, too.” Shinichi wisely kept to himself about the other reason he believed Ran should wear her coat; he thought it might not go so well if he were to admit that out loud.

Ran stayed silent, and Shinichi wondered if she was actually doing okay. Just as he opened his mouth to ask, “Tomorrow works, Shinichi.” She audibly smiled.

He breathed a sigh of relief, “Tomorrow it is, I’ll meet you at your house early enough so we can get breakfast at Poirot, that works for you?” That way, they can head straight to the aquarium after eating, and he wouldn’t have to worry about her trying to set up Kogoro-san and Kisaki-san again.

“Yep,” She confirmed, “See you tomorrow, Shinichi.”

“Goodbye, Ran.” Shinichi smiled, gently hanging up the house phone and pocketing his cell phone. Grabbing his bag again, which had been placed out of the way, he swung by the kitchen area, noticing his parents were still sitting next to each other, drinking their respective beverages. He stared unimpressed when both were already looking his way, ‘They were both listening in, weren’t they?’

“As you’ve likely heard,” He begins, snidely, “Ran and I are heading out tomorrow, it won’t interfere with your schedule, but I figured you might want to know.” It was common courtesy to inform one’s parents when they intended to leave the house; not something he did often, but he did know how to be respectful at times.

Shinichi watched as a knowing smile began to grow across his mother’s lips. He sighed and looked away, “Ran says, hello. And also, that she misses you both.” He considered sarcastically asking his mother: ‘What do you want to say in return?’ But thought better of it. The most that would do would get his mother scolding him, while smothering him, whining about him needing to re-learn his manners.

“Tell her I said hello back, Shin-chan!” Yukiko cheered, “Gosh, it has been a long time since we’ve seen her, Kogoro-kun, or even Eri-chan.”

Shinichi leans against the entrance’s frame and digs his phone out of his pocket, opening the messaging app he used to talk with Ran, “I’ll let her know you miss her too,” Already typing out the message as he spoke. “If that’s all, I’m going to go finish my homework for this weekend. Goodnight.”

“Shin-chan~,” Yukiko called, stretching the syllables of his name to an annoyingly long degree.

“Kaasan~,” Shinichi replied, similarly. “Look, unless you need me to do something for you tonight, I do actually have homework to finish if I want to hang out with Ran tomorrow.” A lame excuse, sure. But any extra time he spends around his mother, which is, albeit few and far between, is decidedly a chore. She’s a lovely woman, but most people who agree with that statement didn’t have to live with her. Even with the limited time she spends living in her own home, she has a habit of smothering him relentlessly.

“You’re already done your homework aren't you, Shinichi?” Yusaku smiled knowingly, stopping Shinichi in place where he was about to bolt up the stairs and sequester himself in his room. “You probably haven’t had anything to eat yet, either.” His father is technically correct in both regards, although he hadn’t gotten to writing down his thought process, Shinichi had already solved each equation and had a solid grasp on what he was planning to write about within his newest history-related essay assignment.

“No, I haven’t eaten yet,” Shinichi furrowed his brow, deliberately choosing not to mention the comment about his homework. He may be technically ‘done,’ but his father’s assumption was only half-correct. Figuring out the answer and compiling one’s evidence and thought process to achieve that answer were two sides to the same coin, which he had yet to actually complete. “I was planning on doing that later, is there something wrong with that?” Shinichi suspiciously squinted at his father, ‘Is this a ploy to sneak in a family dinner?’ Not quite atypical behaviour when his parents do come home on occasion, but Shinichi tends to internally cringe whenever they partake in one. The atmosphere at home feels oddly artificial throughout the meal, as if they are putting on a show to an empty audience, presenting the concept of what a family dinner should look like. Then again, those feelings of unease were probably normal; sitting down with one’s family specifically to talk about their day and future plans likely felt awkward for everyone involved anyway.

“Shinichi,” Yusaku called out to him, taking note of his silence and likely wandering mind, “Put away your bag, then head back down, okay?”

“Come join us, Shin-chan! I just finished making some paella before you got home, we were waiting for you before we’d begin.” Shinichi startled, only moments prior, finally realizing he could smell the scent of his mother’s cooking. Furthermore, he noticed a few dishes already laid out, each containing a serving of his mother’s food. He stood straighter, wondering how he possibly missed all of that.

‘Maybe I was too focused on getting some fresh coffee to actually notice,’ Shinichi thought exasperatedly, “I’ll be right back,” He sighed. Starting to walk up the stairs, ignoring how his stomach ached, ‘At least it’s not takeaway or instant noodles, again.’ Ran did occasionally stop by to drop off extra food she claimed that she didn't mean to make, but he re-assured her that she didn’t have to tonight, ‘I was just going to heat up some left-over curry she made for me yesterday, so this is convenient at least.’

After dropping his bag onto his bed and sitting next to it, he grabbed the paper worksheets and placed them on his desk, automatically organizing each page into stacks per subject for later convenience. Once satisfied, he hung his bag properly on a hook and glanced at his phone, noticing the healthy battery percentage and the follow-up message he received from Ran.

– Thanks Shinichi, goodnight! –

Shinichi smiled warmly before sending his own farewell response, “Goodnight Ran.”

He pocketed his phone again and descended the stairs, mentally preparing himself for a family meal.

Shinichi sighed, pulling up his phone to check the time again, as if the fifth (sixth, or has it been ten times now?) time would magically tell him why Ran still wasn’t here yet. Nor even why she hadn’t texted him and let him know why she was supposedly late this time.

The previous night with his parents had been relatively ‘okay,’ mainly saved by his mother’s wonderful cooking and the ability to discuss the recent criminal cases he’d been able to solve (with the occasional backing of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Division). Despite Yukiko loudly complaining initially due to the violent–and oftentimes gorey–subject matter ruining the mood while she was attempting to eat, she was relatively quiet as both her husband and son discussed the case and the steps Shinichi took to solve it. Despite her initial protests, she periodically offered her own insights into the cases and things she noticed during Shinichi’s recap and an online search she remembered doing previously. (“I like looking things up about you, Shin-chan!” She admitted joyfully, reaching over and hugging him despite his protests and his father’s audible chuckles.)

That morning, true to both of their words, both of his parents had left. It was thoughtful of them to leave a note along with some breakfast for him, so Shinichi covered it and placed it in the fridge, deciding to eat it later that day.

There was no use in wasting food or getting too full before heading over to the cafe, after all, it had been a while since he last ate there. An excuse to eat at Poirot’s never presented itself, when he went over to Ran’s she would drag him inside and force him to eat with Ojisan; even though that situation hadn’t happened for a while, he still remembered Ojisan’s face when Ran dragged him inside and the way it seemed like he was holding back a firm denial, only relenting when Ran turned her gaze onto him. Both of the males shared a familiar look of fond indulgence (tinged with slight terror) in regards to Ran, who they both cherished deeply.

Shinichi sighed, slipping on a jacket and texting Ran that he was leaving the house. On the way to Poirot, he absently observed his surroundings before grabbing his phone and researching previously unsolved cases in an effort to stimulate his tired mind. He actually went to sleep earlier than he normally did on weekends–forgoing his usual routine of re-reading various mystery novels before going to sleep–yet he still found himself waking up only minutes after his parents had already left the house. If Shinichi squinted through the morning rays, he could barely make out one of his parent’s cars turning the corner, just as he opened his windows.

After a particularly puzzling case posted onto an ‘Impossible Cases’ forum involving a locked-room mystery–likely committed by feeding something similar to piano wire through a crack in the vent above the door to prop the corpse into a sitting position, throwing the key behind the body’s back, before releasing the wire and allowing the corpse to fall naturally atop the key. The culprit then retrieved the wire and discarded it after the setup was completed. The only evidence of the trick was the oddly thin marks behind the victim’s neck and traces of the wire rubbing on various surfaces it interacted with. He resolved to send his deduction and evidence to the detective agency which operated in that area. Later, Shinichi texted Ran again, having made it to the front steps of her father’s agency building.

She responded instantly, telling him to wait a second for her to get ready. ‘Why didn’t you get ready when I sent my first text more than 10 minutes ago?’ Shinichi thought, raising an eyebrow, unimpressed. He resolved himself to wait longer, but she opened the door and raced down the steps mere moments after sending her reply. Shinichi held back his gut instinct to wryly reprimand her for being late, but he held his tongue. The last thing he needed was to get yelled at or even playfully threatened on a day that was supposed to help his friend relax.

Shinichi sighed, stepping out of his relaxed posture and smiling warmly at Ran, “You ready to go?” He offered, pointing at Poirot, delighting when her face lit up and she grinned in affirmation.

The two went inside and greeted Azusa-san before each ordered a simple breakfast and drink. Shinichi chose an iced coffee, and Ran asked for coffee as well, but distinctly added several sugar cubes into her drink. While waiting for their breakfast, the two began friendly small talk about their respective homework assignments. Ran, raising an eyebrow skeptically at Shinichi’s claims to have already finished the assigned calculus equations, and flushing in turn when he accused her of having already finished the rough draft of their allotted essays. Both quickly silenced when their food had been delivered, and ate in relative silence with each other, only being occasionally interrupted by a question asked by the other about the aforementioned assignments.

Once finished eating, both thanked Azusa-san for the service and left the cafe.

“We should head over to the aquarium now,” Shinichi commented, looking at the time on his phone, “If we want to beat the rain-showers, now would be the best time to get there, right, Ran?” He asked, looking over at his friend.

Ran startled, as if she forgot the plans they both made the previous day, “Right,” She confirmed, “The aquarium, we were going to head there next.” Her tone was oddly strained, “I forgot to…” Trailing off, she snapped her fingers in determination.

“Ran,” Shinichi spoke, his voice slightly cautious. ‘She was probably going to try and get her parents to join us in an attempt to secretly force them back together again, wasn’t she?’ He sardonically thought, his eye twitching slightly in mild exasperation.

“I forgot to grab gloves!” Ran realized, her eyes widening in recognition. She quickly turned and ran back up the stairs to her house, “Wait for me at the aquarium, Shinichi!”

“Ran!” Shinichi yelled, reaching his arm out, but faltering upon hearing the door shut behind her. “She could have just told me to wait, while she grabbed her gloves,” Shinichi’s eyes twitching again in annoyance, realizing that he was indeed right with his deduction yesterday. His mouth curled into a displeased frown as he felt his phone buzz and blankly read the message she just sent to him.

– I’ll meet you at the aquarium in an hour or two, see you there! –

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in exasperation. The journey to the aquarium should only take about half an hour to arrive by bus, and around an hour to get there on foot. Maybe the rain wouldn’t be so bad if they did get caught by it later, he thought, walking over to the bus stop and waiting for it to arrive. He rolled his eyes, grabbed his phone and replied to Ran’s message.

– Get to the aquarium before 3 pm so we won’t miss the show. You can tell me the truth about why you’re late when you get there. –

Was it a little petty? Sure. Did she deserve it? Probably not. Did it make Shinichi grin when he faintly heard her scream his name at the top of her lungs? Obviously.

The humour Shinichi found earlier was slowly slipping away as he silently watched the time tick towards and steadily past the 15:00 deadline he imposed upon her. He sighed, eventually grabbing the small coffee cup he started and nearly finished while continuing to wait for Ran to arrive. ‘We’ve definitely missed the 3pm showing of the dolphin show,’ He leaned back slightly to see if there were any other dolphin show times displayed on the white board, which they could possibly still see. ‘There’s the 5pm showing, but that’s cutting it a little close. The rain might start pouring if we stay for any longer after that.’

Shinichi looked at the time on his phone, finishing his coffee and recycling the cup, ‘Then again, that is if Ran even shows up at all.’ He slightly huffed a laugh and placed his phone in his pocket, deciding that strolling around, even if alone, would still be a pleasurable activity. ‘It almost feels like I got stood up, even though we’re not…’ He cuts himself off from finishing that thought, his cheeks slightly warm as he looks at the various water-life to distract himself.

“Shinichi!” He distantly heard; spinning around, he was met with Ran running up to him, looking distinctly out-of-breath. “I tried to get here as fast as I could,” She breathed, hands gripping her knees as she attempted to calm her likely racing heart.

Shinichi bit back the instinctual urge to snark at her, instead slightly leaning on a nearby wall to wait for her to catch her breath and raising an eyebrow. ‘She doesn’t look sad, nor moments away from taking her frustration out on a random hooligan.’ He thought, tilting his head in an attempt to interpret her mood, ‘Well, Ran wouldn’t just attack someone unprovoked in an attempt to relieve stress anyway,’ He corrected internally, noticing that Ran’s breaths were slowly becoming more faint and she looked less like she ran a marathon. Instead, she looked sheepish with a hint of frustration in her furrowed brows.

“So, I forgot to ask Okaasan if she was free today, and she told me she was, only minutes after you left,” Ran began explaining. He was pleased that Ran took his advice on just admitting the truth when she arrived, so he didn’t have to bully it out of her. “I even asked Otousan last night if he was free, and he told me that he would be. But then suddenly when I asked him again this morning he’s ‘busy?’” Ran scoffed, incredulously, “If I didn’t look at his calendar for the next week, I might have been more considerate and understanding–but I did read his calendar. And you want to know what I found? Nothing.” She complained, rolling her eyes occasionally in irritation.

Shinichi smiled sympathetically, realizing that her explanation might take some time, so he began walking back towards the place he got his drink while subtly directing Ran to follow him. He already knew what Ran would want, so he ordered her a bottle of water to quench her throat and a few random desserts he thought looked cute enough to satisfy her when she was done. Afterwards, he led her to a table and directed the cup of water towards her to signify her to take a break and drink. All the while, he nodded occasionally and physically faced her whenever possible, giving her the most attention he could while simultaneously calming her down.

“Worse than that,” She continued, absentmindedly following Shinichi’s directions, “After I finally got him to agree to cancel his non-existent plans, I thought about running over to Okaasan’s office. Only then did she call me back right as I was about to head out the door to tell me she actually was busy this afternoon. A friend suddenly dropped by and requested assistance on a ‘personal matter’.” She sat down and angrily drank the water Shinichi placed in her hands, “Okaasan didn’t even tell me who it was, just that it had been a while since they had seen each other and both wished me good luck with the rest of my afternoon.” Shinichi paused slightly when he heard that. Somehow, he almost had the feeling he knew exactly who decided to take a break from their busy schedule and randomly visit Kisaki-san for a ‘friendly chat’, and while it wasn’t fair to accuse his mother without proof, it was far too suspicious to merely be a coincidence. But the end result was only mildly annoying, for Shinichi at least.

Ran took another sip of her water, finally seeming to calm down after getting the chance to vent her frustration. “Then, around that time, I realized that it was getting close to 3; so I caught the nearest bus and tried to get here as fast as I could. I even got off the bus at a stop early, because I figured it would be faster to just run directly here, rather than the route it looked like it was going to take instead.” She laughed, somewhat awkwardly. Only then, she startled slightly, looking around to realize that she was brought to the aquarium’s cafe.

“When did I..?” Ran hesitantly asked, cutting herself off as she noticed the cute treats laid out before her, Shinichi abashedly looking away when he noticed her snapping out of her angry fervour. She looked at him with warm gratefulness reflected in her smile, her eyes lightly wrinkling with her delight, causing Shinichi’s face to flush a more crimson red.

Ran happily dug in, savouring each of the treats Shinichi picked out for her, while Shinichi stepped away briefly to buy himself another small cup of iced coffee. He looked back at her momentarily, watching the way her face lit up with each bite of her dessert, how her face glowed under the lights of the cafe’s quaint interior, illuminated in a soft yellow hue, contrasting the blue lights which shine everywhere else in the building. How the lights dance around her face, each one accentuating every corner and curve throughout her whole body. Even the way that the light just barely bounces off the glass around them, reflecting into her eyes and colouring them a softer shade of indigo.

“You know coffee stunts your growth, right?” Ran sarcastically remarks, waving her fork gently toward him.

“No it doesn’t,” Shinichi scoffed, “The most it will do is wake me up.”

“Oh,” She intoned, “Am I boring you, Shinichi?”

“You have been for the hours it took for you to get here, when you told me all you needed to grab was your gloves.” He quirked a brow, not maliciously but still unimpressed.

“Seriously, Shinichi?” She rolled her eyes, the blush appearing on her face betraying her act, “I told you that I’d meet you in an hour or two, I didn’t technically lie.”

“And I told you to get here before 3 pm so we wouldn’t miss the dolphin show, and yet here we are.” He countered.

“We missed the dolphin show?” Ran asked, surprised and almost disappointed.

Shinichi sighed, “Not really,” He pulled out his phone to share the photo he took of the dolphin show starting times, “There’s still the 17:00 show, but I wanted to finish before then so we could avoid the rain.”

“So, we won’t miss it then?” Ran tilted her head in confusion, continuing to eat her treats when Shinichi sighed again.

“Ran, you probably want to actually walk around the aquarium to look at all the fish and other sea-life, not just watch the dolphin show then leave, right?” He asked rhetorically, “If we were able to catch the 3pm show, we could have finished that first, wandered around and left.”

Ran nodded, finishing her dessert and taking another sip from her water. “We can still wander around and catch the 5pm show though, right?”

“Probably?” Shinichi guessed, “I don’t think that the rain should cancel the show later, but it might start pouring around 4pm, rather than 6.”

Ran stood up, a determined smile tugging on her lips, “Well, what are we waiting for?” Grabbing the remains of her sweets and tossing them in the garbage, along with chugging the last of her water before disposing of that as well. She hastily returned to Shinichi, who was finishing the last of his coffee, his eyebrows slightly lifted, startled by her bout of enthusiasm.

Shinichi stood as well, emptying his cup and recycling it again, before leaving the cafe with Ran. ‘At least she’s feeling better,’ he thought, walking beside her.

“Let’s go,” She laughed, grabbing his hand and beginning to pull him forward.

“Wait, Ran!” Shinichi called out, causing her to loosen her grip and stop to look at him.

“Is something wrong, Shinichi?” She asked, confused.

“Listen, don’t run anymore today, okay?” He sternly told her, grasping her gloved hand, slightly squeezing it to emphasize his point.

“Huh?” She stood straighter, now more confused than before. “Why not?”

Shinichi leaned away from her, his eyes straying from her gaze. He felt his cheeks warm up in embarrassment, ‘I can’t tell her about her bra-situation, can I? Especially not here with everyone around us,’ Shinichi thought, his cheeks lighting up more as he looked around at the various couples and families enjoying the various fish and other sea-life. He turned around, “I can’t tell you, not now.”

“Eh?” Ran exclaimed, “Why can’t you tell me?” She complained, pulling their connected hands closer to her chest, making Shinichi flinch and his face blush even brighter.

“Didn’t you want to go see the fishes and sharks before we’re late again?” Shinichi ignored her question and rhetorically asked, turning to face Ran again once his face had finally stopped burning up. “Come on, Ran,” He sighed, pulling Ran behind him to walk towards the various exhibits, “I, for one, want to see the sharks.”

Ran quickly shook herself out of her daze and chased behind him, albeit at a slower pace than she would have a few minutes ago, “You will tell me what you mean, right?” She asked, leaning forward to try to read his facial expressions.

Shinichi’s blush faintly returned, and he looked away from her again, “If that’s what you really want,” He relented, anticipating his future need to physically avoid her later indignation and embarrassment.

Both walked quietly together until Ran broke the silence. “Also, why didn’t you wait in the entrance area for me?”

“I did.” Shinichi argued, turning to face her, “I waited there for you to arrive, but when you never did, I eventually got bored and left to go get a coffee.”

“Fine,” She said, “Y’know, I had to run all over to look for you. Why did you hide away here?” She complained, only half-sarcastically.

Shinichi’s eyes twitched in irritation at the idea of her running more than necessary, but sighed, nevertheless, “What’s there to say about it?” He sarcastically remarked, shrugging his shoulders, “I just wanted to see the sharks, they get such a bad reputation constantly, but I still like them.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” He taunted, staring at her for a few seconds before delicately removing his hand from her grip and softly touching the glass, his eyes softening. “They’re not ferocious beasts, unlike what the media likes to display them as. They are more…” He pondered for a moment, “More like a product of their environment, like all things. Having the smartest brain compared to any other fish within its ecosystem, it’s a shame they’re treated so poorly; most don’t even like the taste of human blood anyway.” Shinichi unconsciously clenched his free hand, watching the various fish suddenly jerk out of the way of the shark, and how it gently swam through the water, its skin delicately lapped by the slowly moving waves around it. “Sharks are almost like detectives, when it comes to their instincts regarding blood, at least,” He murmured.

Ran stared absently, watching his eyes brighten slightly, how his eyes follow the shark’s movements with intent concentration, as though analyzing its movements and forward trajectory.

“Well,” Shinichi turned away, still facing away at Ran, instead looking further down the tunnel, “Maybe they shouldn’t meet in front of the sharks, I don’t imagine Ojisan or Kisaki-san would find it very romantic when you eventually drag them both here.” He explained, stuffing his hands in his jacket and starting to walk further into the corridor. ‘Ran may tolerate it because of me, at least. But I doubt that Korogo-san or Kisaki-san would very much enjoy this section of the aquarium.’

He looked over at his friend, only to find her looking at her phone in concentration. Judging by her facial expression, Shinichi could infer, “How’s Sonoko doing by the way, is she feeling better?” The one she’d likely been messaging was her other friend, “How mad is she that she couldn’t come along with, on our trip today?”

Ran startled slightly, raising her eyes to match his, “Sonoko is… um,” She trailed off, returning her gaze to the phone to read her previous mailing history with the other girl, “Sonoko’s feeling better, her sickness is calming down. She didn’t say anything about coming along though?” Her voice raised slightly at the tail end of her statement, clearly expecting him to elaborate on his earlier questions.

“The likelihood of you texting your mother was rather slim, as you two finished chatting earlier and neither of you have the habit of double-texting one-another anyway. On the other hand,” Shinichi explained, “Sonoko has a habit of flooding your notifications with repeated texts and you do a similar thing in return.” At her raised eyebrow, he continued, “Yesterday, you assumed that the invitation to meet at the aquarium today would also be extended to Sonoko. We do typically meet up whenever something big is coming up, or she wants to celebrate yours and her successes.” ‘I would never willingly hang-out with Sonoko if you weren’t involved,’ Shinichi thought, carefully not voicing that aloud, “Since your tournament is coming up shortly, Sonoko probably had something similar occur recently–like food poisoning–you wanted to help her get her mind off of, right?”

Ran blinked in surprise, “How did you know she got food poisoning?”

Shinichi stared at her, quirking an eyebrow, “Did you forget,” Nearly holding back his initial urge to call her an idiot, resolving himself to raising his eyebrow condescendingly, “When we were heading home together yesterday, she messaged you about trying a new cute food stand together, and that she wanted to try it later that same day. But you told her that you were busy that night, because you needed to go grocery shopping for that week, and turned your phone off after that to conserve its battery.” He turned back towards the glass, noticing a spotted eagle ray swim by, and beamed in fascination.

Ran turned to look at the fish as well, noticing Shinichi’s excitement, “Were you watching me yesterday?” She asked, slightly turning her head to face him.

“I was curious what caught your attention, and just happened to glance at your screen then.” He shrugged, “Anyway, you probably informed her later that night about our plans today, and were updating her on the rest of the story that you told me earlier.”

“Did you actually look at my phone just now, Shinichi?” She asked, incredulously. Curling her body slightly away from him, as if to hide her phone from his view. Shinichi looked unimpressed, rolling his eyes, as if annoyed.

“Ran, I just naturally assumed that because you’ve been smiling and generally typing a lot ever since we left the cafe. It’s not difficult to notice, especially if you know what you’re looking for.” He looked away, scratching his cheek slightly, “She’s probably getting mad on your behalf, after you were able to rant to me about it.”

‘He’s been watching me this whole time?’ Ran thought, a pale red appearing on her cheeks, ‘I guess he doesn’t need to know the whole truth.’ After all, along with quickly letting Sonoko know about her struggles to get to the aquarium at a somewhat decent time, she also let the other girl know about what Shinichi did when she finally got there. She appreciates Sonoko’s enthusiasm, sure, but it’s a little embarrassing when Sonoko continues talking about how her ‘husband’ is finally stepping up and treating her like the ‘princess’ she deserves to be.

“You probably told her about your plans to invite your parents to the aquarium last night too,” Shinichi confirmed, staring back at her, noticing her slightly flustered appearance.

“That’s right.” Ran agreed, scrolling back up through her texting history with Sonoko–pointedly ignoring her most recent message advising her to get physically closer to Shinichi before surprising him with a small peck on the cheek. “She kinda complimented you on the idea of it all, actually,” Ignoring his curious hum, she continues reading more of her conversation with Sonoko, “You knew my dad likes fish, so it almost felt like a round-about way to hang out together while also planning for another way to get Otousan and Okaasan together again!” She cheered.

Shinichi chuckled slightly, ‘I can’t take all the credit here, Ran. I even told you that I got the idea from Kaasan yesterday; besides, I think Kogoro-san prefers his fish to be already dead and ready to be eaten.’ He thought, exasperatedly. “Well, let’s enjoy our day here together, first. Then, we can work out how to go about your: ‘Whatever Plan, Attempt Number 772’.” He remarked, waving his hand dismissively.

“It’s not the ‘Whatever Plan’.” Ran complained, “It’s the ‘Super Aquarium Romantic Reunion Plan’!”

“Huh?” Shinichi said, stupefied.

“Sonoko named it,” Ran explained.

“Yeah, I can tell.”

Ran pouted but agreed with him internally. It was a little silly of a name, but if it worked, that’s all that mattered. “It’s simple,” She explained, raising a finger in explanation, “First, I’ll invite otousan–properly this time–to the aquarium, where he’ll meet Okaasan waiting here for him. Then, in this wonderful world surrounded by fish, the two of them will remember how much they loved each other, and re-connect right then and there. Afterwards, they’ll move back in together and resume their loving marital bliss.” Ran smiled, raising her hands to her cheeks, almost in awe at the idea of her plan succeeding.  

Shinichi raised an eyebrow, and Ran spun around to face him in indignation, “Don’t forget, Shinichi. You were fundamental to creating this plan, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess so,” He sighed, ‘I wasn’t really, Kaasan came up with the idea in the first place. Speaking of, she probably recommended the aquarium with the realization that Ojisan likes fish because she’s known him for years.’ Shinichi pauses, ‘I only kinda know about his affinity for fish because I heard him drunkenly sing about it once.’ A memorable occasion, indeed–likely when Ran also first learnt that interesting factoid–but it's still embarrassing to think about some of the things Ojisan does when drunk, even years later.

“But remember,” Shinichi continues, pointing at Ran, who slightly leans back, “I didn't come up with the stupid name, okay? That was all Sonoko's idea.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Ran rolled her eyes, “But thanks again for coming to the aquarium with me.”

Shinichi straightened, averting his eyes again, “Of course, I was the one who invited you here, after all.”

‘I’m really glad I was able to come here with Shinichi, it means more than I think he realizes that we’re able to go together to do something like this. It means everything to me.’ Ran smiled, internally allowing herself to enjoy this moment. Although it likely wasn’t anything too special, she hangs out with Sonoko and Shinichi all the time; this time, it felt a little more special. “Hey, Shinichi.”

He hummed, tilting his head towards her to indicate he was listening.

“What do you think,” She indicated towards her appearance. She put effort into making herself look nice, after all.

Shinichi moved his eyes around her form absently, “About what?” Unsure of what he was supposed to be paying attention to. “Your dress, or your clothes in general?” He guessed, walking towards the other side of the tank to look at the fish there.

Ran followed him, “Does it matter?” She insisted, reaching out but just falling shy of actually grabbing his arm. He turned toward her, and as his eyes traced her body, she couldn’t help but fluster again.

“I–” He cut himself off, “It looks nice. On you, that is.”

“What does that mean?” She asked curiously.

“Well,” Shinichi trailed off, forcing himself to look at the swimming fish and avoid looking at her chest too blatantly, “Why don’t you ask your mother instead what she thinks,” He deflected, “You’re going to see her tonight, aren’t you?”

Ran startled, “How do you know that?” Genuinely befuddled, she walks in front of him to ask, “I haven’t told Sonoko or Otousan about that, nor have I opened my chat with Okaasan in front of you at all today. How do you know I’m meeting her?”

“You never said ‘evening’ earlier.” He answered, “When you were explaining the challenging time you spent trying to get your parents to accompany us to the aquarium today, you spoke about your sudden conversation with your mother. In which you specified that your mother would be suddenly busy ‘this afternoon’. And that Kisaki-san and her friend both wished you luck with the rest of ‘your afternoon.’ Typically, one would casually mention their evening plans, especially someone as punctually proficient as your mother–yet neither you nor she brought up the idea of meeting at the aquarium in the evening, or at least after 5-6 pm.

“Furthermore, earlier, when we were chatting in Poirot, you never brought up cooking once. Neither did you mention the price of the breakfast we had together, which you have a habit of doing when you realize the expenses would be unreasonably high, or someone else is paying for you. Granted, we were at Poirot, where you occasionally frequent, along with Ojisan. But you also never mentioned his food, nor did you need to head home at a certain time today to make food for him again.

“Also, when I got you some treats from the cafe here at the aquarium, you ate each of them fairly quickly, but it didn’t seem like you were eating them to fill your stomach–more to tide you over, while you kept yourself partially hungry for a proper meal later. Otherwise, you’d likely have asked to purchase some more to savour later, or even to share with Sonoko–if you were eating with her tonight. But since you’re likely eating with your mother later this evening, you wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise and opportunity for Kogoro-san and Kisaki-san to feed each other treats from the aquarium’s cafe. If I hadn’t taken you there earlier, you’d likely have mentioned your desire to try some of the food there anyway.

“Furthermore, you have a magazine in your bag,” Ran startles, surprised Shinichi is still explaining his reasoning, and even surprised he noticed it, “Considering your confidence in your appearance, it’s clear that you were recently complimented on it. Which means you were scouted suddenly to appear in a photoshoot of some kind, likely to be a ‘reader-model’ and that the photos would be quick to shoot. Around 5-10 minutes, if I had to guess. Then you bought a magazine to brag about potentially featuring in the next magazine-which is likely, due to the business card you’ve placed within its pages. Most agencies don’t hand out their business cards to just about anybody–if Kaasan is to be believed–you should be appearing in the next issue.”

“Shinichi, I think I get it now.” Ran interrupted, her face blushing a brighter crimson as Shinichi continued.

“But around this area, most model scouts only browse around the main street of 3-chrome, why did you stop around that area?” He asked, thankfully not deducing the reason himself, so Ran could answer him properly.

“I wanted to buy Otousan some pre-packaged meals so he wouldn’t go hungry. I didn’t make enough food last night for there to be sufficient left-overs, so I had to run over to the supermarket over there because I knew there would be a good sale for the ones he normally likes.” She admitted, pulling her bag closer to herself.

“I was right!” Shinichi laughed, pumping his fist in celebration. “You didn’t mention that earlier when we were at the cafe, so I wasn’t certain if my deduction was completely right,” He admitted.

“Eh? Really?” Ran asked, tilting her head. ‘To be fair, I almost forgot about buying food for Otousan when we were in Poirot earlier, and I was reminded when I tried to get him to admit to his fake plans for today.’ She thought, ‘And I was so focused on explaining why I was frustrated with Okaasan to remember the photoshoot at all.’

“But all of that doesn’t matter.” Shinichi said, crossing his arms.

“It doesn’t?”

“No.” He confirms, “What matters is that you keep your promise.”

“My promise?”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I?” Shinichi deadpans, “Don’t. Run.”

Ran sighs dramatically, “What is with you and running, today? What bad thing is going to happen now that you told me I’m not allowed to run anymore?” She demanded.

“Nothing bad is going to happen to you, Ran. Just don’t run anymore for the rest of today.” Shinichi waved his hands, trying to get her to calm down. “Look, just,” He paused, turning away from her gaze, ‘I hope this doesn’t ruin the rest of her day, it’s not like anything that bad could happen at an aquarium. Nothing like a murder is going to happen or anything,’ He thought sarcastically. “Running will make you sad,” Shinichi flustered slightly, lowering his hands in embarrassment.

“Running will make me sad?” Ran echoed, confused, “Why would running make me sad?”

“Just don’t run at all for the rest of today, okay?”

“My name is Ran, I was born to run!” She exclaimed indignantly. “Besides,” She quieted down slightly, “I wouldn’t have to run after you if you didn’t run from me first,” She murmured, clearly not expecting Shinichi to hear her.

Shinichi’s eyes widened before they gradually softened, “Idiot.” She snapped her head to face him, “I would never go somewhere you couldn’t eventually catch up.”

Ran slightly smiled, her eyes leaving Shinichi’s and looking back towards the schools of fish drifting past them. Shinichi’s eyes followed her gaze as the two of them stood together silently, watching the water gently flow through the tank, and all the various water-life swim through the currents.

“I’ll tell you, okay?” Shinichi said softly. Keeping his eyes on the glass, he could feel Ran’s eyes slightly drift to face him before they also returned to the tank, neither truly wanting to disturb the moment.

Just as Shinichi was about to open his mouth, a coppery scent invaded his senses. He snapped his head back violently and began running towards the location, noticing a large crowd begin to form around what he assumed was the source.

“Ran, go to the entrance and get an employee.” He commanded her, noticing that she whipped around to face him when she heard him begin running toward the pungent iron scent that pierced the now-absent scent of water.

“What?”

“Go, now!” He yelled, before shoving his way through the crowd to come face-to-face with the bloody crime scene.

‘Damnit.’