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When Kaito and Shinichi independently asked their respective childhood friends where they wanted to go during Golden Week, they both said Tropical Land without a second thought, for entirely different reasons.
We never got to finish our last trip to Tropical Land!
Our last time there was because of Kid, we should go genuinely!
"Women." Kaito huffed, watching as Shinichi rummaged around in his dresser for an outfit to wear.
It had only been a few weeks since Shinichi had returned to normal thanks to the permanent antidote that Shiho had prepared, so a lot of his clothes needed a fresh wash and dry. Luckily his normal body didn’t change much during his 5 years shrunk.
"What are you complaining about now?"
Kaito sighed, loudly and dramatically to make a point. "Why do they want to go to Tropical Land so bad? I mean, that was where you got shrunk."
Shinichi picked out a shirt and pants, tossing them into the laundry hamper.
"What about you? Tropical Land was where you dropped that god awful ice cream line, you'd think Aoko-san would be too embarrassed to be seen there with you again."
"Aaaargh why did you have to bring that up??"
Shinichi chuckled, holding his hand out. "What are you going to wear? I'll wash those too."
Kaito pointed to the clothes he had picked out earlier, which Shinichi added to the pile. "...
"Hey, isn't this technically a double date?"
"You know it's not like that, we're just all hanging out for Golden Week."
"Yeah, but Tropical Land is popular with couples! Aoko and Ran could misunderstand, or other people might assume something."
"Why are you so worried about what other people think? Besides, what are we even going to do about that?"
Kaito paused, thinking to himself.
"...
"We could invite an extra person."
Shinichi grabbed some other spare clothes and put them into the hamper as well. "Who are we gonna convince to go with us to Tropical Land? We can't invite Sonoko, because she'd bring her boyfriend who you're scared of—"
"I am not scared of him."
"—And then it'd be a triple date. Not to mention, Sonoko's been acting really weird about Ran being single.
"And we can't invite Heiji or Kazuha because then it'd be the same issues.
"So we either need to invite an odd number of people, or two people who wouldn't be immediately confused as a couple."
Kaito scratched his chin pensively.
"...I have an idea."
—
Akako Koizumi didn't know what to wear.
Kaito Kudo of all people had asked her out, and she needed to look her best. To charm him, of course. No other reason.
But another issue is that Kaito's older brother was going to be there too, and Akako had never properly met him before. What if she needed to charm him too? Or what if he was someone she didn't like at all?
It nagged away at her, but eventually she settled on a cute blouse and dress combo and a brand new pair of Mary Jane shoes, putting her hair up into a ponytail.
She had to get to the station soon, but as she grabbed her purse and hurried out the door, she seemed to remember that Kaito mentioned something else about who was coming...
Oh well~
When she got to the train station, she immediately picked Kaito out of the crowd. And beside him was a boy who looked... just like him?
"Yo, Akako!" Kaito waved her over, pointing to the other boy. "That's my brother, Shinichi. You saw me disguised as him back at the diner a few years back, remember?"
"Ah! Nice to meet you, Kudo-san!" Akako reached out and gently shook Shinichi's hand.
So that's why Kaito had that strangely neat hairstyle back then! She was wondering what Shinichi looked like, but she didn't think that they were actually identical twins.
Well, no, not identical. Kaito had eyes that were bluish-purple, but Shinichi just had deep blue eyes. Aside from the different hairstyles, they were different in other ways too.
Kaito was more toned across his entire body, while Shinichi seemed to be average, just shy of scrawny.
Not to mention how soft and underworked Shinichi's hands were, compared to Kaito who used his hands for everything.
But this was fine, because she preferred that they were so different.
Her heart didn't have room for two thieves after all.
"Shall we go to the park now?"
"Sure, once the rest of the girls get here."
"...The rest?"
—
Kaito, Shinichi, Ran, Aoko, Shiho, and Akako made it to Tropical Land just before 11am.
Akako already knew Aoko of course, and she had met Ran during that diner encounter and spoke with her a bit after that, but Shiho was a new face.
A very pretty, new face.
Ah, my poor heart...
"Alright guys, it's time to go out and enjoy a fun and normal day with no murders, disappearances, heists or unexplained shrinking!" Ran said from her spot as the lead of the group, her words causing everyone but Akako to avert their gazes in embarrassment.
"To a fun day at Tropical Land! Osu!!"
"Osu!!!" Everyone but Akako responded, causing her to look around in a startled fashion.
"O...osu?"
"First up, Dream and Fairytale Land!"
—
The group proceeded through every section of the park, enjoying every attraction to the fullest.
Between laughing at Kaito's inability to ice skate, getting scared on the Mystery Coaster, waving to the penguins at the Ice and Mist Labyrinth, getting splashed on the river cruise ride, and trying all of the cafes and restaurants along the way, they truly did have a normal and fun day.
By the end, they had stopped at the water fountain in Science and Space Land. The group went to grab ice cream from the nearby parlor, but Shinichi noticed that Akako had stayed behind. She sat down on the edge of the fountain, rubbing the back of her ankles.
I should've just worn sneakers...
"Are you okay, Koizumi-san?"
"Kudo-san! I'm alright, I just wore some new shoes today, and I'm regretting it. Nothing like a few blisters to make a girl hardy! Ohoho~" she laughed, but when she put her foot back down, she visibly winced.
Shinichi knelt down in front of her, gently pulling off her shoes to check the damage.
"Ah, wha-"
"I usually carry a first aid kit around for my brother," he gently rubbed antibiotic cream into the cuts on the back of her ankles, before putting band-aids on them. "You shouldn't wear those shoes home. I'll buy you some sandals."
"I don-" She started, but he had already run to the nearby gift shop and bought her a pair of open back sandals, coming back over and helping her slip them on.
"How did you know my shoe size..?"
"I saw it on your other shoes." Shinichi shrugged. "We're gonna leave once the others return, so we should meet them at the entrance."
He then turned, exposing his back to her.
"? Kudo-san?"
"Get on my back, I'll carry you to the station. By the time the train takes us back, you should be able to walk home on your own."
It was embarrassing, but she really didn't have the strength to walk all the way back to the station and to her house. So, she eventually relented.
"...Pardon me.." Akako climbed onto Shinichi's back, expecting him to tumble over from her weight, but he locked his arms under her knees and stood up just as the others returned with desserts in their hands.
"Akako-chan! What happened??" Aoko hurried over, followed close behind by Ran, Shiho, and Kaito.
"It looks like she hurt her feet." Shiho said, glancing at the shoes Shinichi was holding. "She's been walking strangely all day, in hindsight it must've been from discomfort."
"Oh no!"
"If we had noticed earlier-"
"I'll be okay, Nakamori-san, Mouri-san." Akako smiled. "Let's return home now, yes?"
Kaito held out a panda shaped bread bun to Akako, who looked at it with confusion.
"You don't really care for ice cream right? This is a chocolate and custard bun."
"Oh, thank you- But it's not like I dislike ice cream-"
"You should try some of mine then!" Aoko beamed, holding up her cone with a small spoon in it.
"Try some of mine too!" Ran offered, and Shiho beside her offered her coffee float.
There was so much going on, but Akako didn't mind it at all. She happily accepted everything that was offered to her as the group walked to the station. But in the back of her mind, she still worried that she was inconveniencing Shinichi.
"Uhm, Kudo-san, if I'm too heavy for you I don't mind if you put me down..."
"You're not heavy." He replied coolly, looking over his shoulder at her. "You know, from how Kaito talks about you, I thought you'd have been more haughty and vain."
...And how exactly has he been talking about me for you to get that idea??
"But you're a lot more skittish than I thought. It's like you're afraid of getting close to people, so you put a distance between yourself and them.
"Aoko-san, Ran, and Kaito call you by your name, but you call them by their family names.
"It's okay to want to be close to others."
"..."
Akako hid her face in Shinichi's shoulder, realizing then what made the twins similar aside from their faces.
Be still my heart, you don't have room for another thief...
Ah, but Kudo-san is a detective, not a thief.
Then perhaps I can spare a small spot for him…
—
On the train ride home, the group had been happily chatting with each other as Akako sat at the end of the car by herself. She had propped her feet up onto the seat beside her, relaxing both her sore muscles and her drained social battery. She was content with sitting in silence for the entire ride, but Aoko eventually sat beside her.
“Akako-chan!”
She opened one eye to glance at her. “...Nakamori-san.”
“Did you have fun today?”
Akako paused, thinking about her answer before answering truthfully. “I did, yes.”
“I’m sorry about your feet, are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, thanks to Kudo-san.”
Aoko gently nudged her shoulders, smiling. “He carried you around on his back! So romantic huh~?”
“R-ro-romantic?? It was nothing like that, he was just helping! He’s simply a very kind and sweet gentleman!” Akako turned her head to the side, her face bright red. Which only made Aoko more amused.
“Say, do you like Kaito or Shinichi-kun more?”
“I-I have to choose??”
Aoko laughed, causing Akako to shrink back in embarrassment. The girl, though Akako considered her a rival, was someone that she felt that she was closest to. And yet, she only referred to her by her family name. Wasn’t that wrong if they were supposed to be best friends? (Well, at least to Aoko)
It's okay to want to be close to others.
“...Aoko…san..” Akako murmured, folding her hands in her lap.
“Hm?” Aoko turned to her, before realizing what had just happened. “Ah! You used my name!!”
“...Yes-”
“Aoko-san!! You really said it!!”
“Y-yes-”
“Say it again!!”
Akako quickly shook her head. “No! Now I’m embarrassed!”
“C’mon, say it again!!”
“Leave me be!!”