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"Okay, is everyone ready to pet sit?"
Aoko stood outside of the Kudo residence with Hakuba and Akako. They had all offered to watch Kaito's animals while he was out of town with his old college gymnastics team.
He's always got some sort of club or sport he's in. Aoko shook her head, looking out at her friends.
Hakuba enjoyed coming along when he was free because he loved taking care of Kaito's doves. He'd been in England for a long time since graduating school since his college was there, so this was the first time in nearly 4 years that he'd visited the Kudo residence.
Akako had decided to come along because she had nothing better to do.
She still hadn't gotten over her conflicted feelings for Kaito and Shinichi, and she had decided to avoid them unless absolutely necessary. At first, she was worried that coming here would negate her avoidance policy, but then she had a thought.
Well, I'm still avoiding them, since they won't be here. So this is fine!
"Subaru-san will be in there, and so will the kids, so you guys have to promise to be on your best behavior!"
Akako and Hakuba glanced at each other in confusion.
...
Kids?
―
Once inside, Akako and Hakuba were shocked to see two toddlers having lunch in the Kudo dining room.
"Akako-chan, Hakuba-kun, meet Kaito's baby siblings; Kona and Ai!" Aoko proudly introduced, gesturing to them in their little high-chairs.
"K-Kona?"
"Ai?"
Those... were the names of those two children from a couple years ago, weren't they?
But those children were around 7 years old then, so how are these children far younger?
Of course, Hakuba knew the truth behind Conan as Kaito had explained the situation to him after Shinichi had returned to normal, but little Haibara had moved back to America.
Subaru finished setting places at the table for the three young adults, apparently reading the question from their brains.
"Kaito-kun had chosen the names for his little siblings as a joke, but Yukiko-san had liked the names a lot."
Hakuba and Akako's expressions immediately melted into expectant annoyance.
Of course he did.
"Thank you for making lunch for us, Okiya-san."
"You don't have to thank me, but I do need to run a few errands. Can you three watch the twins for a little bit?"
The three glanced at each other, before nodding.
"I won't be gone long, thank you again." Subaru waved, grabbing his jacket and wallet before heading out the door. Leaving the five all alone with each other.
"Well, this isn't what I expected," Akako sat, looking down at the katsu sando that Subaru had prepared. She wasn't exactly hungry, but it was rude to waste food that was offered to you, so she slowly nibbled at it.
Aoko and Hakuba, who were used to Subaru's hospitality, had already polished off their portions.
"Sometimes I babysit when I come watch the animals, since usually the reason I have to watch them is because everyone else is gone." Aoko said, gently wiping the sauce from Kona's face.
"I'm not good with children, how are we supposed to take care of them?"
"Oh, it's super easy! Let me show you!"
―
How did I end up here...
Akako sat on the couch, the twins glued to either side of her. When lunch was done, Aoko had plucked the two from their high chairs and gently placed them down, and they had both immediately ran to Akako, hugging her legs.
The boy she could understand; all men were drawn to her thanks to her magic. But the little girl was a different story.
No matter how Aoko and Hakuba pulled, the two refused to leave Akako's side. So, she was left behind with the twins as the others went to tend to the animals.
And it was torture!
They refused to let her go anywhere alone! She couldn't even go to the bathroom without them sitting outside the door like puppies!
And now they were sitting on the couch watching TV, and they were so close that she couldn't get comfortable.
"Kudo-kun, Kudo-chan, I would like to get something to drink."
They both looked up at her with huge eyes.
"...
"I would like to get something to drink WITHOUT you two hanging onto me."
They hugged her arms tighter.
This is going absolutely nowhere.
She yanked her arms out of their grip, causing them to tumble onto the couch.
"Enough of this! Didn't your mommy teach you it's impolite to cling to a lady?? Sit here without hanging onto me!"
"But..." Kona whimpered, looking fearful. "Scary man..."
"...Huh?"
Scary man?
Ai pointed behind her. "Scary man... Behind you..."
Akako whipped her head around, but saw no one.
"Hah? If you're playing a prank, it's not fun-" She glared down at them, but paused when she saw the fear in their eyes. They... were being genuine.
Akako folded her skirt against her thighs and knelt down to their height, softening her voice as much as she could.
"And what does the scary man look like?"
The twins looked at each other, before erupting into words.
"Big! Tall! Scary!"
"Sharp! Red!"
"Tall, sharp, and red?" Akako blinked, suddenly understanding the situation. Before she had come here, she had consulted with Lucifer, who had matched a few of those descriptors. Children have the ability to see ghosts and demons because they haven't grown out of their whimsy and faint magical prowess yet.
Everyone is born with latent magical ability, some more so than others, and childhood was the best chance to raise a future witch or warlock. Of course, no one thought magic was real, but it didn't stop children from manifesting their abilities the only way they knew how; by seeing and perceiving things that no one else can.
Well, now that she knew they were seeing the residuals of Lucifer, that meant they were still capable of magic.
"...
"Say, how would you two like to learn some sp-" A hand chopped her right on top of her head. "Ouch!!"
"You won't be teaching them anything, actually," Kaito said, standing behind her with his hand up.
"Niisan!" the twins ran over and both clung to his leg, which he easily lifted into the air.
"Hey you two! Been behavin' for Akako?"
The two quickly nodded.
"I thought you were out of town for a gymnastics meet?" Akako stood, rubbing the top of her head.
"I was, but when I got all the way to Ichikawa, I ran into one of my teammates who lived in the area. She said that the meet was cancelled, and paid for my ticket to come back."
"That's strange, why didn't anyone tell you before?"
"That's the thing, apparently they tried. Someone had changed my phone number in the registry, so when they called, I never got the notice."
"Is niisan gonna stay?" Kona asked, to which Kaito nodded.
"Let's go see how Aoko and Hakuba are doing with the animals, yeah?"
Akako watched as they went into the basement to greet the others, but couldn't shake the strange feeling that she had. Why did it seem like someone wanted Kaito out of the house?
She felt her skin crawl and she once again whipped around, but there was nothing.
It... felt like someone was watching me...
Was Lucifer really what the twins had seen looming behind her, or was there some curse placed on her?
"...
"I must cleanse myself as soon as possible."
Kaito returned up the stairs, looking over at Akako. "Hey! Are you coming downstairs or what?"
"Kaito-kun, do you happen to have a shower appliance strong enough to simulate a waterfall?"
"Huh?? Why would anyone need something like that??"
"Hmm? I have one in my home."
"You're not normal, Akako!!"
―
The three had decided to leave the Kudo household just after the sun set.
By then, Subaru had returned, so Kaito left the twins with him and decided to walk the others home.
“Are you sure about this?” Hakuba said from beside Kaito, “You’ll have to walk back alone after dark.”
“Yeah? I usually walk home alone.”
“But what if something happens to you?”
“Oi oi, are you relegating me to damsel in distress status??”
Aoko laughed as the two bickered, before turning to Akako who was apparently lost in thought. She’d been quiet ever since Kaito had gotten home, and while Aoko was used to Akako being quiet, this was a bit eerie because she knew it wasn’t a normal quiet.
“Akako-chan, are you okay?”
She blinked, being startled out of her thoughts. “Oh, I’m okay Aoko-san. I was just… thinking of something.”
Akako still hadn’t figured out what the twins had seen lingering over her. From the description, it could be assumed that it was Lucifer, but he would never linger over Akako like a curse. So, she assumed that she was in fact cursed, but there was nothing to lead to that outcome either.
She was a witch, she’d know if someone had cursed her.
“Perhaps its residual aura… Or some sort of carry-over from that trip to Europe I took…”
“Uh, Akako-chan, you’re saying strange things again.”
“Doesn’t she always?” Kaito chimed in, leaning between the girls. “She’s always rambling about curses and spells.”
“What, like magic? Magic isn’t real, you know.” Hakuba interjected, earning a dismissive glance from both Akako and Kaito.
“Are you worried about something?”
Akako shook her head, deciding to shelf those thoughts for now. “Whatever it is, it’s not important right now. Let’s hurry before it gets too dark for Kaito-kun to walk home.”
“I agree.”
“Oi, I can walk home perfectly fine. You two of all people should know that!”
Akako glanced back for a few seconds, before joining the others as they continued down the sidewalk. Once they were far enough out of sight, a figure stepped out from behind a street light across from the Kudo household.
“...”
The figure turned and disappeared down the opposite street, melding into the light fog and dim streetlights.