DUALITY || Kudo Shinichi x OC ||

CHAPTER NINE || LONGING.

She knew what that meant.

"Or you could get better ears," Ran retorted with a smirk, now turning to Conan with a gentle smile, urging him forward to stand in front.

On his face, his cheeks were dyed a faint red, his cobalt eyes quivering ever so-slightly as he avoided Akira's gaze. The girl tilted her head in confusion, crossing her arms over her chest as she observed the kid, trying to piece together his train of thought.

"Alright, I'll go now, I'll see you at school Akira. See you next week Conan-kun!" Ran interrupted her thoughts, slipping her way towards the front door as she waved, and with a final farewell, Ran had finally left Akira's apartment.

Akira brushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear, now grinning widely down at the 'younger' boy as she pointed down towards the end of the hallway, "your rooms at the end towards the right. It's yours, Conan. I just cleaned the sheets and wiped down the surfaces, the rest in untouched. Feel free to rearrange it as you like."

Conan's ears perked up, and, he nodded without a question. He made his way down the hallway, carrying his backpack as he turned towards the right, pressing his palms against the wooden doors and giving it a light push. To Conan, perhaps this should be an unfamiliar room, but, as Shinichi...

This was the exact room he always slept in when he visited.

His tiny fingers slipped under the straps of his bag, taking the heavy weight off his shoulder and throwing it onto the bed, looking at the blue sheets which were nicely set out for him. To the exterior, the room was pristine, and he deduced that Akira probably cleaned it before his arrival, judging by the smell of disinfectant spray which lingered in the air. 

Unlike the exterior, the closet and cabinets of the room showed a very different story. It was messy, as if someone had been searching through the the contents, and for some reason an uneasy pit grew in his stomach as he looked at the mess. Conan blinked a couple of times as he stared at the mess, pursing his lips.

"Conan-kun!" His ears twitched at the voice, Conan's lips curling up into a smile as she heard her call out for him. 

"Coming Akira-neechan!" Conan closed the closet door, rushing down the hallway as he was greeted by Akira's bright grin.

His breath hitched. Conan's breath hitched as he looked at her, marveling at the sight of the female detective. Her black hair, tied up into a ponytail as an apron hugged her waist, sharp green eyes staring at him with a fond gleam. There, a thought struck in his mind as he reminisced on his memories, staring up at the girl with wide eyes.

"H- Hey! Stop crying!" Shinichi panicked, looking at the wailing kid in front of him with guilt. Fifteen, and completely socially unaware, he panicked.

Shinichi, completely entranced in practicing his soccer skills had turned a blind eye to the world around him. Sweat trickled down his face, a cocky grin on his face as his foot touched the soccer ball, gathering the power up in his leg. 

"And..." He piped himself up, building the tension up before releasing it with one punishing kick. Unnoticed to him though, he had failed to identify the first-grader who had ran across the field to retrieve his ball, turning back to his friends as he grasped the ball into his hands.

It all happened too fast before Shinichi could warn him. Next second he knew, the younger one was on the ground, holding the side of his cheek as tears fell down his face. He hiccupped over his words, crying desperately for his mom and that his cheek hurt. Shinichi rushed over frantically, apologizing to the kid as he tried to bribe him to stop crying.

Too bad for Shinichi, the kid didn't and cried even harder. The teen grit his teeth guiltily, ruffling his brown hair as he tried to think of a way to calm him down.

"Here."

Shinichi turned around at the unexpected voice, making room as he moved to the side, watching as Akira sat down on the floor in front of the crying child. In her hand, she held a packaged icy-pole, pressing it gently up against the little boy's cheek as the cold sensation stung against the burn of his cheeks.

The little boy whimpered as he stared up at the kind teen, wide, jeweled eyes that admired the girl's kind smile. Shinichi smiled as he observed her, the endearing smile, kind gaze. His eyes trailed across her features, watching the way her eyes softened with worry as the little boy whimpered at the pain, sniffling a final time before flashing a shy grin. Akira laughed softly, placing the icy-pole into the kid's hand before she stood up, waving him off. A strand of her hair covered the side of her face, blocking Shinichi's view.

Shinichi blushed, raising his hand up as he trailed it over towards the side of her face, grazing his finger under her hair before-

"Conan-kun, are you okay?" A hand waved in front of his face.

Ah, how silly of him. Conan blushed as he stumbled back, averting his eyes away as she crouched down in front of him, pressing a hand on his forehead. 

"You're not sick," she mumbled the conclusion to herself, flinching when she heard the rice-cooker go off, losing her train of thought as she made her way towards it. A message ringing on her phone from her brother which Conan had read over curiously.

He knew he shouldn't have, but, you can't help a detective's curiousity.

Akira... Conan stared at the girl's frame, unable to hide the guilt, frustration and longing in his eye.

I want to tell you so badly, trust me. He pursed his lips, turning his back to the girl as he made his way towards the couch, letting his weight sink into the sold fabric. 

I don't want to lose you.