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Relative Truth
by Becky Tailweaver
File 17: Disappearing Act
Even before the echoes of his yell had faded from the yard, Shinichi was careening up the front walk, lurching to a stop before the porch. Both Yukiko and Yuusaku seemed surprised to see him, but only Yukiko reacted--a short gasp and a look of dismay. "Shin-chan--!"
"Mom? Dad? What's happening? What's going on here?" Shinichi's eyes were wild, touched by a spark of faint, growing terror as his gaze darted between his parents. "Where are you going, Dad? Mom, where's he--?"
Yuusaku's face had already hardened to iron; his grip on his briefcase tightened, and he continued his resolute stride away from the house. Shinichi gaped at his father's back, shocked that the man could so disregard him, and turned to his mother for an explanation. "Mom, what's going on?" he quavered.
"Shin-chan...!" Yukiko's voice broke with grief and pain--she hadn't wanted her son to witness this awful moment. "I told you to stay with Ran-chan...!"
"You--you knew--even then--!" Shinichi stared at her, unbelieving. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Shin-chan...please..." His mother reached out to him, trying to find words to make him understand. "I'm so sorry...!"
But he had already whirled away from her, darting down the path after his father. He was angry, terrified, frantic--his mind had begun to grasp what was happening and he was willing to do anything to stop it.
"Dad! Dad! Where are you going?" Shinichi pulled up at Yuusaku's side, stumbling around in front of him and trying to stop his stride. "What's happening here? You're mad about this, so you're walking out on us? You're just going to leave like this? Dad!"
Yuusaku's mask was crumbling, but from his vantage point Shinichi couldn't see it. The man kept walking.
"Dad, wait! Stop and talk to me, dammit!" Another dance around in front of his father almost got him trod upon, forcing him to scurry aside. "Dad, listen! Wait--wait! Why are you going? You can't just leave Mom like this! Would you just talk to me?"
Shinichi's voice had begun to rise, both in volume and in pitch, until his shrill, angry, plaintive tones matched those of a very desperate little boy. Yuusaku knew he couldn't afford to look down now--it was somehow harder to ignore the boy when he was a small, helpless, pleading child rather than a desperate, demanding teenager. His jaw tightened almost painfully as he forced himself to keep walking, head high; he knew that if he looked at his son, he was lost--he wouldn't be able to leave.
Shinichi kept demanding, somehow knowing that if Yuusaku made it to the gate, it was over. Despairing now, he latched on to his father's hand and dug in his heels--for all the good it did--trying to somehow make the man stop and listen to him.
"Dad, just wait a minute! Please! Don't leave--just talk to me! Dad! Don't go--I'm sorry--I'm sorry for everything I ever said! Just listen for a second! Dad, look at me! Dad--!"
Yuusaku stopped suddenly, startling his son into silence. He never looked down--not once--but when he spoke, his voice was very rough, whether with harshness or emotion, it was impossible to tell. "Shinichi. If you can find the time between your games with Kaito...take care of your mother."
Shinichi jerked as if the man had struck him, his grip going slack and making it easy for Yuusaku to shake off his small hands. He stood as still as stone, unable to move, unable to speak...helpless as his father strode out the gate and stepped into the taxi. The door slammed, the engine coughed, and the cab pulled away smoothly, speeding up and disappearing down the street.
Yuusaku never once looked back.
Shinichi was left standing there, staring after the car, shaking with grief and rage, remorse and desolation. Again he hoped--prayed that this was just a nightmare...but he wasn't waking up, the pain went on and on until his throat knotted up and his eyes stung hotly, until he realized that it was all real, like the poison, and his life had been torn apart again...
"Shin-chan..."
His mother's voice was a whisper, but it somehow unstiffened his muscles enough that he could move. He turned to look up at her, his shocked angry mask melting away in the face of anguish and sorrow.
She was hurting too, her face tight and her eyes red. But she had cried all her tears hours ago; there was nothing left but dull, tired pain. She'd come to the end of it, but her son's agony was just beginning. He was distraught, helpless; there was only pleading in his eyes, only grief on his face. His voice was nothing but a child's whimper, a frail little wisp of broken sound. "Mom...why...?"
Tears. It had been so long since her son had shed tears that she'd almost forgotten the last time she'd seen it.
It was the tears that cut her to the bone.
"Shin-chan...!" Yukiko knealt to embrace him, her motions quick and desperate--as if he was the only treasure she had left in the entire world. She gathered him into her arms, and to her surprise he didn't resist at all. She held him tight as his small arms went around her neck; he clung to her like a lifeline, burying his face in her shoulder. She thought she'd had no tears left, but somehow her heart found the ones that had been reserved for her son. "Shin-chan...I'm so sorry, sweetie...I'm so sorry..."
In the taxi, blocks away, Yuusaku Kudo put his face in his hands and tried to keep the driver from noticing...
"Shinichi..." The voice was an inaudible whisper, a silent breathless plea.
Ran stayed where she was, shocked, out of sight by the gatepost of the wall. The tableau that had played out before her was like something out of a nightmare--her nightmares--and her heart wrung at the sight of Shinichi's stricken face. She knew this scene--she had seen it a thousand times in her dreams...
"Mommy? Where are you going, Mommy? Wait, please! Daddy...why's Mommy leaving--why?"
She knew this pain, this loneliness, and it hurt beyond unbearably to see it on Shinichi's small, pale face. When he looked to his mother, the thin little waver that was his voice hit her deep inside. She gasped, covering her mouth to muffle the sound as she whirled away, pressing her back to the cool stone of the wall.
"Mommy, please don't go! I'll be good, I promise! Don't go away! Why are you leaving? Daddy, make Mommy stay! Mommy...!"
The memory of another little child's pleading wail forced her to fight down a sob. Blinking back tears, she tried to take a deep breath but somehow it was just a hiccup. Her concern for Shinichi forced her to turn back, to look at that anguished scene once more--she wanted to help him somehow, if only...
She peeked around the gatepost, her eyes darting to Yukiko and the trembling little boy in her arms. She almost stepped forward, almost spoke--but then the older woman's eyes met hers, freezing her in her place. Yukiko's gaze was full of pain but also full of strength; she shook her head faintly, barely visible but a definite command. Then she turned to walk back up the drive, cradling her son close in her arms.
Ran gasped again, flinching as she ducked back out of sight before Shinichi could see her. Without looking back, without faltering, Yukiko carried her son into the house.
When they were gone, Ran ventured out from behind the gatepost once more. Torn, she stared forlornly at the silent Kudo house...then at the small backpack lying deserted on the sidewalk at the gate. It was spilled open from being carelessly thrown down, a couple of first-grader books and various articles scattered on the pavement. Swallowing the urge to cry--or at least trying to--she knealt to gather up the small bookbag's contents, tucking the books back inside and scooping up the strewn pencils and crayons.
Her efforts to hold back her tears had been in vain; despite her resolution, they flowed freely down her cheeks, and had marked the paper covers of the small books she'd picked up. At last she stood, clutching the little bookbag to her chest, staring at the lonely house once more. In her heart, she wanted more than anything to go in there, to find some way to comfort him, but she knew in her mind that now was not the time. He needed his mother now--he needed what was left of his family. Only when he was ready, and at last came to her, could she offer solace to him.
"Shinichi..."
With a shuddering breath, she turned away from the broken Kudo home and started walking, heading once more for school. She would have to make one stop on the way, however, to let the teachers at Teitan Elementary know that Conan Edogawa would not be coming to class today.
Yawning, Kaito sat back in his desk and waited boredly for class to begin. After what had been happening the last few days, a regular, normal, uneventful day of school seemed pretty darn dull, but he supposed it would let him make up for lost time where Aoko was concerned. He hadn't truly teased her into a mop-battle since the week before last.
The only problem was that Aoko hadn't shown up yet.
He yawned again, resting his chin in his hand and scanning the room. Akako had been eyeing him for several minutes now--never a good sign with that freaky girl--and it was only a matter of time before she made her move. A couple of Aoko's friends were gathered around their cluster of desks, chattering, and some of the guys were hanging out by the windows, but other than that it was quiet. Most everyone had opted to find their seats and sit--just as bored and drowsy as he; evidently Mondays just did that to people--rather than spend their last few moments of freedom in conversation.
He sensed a shift, and glanced back; Akako was moving now, gliding smoothly to the side of his desk to smile enigmatically down at him. "Whaddya want?" he grunted, after a few moments of trading stares with her.
"Oh, nothing," she replied with a disinterested air, her brilliant dark eyes sparkling with secrets. "I just thought I'd come see why you're so depressed, that's all."
He blinked at her. "I am not depressed."
Her enigmatic smile got more mysterious--and a bit wider, too. "Come now. You haven't pulled one trick, cracked a single joke, teased the girls, bothered the guys, or asked where Aoko-chan is."
His blink turned to a flat-eyed frown. "Ah, so just sitting here makes me depressed."
"When it's you, yes. You're not your usual smiling self, Kuroba-kun," the long-haired girl replied. Under the pretense of getting close enough to whisper confidentially, she leaned down to drape herself alluringly against his desktop, her long, smooth dark hair falling over her shoulder and her sculpted features directing a look of faint, amused "concern" at him. "Don't tell me you had a fight with dear Aoko-chan."
"Che! Right," he retorted, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair--mainly to get further away from her without looking like he was recoiling from her closeness. "What would we fight about, anyway? When she left last night, she was perfectly fine."
Akako paused, one delicate eyebrow arching. "Ah, so you were with her last night? Interesting..."
"Listen, you," Kaito corrected quickly, "she came for dinner. With my mother."
"I see." Akako shifted her position to lean closer to him, knowing exactly how her uniform top fell in such a pose; he'd gone to full retreat against the chair back, and now he couldn't get away unless he actually got out of his seat. "Is that why you're depressed?"
"Idiot!" he snorted, sitting up straighter with a sudden chuckle and an animated grin. "Do I look depressed to you? I'm just bored!"
Akako chanced to lean a little nearer. "Faker."
He snorted again.
"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the shadow that pounced on the white thief, would it?" she asked pointedly, in a flatly amused tone.
Kaito's cheery mask got a little crack in it. "What...?"
"The shadow at the bell tower that streaked across the sky to ambush the white bandit...I remember that shadow from my divination," the long-haired girl replied, raising an eyebrow at him.
No way... "What does that have to do with me?"
Akako laughed softly at his innocent look. "I don't know. But I saw the shadow again. I've been having dreams for three nights."
"Dreams?" Kaito feigned disinterest, lacing his fingers behind his head.
Her eyes went distant. "The dark shadow and the white thief race again. A dove and a raven flying in a cold starry sky where no day-birds belong."
"Another tasteless prophecy," he sighed, looking bored. "Shadow boogeymen after elusive white thieves--how thrilling."
Akako smiled in a very strange way, standing up from his desk. Behind her, Aoko was coming in the classroom door, spotting Kaito. "It was different this time," Akako said softly, gazing down at him. "The dark one was no longer chasing the white thief--they were side by side. And my dreams are never prophecy, Kuroba-kun--only my waking divinations. Dreams just see what is and what has been."
Aoko was approaching; Kaito began to worry that Akako would say something that the other girl shouldn't hear. "Good for you," he drawled indifferently.
"Have you met him?"
"Huh?" He glanced at her.
"The shadow in the helicopter who swooped down on the thief in the bell tower," Akako replied, leaning down to him once more. "The mysterious person that even I couldn't see--the one with the same aura that you have. You've met him, haven't you?"
Kaito stared at her, hiding his shock behind blank-eyed perplexity. "Met who?"
Aoko finally reached their side, looking more cheerful than she had last night. "Hi, Akako-chan! 'Morning, Kaito. Who met who?"
"Oh...nobody. Just a fellow," Akako replied amiably, then turned to gaze at Kaito again. Her eyes narrowed as her smile sharpened, but with only a polite nod she moved on.
Aoko watched her go, puzzled. "Kaito, who was she talking about?"
Kaito waved a hand dismissively. "Aw, I think she wants to meet my cousin. I was playing dumb 'cause he's taken. Don't want her to get her hooks in him."
Aoko poked him for that remark. "And what's wrong with her?"
Plenty, but you don't know it. "Nothing." He shrugged. "It's just that Shinichi's got Ran, you know? And Akako's kinda greedy when it comes to guys--she'll stop at nothing to get them under her spell."
"What does that have to do with her wanting to meet your cousin?" Aoko demanded blithely. "You make it sound like she's some kind of witch out to snatch him."
Kaito snorted, half to hide his laugh of disbelief. "Aw, get real." And if you only knew... "She couldn't 'snatch' Shinichi if she tried. I'm just saying she'd be really annoying while she's trying to. She's seriously boy-crazy."
"She isn't that boy-crazy," Aoko retorted. "Just because she's pretty and smart and well-mannered and lots of the boys like her..." She paused for a momentary envious sigh. "That doesn't mean she's boy-crazy."
"Whatever you say," Kaito drawled half-sarcastically. "But don't say I didn't warn you..."
"Kaito, you can be so rude sometimes...!" Aoko was about to really lay into him when the teacher walked in and the class began to assemble itself into some sort of order. Deciding not to give him the pleasure of a broom-fight first thing in the morning--she could always get him during math--the girl turned on her heel and stomped toward her desk, frowning furiously.
Unbeknownst to them, Akako was smiling as she sauntered slowly back to her desk for the beginning of class. It was a sharp, insightful smile; she had heard every word that Kaito and Aoko had spoken.
Ran jumped, jolted out of her reverie, when Sonoko pounced on her. Startled, she turned wide eyes to her friend almost guiltily, her mouth dropping open. "What--?"
Hanging an arm over Ran's shoulders, Sonoko eyed her for a moment, a rather sly smile on her face. "So why are you so depressed?"
Ran blinked, gaping for a moment before she marshalled her features once more. "I am not depressed."
"Oh, come on," her friend wheedled, at last removing herself from Ran's shoulder and leaning her elbows against the desk. "You've barely said two words to me all morning, and you've been staring out that window since we got here. C'mon, tell me--did Shinichi-kun call you again and make up another sob story about why he isn't coming home? That bum..."
"No, that's not it!" Ran informed her sharply--then regretted her outburst when Sonoko's sly look returned. "Uh, I mean..."
"Really..." the short-haired girl drawled shrewdly. "Ran, I know you too well--you only ever get this mopey when he's involved."
Caught, Ran deflated somewhat, her gaze tracing out the window again to the city beyond, her thoughts drawn to a certain house on a certain street--the place she longed to be right now. "You're right..." she confessed reluctantly. "It's about him."
"He did it to you again, didn't he?" Sonoko said, shaking her head in annoyance. "That lousy jerk--what's the matter with him? Gallivanting around on cases and putting you off like you're some undesirable--"
"It's not his fault!" Ran burst out again, catching herself almost immediately--and realizing that it was far too easy to jump to Shinichi's defense and accidentally blurt out something damaging. "Look, he...I talked to him, and..."
"Yes? Yes?" Sonoko pressed, eager for information--for gossip, really. "Go on!"
"And he--Sonoko, this is serious, would you stop looking like that? And it turns out...well...his parents are having a fight and...it's...kind of...bad."
The gossip-hungry look faded rapidly from her friend's eyes; Sonoko was rather struck by the news, despite her usual ditzy exterior. "Oh..."
Ran nodded gravely, surprised that Sonoko had sobered as much as she had. "Yeah. I'm worried about him right now, and that's why I'm...depressed."
"There there..." Startlingly solemn, Sonoko patted her shoulder comfortingly. The twinkle in her eye was quickly returning, however, along with her smile. "I'll just have to cheer you up, won't I? Let's go straight to the mall after school--I saw this totally gorgeous outfit there the other day, and you can wear that when you see Shinichi-kun and it'll cheer him up in a flash too..."
With a smile of wry acceptance, Ran nodded along with Sonoko's chatter, well aware that her bubbly friend was doing her best to help in her own way. But she knew that at this point there was little she could do to cheer Shinichi up; a pretty outfit would only remind him all the more of what he couldn't have, of the life he'd lost--and she was sure he didn't need that on top of what had happened this morning.
As the teacher came in and the class settled down for the morning to begin--Sonoko scurrying back to her desk--Ran sighed wearily and wished she were someplace else. Particularly at a certain house on a certain street, with a certain little boy that she loved.
It was a long time before either mother or son were composed enough to speak--and during that time they only sat there together, silent tears and broken hearts; Yukiko gathered her son close in her arms and rocked him, while Shinichi clung tight to her like he hadn't since he was truly a little child. For the time being, dignity and appearance mattered little to either of them; glasses and secret identities and actress-pride were left behind and forgotten. He couldn't do much but try to endure the pain, and she did her best to comfort him.
It was several hours before Shinichi was even calm enough to nod or shake his head in mute response to his mother's soft questions. She was far more composed than he by the time she carried him into the kitchen to make some hot tea for the both of them; she'd already suffered the worst of the pain the night before, and now most of her grief was for her son's sake, not her own.
Somehow, a memory from his childhood helped his mind begin to clear. His mother had done this with him many times in the distant past when he was upset about something or had gotten hurt--she had made tea with him cradled on her hip, his head resting on her shoulder, her gentle voice humming a faint song. Right now he didn't know if she was doing it to comfort him or if it was simple maternal habit, but somehow this old half-familiar, half-forgotten ritual was infinitely soothing.
She set him down in a chair at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of him, pausing to touch his shoulder before hurrying back for her own cup. Tea in hand, she settled at the table beside him, pulling her chair around to sit close to him--close enough to reach out and stroke his hair, as if touching him gave her some small reassurance as well. She watched him quietly for a time, seemingly forgetting about her own tea as he held his cup in both hands and took small, shaky swallows of the warm liquid.
"There...now..." Her voice was rough from tears but soft with concern. "Are you...feeling a little better?"
With another gulp of tea, he managed a faint nod and weak shrug.
"I'm glad you are," she responded, trying to cheer up her tone a little. "I thought a little tea might help. You go ahead and finish that, and I suppose you can stay the night here if you like--"
"Mom. Don't."
His voice, sudden though quiet, startled her out of her train of thought. "Shin-chan...?"
"Please don't pretend. Not for me." He stared at his tea, or the tabletop, or maybe nothing at all. "Just...tell me why."
The cheer vanished as if it had never been. "Shin-chan...you know he wants you to be safe--"
"Then why did he leave?" Shinichi demanded abruptly, turning eyes full of hurt and betrayal on her. "Is he still running away, and left us behind because we wouldn't go with him? Or is he just so mad about being exposed that he can't stand us any more?"
"That's not...!" Yukiko winced as if stung.
"Or is it...because I defied him?" Shinichi's gaze fell back to the teacup. "Because of me...?"
"It's not your fault!" his mother cut in sharply. "Never ever blame yourself--Yuusaku made his own decision!"
He flinched, still staring into his tea. "But...I...this wouldn't have happened if I...if I'd just..." His small voice cracked and faltered out, unable to continue.
"Shin-chan..." Yukiko smoothed his hair again, soothingly, remorsefully, glad that at least he didn't pull away from her touch. Her own voice was broken as well, but she pressed on, hoping to make him understand. "Listen, sweetie...please...I know this hurts...but I know Yuusaku's hurting too. This isn't forever--it can't be." Her eyes glistened with tears as she tried to keep her faith strong for his sake. "We talked...argued...all night, and both uf us know what could happen if we're found out--to all of us, Fumiyo-chan and Kai-chan and you and Yuusaku and me...and Ran-chan and the Professor and everyone else around us...all of us know it."
"I know..."
"Yes," Yukiko agreed, smiling wanly. "And Yuusaku is more worried about all of us because he's been in danger his whole life, and especially since he became a thief and defied the Organization--and even after he changed our identites and hid. He's lived all this time always looking over his shoulder, and even though Fumiyo-chan and I have been involved since we married, we just don't feel the same way he does. And...he's worried about you, Shin-chan. He didn't raise you like he was raised...like all the Kurobas were raised, even Kai-chan...and he knows you'll be going with Kai-chan now. Since he didn't train you, he thinks you won't be able to do it--he thinks you'll fail, and be killed, and all of us will die...but he doesn't know..."
"Know what...?" Shinichi glanced at her.
His mother smiled at him again, a brighter smile this time. "He thinks he raised you to be a detective, a skillful seeker of justice--and he did, but...but that's not all you are. He can't seem to see what I see...what I've seen from the beginning--he trained you without knowing it. Every time he taught you something, there was a little of the phantom thief in it. I'm sure you and Kai-chan can do anything--you've got all you need, Shin-chan, if you can have faith in yourself..."
"Then why can't he have faith in me?" Shinichi asked plaintively. "He always cuts me down--I can never do anything good enough! Why can't he believe in me now? Why did he have to go...?"
Yukiko's shoulders drooped sadly, wearily. "He's afraid we'll all be killed...and he's so worried about you and Kai-chan..." She sighed, a long lonely breath. "He still thinks his way is best--that if we keep hiding, we'll all be safe...and he's angry because he's afraid..."
"But..."
"Shin-chan, this won't be forever," Yukiko promised softly. "He'll come back, I swear. I know my husband--he's upset and troubled right now, but he'll pull himself together soon and come home. He just needs some time to cool down--this isn't really much more serious than other fights we've had," she half-lied a little guiltily.
Shinichi looked up at her, his blue eyes glimmering with a faint hope. "You think he'll come back?"
"Of course," she replied. "Once he realizes that we aren't going to meekly follow him, and that we can manage on our own without his protection, he'll come back home and apologize for being such an overprotective boor and then things will go back to the way they were." She offered a bright smile that was almost real. "Who knows--maybe we'll have you back to normal by then, and we can get on with our lives again."
Shinichi almost smiled. "That'd be nice," he admitted. "I just hope...he does come home..."
"I've no doubt he will," Yukiko said, sitting back in her chair with a more pleasant look--mostly to hide the doubts she did have--and glancing around. "In the meantime, I've got to do something about this house--it's an absolute mess, all dusty and dark and lonely! I think I'll get new drapes for the living room and kitchen, and perhaps a rug for the hall..."
Startled by her off-the-wall change of pace, Shinichi was jolted clean out of his gloom, blinking at her with wide, rather dazed eyes. "You're talking drapes and rugs at a time like this?"
"Why, of course," his mother replied, sipping the last of her tea and setting the cup down to pull her robe closer around her. "I know it may take a bit for Yuusaku to calm down, and I'll have to find something to do while he's gone. With you staying at Ran-chan's, it'll be awfully lonely around here for a while..." She looked about the kitchen and sighed mournfully.
"I...I could stay here if you--" he offered hesitantly.
"No, Shin-chan--that's very sweet of you, but you know you're safer there," she said with a shake of her head. "You have to keep being Conan until we can get you back to normal and deal with that pesky Syndicate." With another sigh, she rose from the table, taking the empty teacups with her to the kitchen. "Shin-chan, are you hungry?"
"Pesky...Syndicate...?" He almost snorted with faint amusement--his mother made it sound like Gin and Vodka were a couple of annoying pranksters that could simply be chased off. "Mom, are you sure you'll be okay, alone here while Dad's...?"
"Yes, I'll be fine!" She waved a careless hand at him as she tightened her robe belt and opened the refrigerator. "...goodness, I'll have to go shopping... Anyway, I'm glad to be able to talk to Fumiyo-chan again--we can keep each other company now. And I can keep myself busy cleaning up the house and getting ready--there's going to be lots of changes from now on, and I won't stand for our home to be in such a state! I think I'll even re-upholster the living room couch--the thing's ancient and getting threadbare..."
"Why are you worried about the couch?" he asked, mystified. He wondered if she'd already forgotten about her husband, or if she was really hiding her feelings behind a bustle of cheerful activity. She was always such an actress...
Yukiko paused a moment, lips pursed as she considered. "Hm...Shin-chan, which room upstairs do you think would make a nicer bedroom? The guest quarters or perhaps the sewing room...? If it's the sewing room I'll have to get a decent carpet down in there..."
Puzzled, he watched her pull a box of rice down from the cupboard as he thought about his answer. "Uh...the sewing room's got a nice view of the back yard...but the guest room's almost as big as mine and it has a closet..." He trailed off, confused. What would she need a new bedroom for? They had a guest room for company.
"Ah, yes--the closet..." Pots and pans were rifled through in search of a decent container to cook rice in. "I'd forgotten about that. I suppose the guest room is the better choice--it's next to yours, too, and that might be important. Oh, how much rice would you like, Shin-chan?"
He blinked again. "Um, just...the usual..."
"I'll have to go look into paint colors," Yukiko went on absently, going back to the freezer to search for food to serve with the box of rice. "Something light and cheerful--and new curtains, too. I've got to get some cute wallpaper--I never had the chance to do your room but I'd love to be creative this time. I haven't been up to the attic in ages--"
Shinichi spared a sudden, rather alarmed thought about the fact that he hadn't cleaned up the attic since his frantic search the week before. He was also starting to feel some strange little warning bells going off in the back of his mind, but for the life of him he couldn't fathom it.
"--but I know we put a lot of your old furniture up there years ago. I could never throw away your old things, Shin-chan--I'm nostalgic to a fault. But I suppose that's a good thing right now...though I'll have to see if they're too old to be usable..."
There was something important he was missing here--he just knew it. And if there was one thing he hated, it was being unable to figure something out. Still completely baffled, he cocked his head to regard her perplexedly. "Uh, Mom?" he interrupted carefully. "Um...what are you doing all this for, anyway?"
Yukiko paused, her mouth forming an "O" as she blushed faintly. "Oh my...I forgot! And here I am chattering away at you like this! I'm sorry, Shin-chan--we really meant to tell you fairly soon, but then you called and all this came up and it just completely slipped my mind."
"What did?" he asked, hesitantly curious.
To his suprise, Yukiko left her food on the counter to come and sit back down in her chair, facing him directly with a delighted earnestness that made him go wide-eyed. She took a deep breath, her cheeks strangely pink and her eyes sparkling. "Shinichi...how do you feel about being a Niichan?"
It was suddenly silent enough to hear a pin drop. Jolted, his mouth falling open, Shinichi stared at his mother in utter, wide-eyed shock.
To be continued...
AN: Ack, another late addition! Sorry for the wait on this. And I hope the little cliffhanger isn't too upsetting! More coming soon--seeya then!