Chapter Text
Stepping off the train from Tokyo, seven year old Conan Edogawa took his first steps into Beika, hopping on one unsteady foot, nervous but excited at the same time.
Nearly slipping back onto the doorway due to the weight of the enormous backpack slung on his tiny shoulders, Conan somehow managed to straighten his back but it couldn't last. Now in a bent oblong state, his back wasn't broken… Yet. But he simply didn't know how much he would need to live here so he thought of everything. Everything!
All the adults gave him a confused glance, certainly because of the towering pagoda on his back that could have been easily used as a battering ram but also due to how chipper the soon to be first grader was.
Even though the platform was overflowed to the gills Conan still managed to find a path through the crowd, apologizing repeatedly for the trouble he was causing.
"Eugh! Watch it kid!" A portly middle-aged gentleman screamed at him as Conan accidentally stepped on his feet.
"Gomenasai!" Conan yelled in apology, hoping his Japanese was alright. His mother would be angry if it wasn't…
Exiting the station, Conan grabbed both of his straps tightly so that he wouldn't fall on his back again like he did when he arrived via the airplane.
While he could read the signs for the most part, it still made his head spin. Thankfully he had the address and with clear instructions that even a seven year old could follow he’d arrive at the Kudo residence in due time.
From the station he took the bus until he was close enough to walk the rest of the way there on his own. Conan was cooed upon by a few teenage girls sitting next to him but because of being so young he felt more suffocated by their close proximity than bashful. When he got off he encountered a nice man who asked if he was lost and offered to take him to the Kudo residence.
Conan wanted to find it himself all on his own so he politely declined but sincerely thanked him anyway, not seeing the flicker of irritation as he walked away. He had heard that everyone was nicer in Japan but he truly hadn’t expected this.
Of course being homeschooled and largely isolated didn’t give him that much of a barometer for human kindness in general but when he did ask for directions in New York most ignored or were rude to him. He was a smart kid but even he had trouble with directions.
Looking at the house, his eyes lit up in wonder. He made it! Running up to the gate he excitedly rapped his knuckles upon him, briefly forgetting that it wasn’t a door. He couldn’t wait to meet his cousin again! It had been such a long time since they’ve seen each other. He was so cool!
Imagining the comforting way he mussed his hair, Conan tried his best to reach the intercom in order to tell him that he was here.
Using his macguyver like abilities, Conan pulled out his pencil case and pushed the buzzer, using his backpack as a stool. Even so, Conan still had to tread on one tippy toe, his body askew as he struggled to stay afloat on unsteady feet.
"Shinichi Nee-San... Can you please open up, I don't think I can stand for much long- WAH!"
Flapping back to the ground like a baby bird, Conan landed on his butt and elbow. "Ow!" Conan yelped. Most boys his age would have cried uncontrollably but poor Conan was not like most normal boys given his upbringing...
Sitting down, Indian style, Conan felt a vast chill come over him. It was getting rather windy. Shivering, Conan couldn't help but put his tiny hands inside his armpits, trying desperately to fight off the cold.
BANG
A sudden crash from next door made Conan raise his head at attention. Jerking it to the side, he saw that amidst the debris was a old man laying on his belly.
"Oji-sama!" He shrieked, horrified, not afraid of using the the wrong honorific. Running up to him, Conan nearly tripped on a piece of window. "Are you alright?"
The Oji-sama thankfully stirred, pushing himself up with one, then two arms. He had a kindly yet goofy looking face, his upper lip crested with a Warlus mustache.
Recognition hit immediately. "Hakase!" Conan piped up, hopping in excitement. The soot was getting washed away in the rain as Agassi was blindly grasping for his glasses only for Conan to helpfully pick them up and give them back.
Hakase made a show of blinking. "Conan-Kun? What are you doing outside?"
Not noticing the concern in his voice, Conan told him.
"What! You walked here by herself? Where's Fumiyo-San?"
Conan's face fell. "I'm sorry Hakase..."
Seeing the disappointment on his face, Hakase's expression softened. "No it's okay Conan-Kun. Say..." Hakase smiled. "It's a little chilly out here. Why don't we go in and gets some hot coco."
The mention of hot chocolate got him smiling again. "Would I!"
Conan hadn't been inside aunt Yukiko's house for a long time. He was amazed at all the stuff it held inside and couldn't help but touch it. Hakase himself was good company and when he told Conan he was a inventor, his ears stood up in curiosity. Surprised at Conan yapping his ear off had happily explained each function of his device, looking as if no one had ever stopped to ask, let alone listen before but first insisted that he get a change of clothes and a bath.
Conan complied feeling sore and frozen even after he huffed down the promised drink. He honestly didn't expect something this familiar to be here in Japan but he was happy for it anyway.
Of course it wasn't like he had it before. When he attempted to drink it like regular chocolate milk, he had spilled all over Hakase's white lab coat while clutching his burning mouth.
Hakase laughed a bit and got him another, promising that he'd clean up his mess. "Here." He said clutching the mug with both hands as he brought it up to face. "The trick is to blow on it before you drink so it cools enough for you to drink." He made a whistling noise through his breath. "See?"
Conan took his advice and to his surprise it actually worked. While slowly quaffing it down, Hakase prodded the lad for information.
"Is your mother coming soon?" Agasa asked again.
Conan was confused by the question. "Um? She told me I live here now... She never said when she was coming back." His lips pursed together when he saw a flash of anger in Hakase's eyes. He mouthed something in Japanese but Conan didn't have as best a grasp on lip reading. The hairs on the back of his neck pricked up. The atmosphere had changed. Unzipping his bookbag, he reached in and grabbed the yellow binder that his mother told him very clearly to give to Hakase without opening it.
Upon giving it a once over, the document in hakase's hand trembled, before it was crushed in those liver spotted hands of hands.
Conan looked at him, those huge eyes shining with innocence due to not understanding the significance of what his mother just did to him, looked at the only other adult in the room with confusion. "Hakase?"
Realizing that he was upsetting the poor boy, Agasa put on a smile. "I bet your a vociferous reader aren't you Conan-kun?"
Conan piqued up in curiosity, momentarily distracted from asking any life shattering questions. "There is a library downstairs if you are interested. Some of those books were the same ones Shinichi-kun read when he was your age." Agasa winked.
With his interest now stoked, Conan begged the old man to take him there. Agasa said he could read any book he wanted on the understanding that he stay downstairs until Hakase says he can. While he may have usually questioned this, Conan, for all his intelligence above his years, was still a child and one that was especially curious and easily bribed at that.
Searching through the books, he just couldn't decide between a old classic like Sherlock Holmes, or something new like a collection of Edogawa Ranpo stories. In the end he settled on both.
Conan unfortunately couldn't find a comfortable to read. All of the leather chairs made him feel various measures of disquiet, like his mother was watching him or something,
Eventually, he settled on a little hidey hole under the desk. He was halfway through the second book when he suddenly yawned, feeling sleepy, and the next moment he knew, a sudden noise made him jerk awake.
"Ow!" He hit his head when he ran out of height, causing him to lean forward and have his glasses skid out from under.
Quickly following it, he fumbled for the pair before sitting up and putting them on only for the lenses to fall out. The sudden brightness shook him enough to accidentally bounce his temple on the cabinet.
As he went to pick them up, he noticed something odd. Despite a brief blindness, his vision was somehow clearer then before. But his mother told him to never, never, never, take off his glasses...
Before he had time to ponder any questions, he heard someone squeal from behind and grab his shoulders. "Conan-kun!" A voice giddily yelled.
Turning to face the voice, in that instance Conan was sure he saw the most beautiful girl in the world. With those shining sapphire eyes that danced with pure unadulterated joy and a smile that screamed pure compassion, Conan knew that there was no possible way he could be mistaken.
"Do you remember me, Conan-kun? Its been so long." It took a minute for recognition to be lit. He remembered a long while ago, upon a impronto trip to Japan, they met up with a bored Shinichi who had come with a kind, pretty girl as thin as a stick and with a slight overbite. This was-
"Ran-san!" Conan piqued up, a nervous smile spreading unbidden. His palms got all sweaty and he had a bug in his craw, simply nodding cause he was too shy to respond nonverbally.
Ran's eyes lit up with even more joy and wonder. "You do remember me!" Suddenly, Ran wrapped her arms around his tiny frame, much to Conan's surprise and confusion as only Auntie Yukiko had done such a thing before, and it had been a long time since then.
Conan decided he liked it. Very much.
"You've grown so big since I've saw you! You're just too kawaii!" Eventually though, Conan had to come up for air, so with a goofy grin he turned his head to the side, taking long gulps of air. The embrace ended too quickly, and Ran turned to a unnoticed Agasa, who had a odd look on his face. "I didn't know Fumiyo-san was visiting? Shinichi that baka should have told me!" Ran huffed while Agasa wrung his hands and chuckled nervously.
"Unfortunately, she didn't seek to tell us ahead of time so I doubt Shinichi knew..." Conan noticed that his smile seemed plastered on and that his hands were clenched into trembling fists. "He's supposed to be saying with him."
Ran pursed her lips, scowling. It was not a good look on her. "First that baka took off on his own and now he leaves Conan-kun all by himself? When I see him, I'm going to give him a kic-" Ran's face paused for a moment, before it lit up in joy. "Hakase, can Conan-kun say with us?"
Conan very much enjoyed this idea, forgetting Shinichi instantly, and how easily Hakase caved with a expression of vast discomfort.